The iPad Pro's biggest challenge: finding its place between tablet and laptop

Source: www.engadget.com --- Sunday, September 27, 2015
This article originally appeared on Fast Company and is reprinted with permission. By Jared Newman When Apple launched the iPad in 2010, the biggest question was whether it could carve out a space between smartphones and laptops. For a while, the answer was yes, as the iPad became Apple's fastest-growing product. But since then, smartphones have become larger and more powerful, while laptops have become thinner, lighter, and more battery-efficient. iPad sales have felt the squeeze , declining for two straight years even as Apple's iPhone and Mac sales flourish. Rather than give up, Apple is sharpening its focus with the iPad Pro, which is larger and more powerful than its predecessors, with an optional keyboard and drawing stylus. The question now is whether this new space—somewhere between smaller media consumption tablets and full-blown laptops—can help revitalize the iPad as a whole. Put another way, can the iPad become even more like a laptop without losing its sense of purpose? Making Trade-offs During Apple's September event , CEO Tim Cook offered a refresher on what the iPad is supposed to accomplish. "iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing, a simple multi-touch piece of glass that instantly transforms into virtually anything you want it to be," he said. What Cook didn't readily acknowledge is that the iPad Pro appears to compromise this vision, with both its hardware and software ...

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