Will an iPad Pro have a place in your business?
Apple has long been rumoured to be hard at work on a larger-format iPad to encourage further adoption among business users. While the smaller Mini model might be fine for the family, and the original 9 inch version is okay for some light executive work, if you’re really going to collaborate, you need a little more screen space.
So, the company has been secretly planning what most people think will be a 12.9 inch model called iPad Pro. Some photos and details of components and prototype parts have now been leaked by the usual Asian supply chain sources, leaving Apple with little to show, should they unveil it at their Worldwide Developer Conference in June. But, will it be worth investing in them for your business? Apple’s recent tie-in with IBM for business apps and cloud services should encourage uptake among larger organisations, and even the basic Apple or Microsoft office suite apps are now very easy to use and not far off their desktop equivalents in terms of features.
A larger screen will certainly make the device easier to work on, or spin around and pass between people at brainstorming sessions, or put on the meeting room table to help the flow of creativity. You can be sure that Apple probably has a new app or two to encourage collaboration on the device. A next-generation collaboration app could record all the audio from a meeting, and note which contributor made what changes to a document or image – there are certainly lots of possibilities.
While Apple probably wants to keep its iOS and OS-X devices distinct and separate, we’re sure that third parties will be providing keyboards to turn it into a two-in-one device to make it more practical for writers and editors, and perhaps even get other virtual operating systems running to make it more computer-like. There are plenty of larger tablets out there on the market for business use, but few seem to have taken off in terms of sales; will Apple’s next entry in the iPad range fare any better? We’ll probably find out in the autumn when it is likely to go on sale. One thing is certain though – it will not be cheap.
