The iPad Pro will retail from $799 in the U.S. The base model has 32GB of storage and Wi-Fi only connectivity. At the top of the range sits the 128GB Wi-Fi and LTE model which comes in at $1079.
Gold, space gray and silver colours will be available. From Wednesday November 11, Apple will begin accepting pre-orders of the device online. People who would rather try the tablet out in person before committing to a purchase will be able to do so later this week when demo units arrive at Apple retail stores, mobile provider outlets and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The iPad Pro was unveiled at Apple’s October 9 launch event alongside the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The company is targeting the device firmly at the professional user who wants a large-screen, powerful tablet that runs iOS instead of Windows or Android.
Apple claims the iPad Pro’s Apple A9X processor is faster than 90 percent of portable computers and capable of running new kinds of intensive application never seen before on iOS. The 12.9-inch display has an ultra-high resolution of 2732×2048 and includes Apple 3D Touch technology to let it detect different levels of pressure and distinguish between taps and presses.
The screen can be joined by an optional stylus, the Apple Pencil. It will allow users to quickly take notes, annotate texts and make detailed drawings with more precision than when scribbling with a finger. A full-sized Smart Keyboard is also available to turn iPad Pro into a more laptop-like device at a moment’s notice. The Apple Pencil will be priced at $99 and Smart Keyboard at $169.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said today: “The early response to iPad Pro from app developers and our customers has been incredible and we’re excited to get iPad Pro into the hands of customers around the world this week. iPad Pro is the most powerful iPad we’ve ever made, giving users the ability to be even more creative and more productive with the epic 12.9-inch Retina display, powerful 64-bit A9X chip and groundbreaking Apple Pencil and new Smart Keyboard. We can’t what to see what they do with iPad Pro.”
Analysts are currently unsure how successful iPad Pro will be. Rumours from Apple’s supply chain have suggested the company is also being very conservative, possibly placing as little as only 2.5 million orders to cater for the remainder of 2015.
The tablet market as a whole has been steadily declining for a while and the iPad in particular has fared badly, suffering significant falls in sales for six consecutive quarters. It is thought that these signs may have put Apple off going all-out on the iPad Pro as the market for it remains largely unknown.
