Although tablet computing has made significant inroads into the consumer market, business users have so far mostly shunned the form factor. Now Apple has unveiled the iPad Pro, which is specifically designed to appeal to those wishing to use a tablet for work tasks.
More is more
iPad sales have been in decline, with the company selling 19% fewer between the start of October and the end of June. The new version is aiming to widen the appeal of the device by opening it up to a whole new sector of users.
The iPad Pro comes with a 12.9in (32.8cm) display and weighs in at 1.67lbs (0.76kg) and the announcement was generally well received from observers, with the industry expecting it to lift sales.
Geoff Blaber from the CCS Insight consultancy said: “As much as the iPad is experiencing some challenging times, it’s vastly more successful than any other tablet on the market and it’s still a multi-billion dollar business.”
With a processing power claimed to be equal to 80% of the portable PCs that were sold over the past six months and optional extras such as a magnetically-connected keyboard, the new business-focused model obviously plays a large role in Apple’s new plans.
Running time is said to be 10 hours between charges and the Pro will have a price range from £520 to £702.
iPhone 6S
Along with the iPad evolution, new iPhones will be able to detect how firmly their screens are being pressed. Apple said the experience of using a phone will be “transformed” by the new “3D touch” feature, a similar version of which was demonstrated by rivals Huawei with its own version “force touch” feature at a launch event the previous week.
The idea behind the 3D feature is that different functions can be called into use by varying pressure on the screen. This could mean previewing an email or photo or quickly switching the camera into selfie mode could be achieved with a more sensitive or firmer touch.
The new handsets will also shoot 4K videos (the new standard which equates to four times the amount of pixels of 1080p high definition) and have back cameras that are 12 megapixels as opposed to eight.
The final icing on the cake is a processor upgrade.
