Apple’s top-end iPad Pro hit the streets Wednesday, along with write-ups from reviewers who got an advance look at the gadget.
Apple hopes the gadget will bridge a gap between tablets and laptops and help revive flagging iPad sales.
The device starts at $799 for a 32 gigabyte model; adding memory and cellular connectivity brings prices up as high as $1,079. If you want a keyboard (and if you’re buying the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement you’ll need one) figure in an additional $169. The Apple Pencil stylus adds another $99.
Reviewers like Apple’s hardware and design but are lukewarm on the iPad Pro’s appeal. Here are some highlights:
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber says the iPad Pro upends expectations as more than an iPhone with a big screen — it’s a cheaper, more powerful computer than many laptops:
“We’ve now reached an inflection point. The new MacBook is slower, gets worse battery life, and even its cheapest configuration costs $200 more than the top-of-the-line iPad Pro. The iPad Pro is more powerful, cheaper, has a better display, and gets better battery life. It’s not a clear cut-and-dry win — MacBooks still have more RAM (the iPad Pro, in all configurations, has 4 GB of RAM, although Apple still isn’t publishing this information — MacBook Pros have either 8 or 16 GB), are expandable, and offer far more storage. But at a fundamental level — CPU speed, GPU speed, quality of the display, quality of the sound output, and overall responsiveness of interface — the iPad Pro is a better computer than a MacBook or MacBook Air, and a worthy rival to the far more expensive MacBook Pros.”
Walt Mossberg, now writing for The Verge, says he’s very reliant on his iPad Air and was intrigued by the hew model’s potential. But he said it’s not nimble enough to replace his current tablet and the keyboard isn’t good enough to make it a genuine laptop replacement.
Wired’s David Pierce says Apple is anticipating a touchscreen revolution that isn’t here yet: “We need our keyboard shortcuts and our mice”:
“You can’t just use keyboard and mouse if you want to. This is a touch-first device, and screw you if you don’t like that. The accessories are great, but Apple still wants you to touch the screen with your finger. It’s tough getting used to that.”
And Ars Technica calls it “An iPad-shaped peg for a Mac-shaped hole.”
