For another great review of the iPad Pro, one should read Serenity Caldwell's piece over at iMore.com.
You're absolutely right on the Surface. Microsoft invented a more expensive netbook. Stuck in desktop mode.
I've said it before but it bears repeating: if you want a great laptop experience, buy a laptop.
I was in the new Apple Store in Yas Island Mall (about 20 min northeast of the centre of Abu Dhabi) late yesterday, getting my iPhone repaired and had about an hour to kill so I sat down with the iPad Pro and aPencil, opened Adobe Photoshop Sketch and enjoyed an engrossing hour sketching a scene from the store. The size of this iPad is excellent, it fitted very comfortably onto my lap, the pencil is totally natural to hold and use, with no appreciable latency whatsoever, the retina display is brilliant and the only thing not perfect was my sketch - but hey, I don't get the time to practice that I used to! I found myself unconsciously switching between the pencil for drawing and my finger for operating the controls (just a slight turn of the wrist and point the finger while the pencil is held by the other three fingers curled against the palm - I must have done this a few times before i realised that I was - totally natural).
BTW my iPhone 5 was replaced at minimal cost because it was a battery problem - even though I was out of warranty. Thanks Apple, I love you! And a million thanks too to Stephan and the wonderful team at Apple Store Yas Island!
Note to Tim Cook: add built-in handwriting recognition and aPencil capabilities to the whole iPad range and everyone on the planet will want one.
I was in the new Apple Store in Yas Island Mall (about 20 min northeast of the centre of Abu Dhabi) late yesterday, getting my iPhone repaired and had about an hour to kill so I sat down with the iPad Pro and aPencil, opened Adobe Photoshop Sketch and enjoyed an engrossing hour sketching a scene from the store. The size of this iPad is excellent, it fitted very comfortably onto my lap, the pencil is totally natural to hold and use, with no appreciable latency whatsoever, the retina display is brilliant and the only thing not perfect was my sketch - but hey, I don't get the time to practice that I used to! I found myself unconsciously switching between the pencil for drawing and my finger for operating the controls (just a slight turn of the wrist and point the finger while the pencil is held by the other three fingers curled against the palm - I must have done this a few times before i realised that I was - totally natural).
BTW my iPhone 5 was replaced at minimal cost because it was a battery problem - even though I was out of warranty. Thanks Apple, I love you! And a million thanks too to Stephan and the wonderful team at Apple Store Yas Island!
Note to Tim Cook: add built-in handwriting recognition and aPencil capabilities to the whole iPad range and everyone on the planet will want one.
It will be interesting to see if Apple brings the pencil to other iPads. I think they should. I think the differentiation for iPad Pro should be apps. Developers should be able to design apps just for iPad Pro. One would assume the iPad Pro will always have the most RAM and the best A-series chip. Let developers target that hardware. I think this does two things: one it provides a reason to buy the iPad Pro and two it provides a boost to the other iPad lines. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would use an iPad Air or even a mini for note taking and annotation.
One observation about the Pencil: some people have said it needs an eraser, or buttons or a clip. But when I look at the Pencil compared to, say, Microsoft's Pen I see something designed by artists for artists vs. something designed by engineers for business. Look at really good artists pencils and they don't have erasers or buttons or clips. To me the Pencil is so Apple and anything else would have been so NOT Apple. One thing they could have done and I hope they so in the future is sell the Pencil with a case. Just a simple case where you can store the Pencil when not using it. I doubt it would be very expensive and I'm sure there's plenty of margin to play with anyway.
It seems obvious to me after demoing, then buying an iPad Pro that the graphic tablet market that's currently owned by Wacom Cintiq is about to get turned on its head. Cintiq was the gold standard in the design industries, but compared to the iPad Pro they now look heavy, slow, poorly designed and built, buggy, expensive, and antiquated. And while we all loved the "drawing feel" of the Cintiq, the iPad Pro is far better in every way. Perhaps Mr. Daryanani has factored in the professional designer market in his projection. If not, he should.
Sorry, Wacom. No hard feelings, its just business.
The Wacom market is small so it could be included in these numbers, I think it will impact Wacom's sales considerably though. I posted links to their financials here:
They made about $650m revenue last year so consider if it was all made up of entry $800 Cintiqs, they'd only be selling about 813,000 units maximum in a year. They have 85% marketshare too. This projection is for 3 million iPad Pros in 3 months, easily enough to absorb Wacom's yearly sales volume.
A lot of the iPad Pro reviewers who owned or used Wacoms said they'd migrate to the iPad Pro. It's a better investment because they get mobile use and a full iPad. There are people who use big 19"+ graphics tablets who don't have to zoom in and out while drawing but they will make up a tiny portion of the sales. Wacom sells tens of millions of pens for current iOS and Android devices:
Tens of millions of those translates into hundreds of millions in revenue so the Wacom display tablets must be selling in pretty low volumes and obviously people are only buying those pens because Apple doesn't make them for existing iPads. If Apple's Pencil was available to all iPads, they wouldn't buy Wacom's pen.
I think the creative market will be larger than Wacom's marketshare because Wacoms never seemed very good value and were far too cumbersome to setup. You had to connect display, data and power cables, install drivers and calibrate the pen and you still had the air gap between the glass and the screen and then configure physical buttons per app. Wacom also relies on the desktop drivers working properly and the desktop software coping with it. There's a review here of the larger multitouch Wacom where they had issues with drivers:
Wacom products mostly offer a second-screen experience. They have ventured into making full computers but the prices are high at $1900:
People looking for that type of thing would more likely go for the Surface products too. It's a good market for Apple to be in because the brand has always been aligned with creatives and getting a majority marketshare in creative tablets would be a good thing to get.
It will be interesting to see if Apple brings the pencil to other iPads. I think they should. I think the differentiation for iPad Pro should be apps. Developers should be able to design apps just for iPad Pro. One would assume the iPad Pro will always have the most RAM and the best A-series chip. Let developers target that hardware. I think this does two things: one it provides a reason to buy the iPad Pro and two it provides a boost to the other iPad lines. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would use an iPad Air or even a mini for note taking and annotation.
One observation about the Pencil: some people have said it needs an eraser, or buttons or a clip. But when I look at the Pencil compared to, say, Microsoft's Pen I see something designed by artists for artists vs. something designed by engineers for business. Look at really good artists pencils and they don't have erasers or buttons or clips. To me the Pencil is so Apple and anything else would have been so NOT Apple. One thing they could have done and I hope they so in the future is sell the Pencil with a case. Just a simple case where you can store the Pencil when not using it. I doubt it would be very expensive and I'm sure there's plenty of margin to play with anyway.
iPad Pro as top of the line with a Pro only category in the Ap store makes sense. I also agree that the aPencil is just perfect as is. A clip, buttons, eraser tip, etc. would kill its beauty. As for a case, I'm confident that the accessory makers are already hard at work and we will soon have a few dozen options for aPencil desk stands, clip-to-iPad gizmos and pocket holders. Apple have got more important things to design.
iPad Pro as top of the line with a Pro only category in the Ap store makes sense. I also agree that the aPencil is just perfect as is. A clip, buttons, eraser tip, etc. would kill its beauty. As for a case, I'm confident that the accessory makers are already hard at work and we will soon have a few dozen options for aPencil desk stands, clip-to-iPad gizmos and pocket holders. Apple have got more important things to design.
Would be better for Apple to make and sell more smartly designed accessories and make those extra sales when the products are initially sold.
I was able to mess around with an iPad Pro this past weekend and really loved it. Hoping to get my own in a few weeks along with an Apple Pencil, if I can find one. I can see the device doing really well in the creative/content creation sector.
iPad Pro as top of the line with a Pro only category in the Ap store makes sense.
iPad apps already generate far fewer reviews than iphone apps, so designing for a smaller subset of that market will mean that developers are likely to charge significantly more or tie it to existing models. I think Adobe would initially tie anything they release to an existing subscription model, just like they do with Lightroom. They aren't really the first to adopt that strategy. I think it will become increasingly common.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin
A lot of the iPad Pro reviewers who owned or used Wacoms said they'd migrate to the iPad Pro. It's a better investment because they get mobile use and a full iPad. There are people who use big 19"+ graphics tablets who don't have to zoom in and out while drawing but they will make up a tiny portion of the sales. Wacom sells tens of millions of pens for current iOS and Android devices:
It's not just the size. The really big cintiq tablets have incorporated heavy stands for the past few years. They're much more stable, and they can be angled. The old arm positions used to hurt my elbow, and looking straight down at the tablet is an uncomfortable neck position. I don't think the smaller ones really present much of an advantage over an iPad Pro aside from the ability to connect to something that doesn't run iOS. It won't hurt them as badly until people can access any required applications from an iPad Pro. If it's just a secondary tool, it may not justify the cost.
Comments
I've said it before but it bears repeating: if you want a great laptop experience, buy a laptop.
I buy most Apple products - very happy with my Watch and its new charge stand - but I'm not sure I would personally choose an iPad Pro over a MacBook.
Ah, so no issues for me then. I already have a MacBook (Air)!!
BTW my iPhone 5 was replaced at minimal cost because it was a battery problem - even though I was out of warranty. Thanks Apple, I love you! And a million thanks too to Stephan and the wonderful team at Apple Store Yas Island!
Note to Tim Cook: add built-in handwriting recognition and aPencil capabilities to the whole iPad range and everyone on the planet will want one.
It will be interesting to see if Apple brings the pencil to other iPads. I think they should. I think the differentiation for iPad Pro should be apps. Developers should be able to design apps just for iPad Pro. One would assume the iPad Pro will always have the most RAM and the best A-series chip. Let developers target that hardware. I think this does two things: one it provides a reason to buy the iPad Pro and two it provides a boost to the other iPad lines. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would use an iPad Air or even a mini for note taking and annotation.
One observation about the Pencil: some people have said it needs an eraser, or buttons or a clip. But when I look at the Pencil compared to, say, Microsoft's Pen I see something designed by artists for artists vs. something designed by engineers for business. Look at really good artists pencils and they don't have erasers or buttons or clips. To me the Pencil is so Apple and anything else would have been so NOT Apple. One thing they could have done and I hope they so in the future is sell the Pencil with a case. Just a simple case where you can store the Pencil when not using it. I doubt it would be very expensive and I'm sure there's plenty of margin to play with anyway.
The Wacom market is small so it could be included in these numbers, I think it will impact Wacom's sales considerably though. I posted links to their financials here:
http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/190283/what-you-can-and-cannot-do-with-an-apple-pencil-on-ipad-pro/80#post_2810430
They made about $650m revenue last year so consider if it was all made up of entry $800 Cintiqs, they'd only be selling about 813,000 units maximum in a year. They have 85% marketshare too. This projection is for 3 million iPad Pros in 3 months, easily enough to absorb Wacom's yearly sales volume.
A lot of the iPad Pro reviewers who owned or used Wacoms said they'd migrate to the iPad Pro. It's a better investment because they get mobile use and a full iPad. There are people who use big 19"+ graphics tablets who don't have to zoom in and out while drawing but they will make up a tiny portion of the sales. Wacom sells tens of millions of pens for current iOS and Android devices:
http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Stylus-Duo-CS110K/dp/B0081O0U2K
Tens of millions of those translates into hundreds of millions in revenue so the Wacom display tablets must be selling in pretty low volumes and obviously people are only buying those pens because Apple doesn't make them for existing iPads. If Apple's Pencil was available to all iPads, they wouldn't buy Wacom's pen.
I think the creative market will be larger than Wacom's marketshare because Wacoms never seemed very good value and were far too cumbersome to setup. You had to connect display, data and power cables, install drivers and calibrate the pen and you still had the air gap between the glass and the screen and then configure physical buttons per app. Wacom also relies on the desktop drivers working properly and the desktop software coping with it. There's a review here of the larger multitouch Wacom where they had issues with drivers:
Wacom products mostly offer a second-screen experience. They have ventured into making full computers but the prices are high at $1900:
http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Cintiq-Companion-DTHW1310L-13-3-Inch/dp/B00UOYQASI/
People looking for that type of thing would more likely go for the Surface products too. It's a good market for Apple to be in because the brand has always been aligned with creatives and getting a majority marketshare in creative tablets would be a good thing to get.
It will be interesting to see if Apple brings the pencil to other iPads. I think they should. I think the differentiation for iPad Pro should be apps. Developers should be able to design apps just for iPad Pro. One would assume the iPad Pro will always have the most RAM and the best A-series chip. Let developers target that hardware. I think this does two things: one it provides a reason to buy the iPad Pro and two it provides a boost to the other iPad lines. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would use an iPad Air or even a mini for note taking and annotation.
One observation about the Pencil: some people have said it needs an eraser, or buttons or a clip. But when I look at the Pencil compared to, say, Microsoft's Pen I see something designed by artists for artists vs. something designed by engineers for business. Look at really good artists pencils and they don't have erasers or buttons or clips. To me the Pencil is so Apple and anything else would have been so NOT Apple. One thing they could have done and I hope they so in the future is sell the Pencil with a case. Just a simple case where you can store the Pencil when not using it. I doubt it would be very expensive and I'm sure there's plenty of margin to play with anyway.
iPad Pro as top of the line with a Pro only category in the Ap store makes sense. I also agree that the aPencil is just perfect as is. A clip, buttons, eraser tip, etc. would kill its beauty. As for a case, I'm confident that the accessory makers are already hard at work and we will soon have a few dozen options for aPencil desk stands, clip-to-iPad gizmos and pocket holders. Apple have got more important things to design.
Would be better for Apple to make and sell more smartly designed accessories and make those extra sales when the products are initially sold.
I agree with both of these statements. The iPad Pro is the tablet I knew they’d make, all the way back in 2007 seeing the iPhone for the first time.
At the same time, as some reviewers have said, it’s really held back by iOS.
I hope they beef up the UI/X in 10.
iPad Pro as top of the line with a Pro only category in the Ap store makes sense.
iPad apps already generate far fewer reviews than iphone apps, so designing for a smaller subset of that market will mean that developers are likely to charge significantly more or tie it to existing models. I think Adobe would initially tie anything they release to an existing subscription model, just like they do with Lightroom. They aren't really the first to adopt that strategy. I think it will become increasingly common.
A lot of the iPad Pro reviewers who owned or used Wacoms said they'd migrate to the iPad Pro. It's a better investment because they get mobile use and a full iPad. There are people who use big 19"+ graphics tablets who don't have to zoom in and out while drawing but they will make up a tiny portion of the sales. Wacom sells tens of millions of pens for current iOS and Android devices:
It's not just the size. The really big cintiq tablets have incorporated heavy stands for the past few years. They're much more stable, and they can be angled. The old arm positions used to hurt my elbow, and looking straight down at the tablet is an uncomfortable neck position. I don't think the smaller ones really present much of an advantage over an iPad Pro aside from the ability to connect to something that doesn't run iOS. It won't hurt them as badly until people can access any required applications from an iPad Pro. If it's just a secondary tool, it may not justify the cost.