As far as Apple press events go, this year’s iPhone event was pretty week, but there were a couple of announcements that definitely stood out, one of which being the iPad Pro. Apple has always extolled the iPad’s potential in creative fields, and while it’s definitely enjoyed success in this area, most iPads end up being used as expensive Netflix-watching machines, but that’s not going to be the case with the iPad Pro. Regular consumers can use the other iPads however they please, but the 12.9-inch iPad Pro has been designed specifically for creativity and productivity, almost like an iOS-powered Surface tablet, and it has the features to prove it.
Apple has announced a range of new products, including a new larger iPad, two new smartphones and a long-awaited update to Apple TV. In a now traditional September event held at San Francisco’s Bill Graham civic auditorium, 2,000 engineers, advertisers, executives and journalists saw Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller reveal a new 12.9-inch screen iPad that the company hopes will appeal to both professional creatives and committed tablet users. iPad Pro, which will be available from November, will have a 10-hour battery life, and be priced from $799 (£520) in the US. “This is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing, a simple multitouch piece of glass that instantly transforms into anything you want it to be,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive. It includes a faster, more efficient A9 processor and is being launched, for the first time, with Apple Pencil – despite vigorous statements by now-deceased former CEO Steve Jobs as recently as 2010 that the stylus is awkward and not as intuitive as a finger. The iPad Pro is a product designed for illustrators, designers and editors who need maximum precision, Schiller explained.