Home iOS WWDC: How will Apple change iPadOS for pros?

WWDC: How will Apple change iPadOS for pros?

By
Jeanette Box
-
449
38

Apple’s decision to put an M1 Mac chip inside the iPad Pro surely means it’s about to make some big changes in the user interface for Apple’s pro tablet, making these systems an even better fit for business professionals.

Fast enough for anything?

Apple’s new iPad Pro introduces a Liquid Retina XDR display and the same 8-core M1 chip used inside over 50% of all the Macs Apple currently sells.

It promises 50% faster CPU performance and 40% faster GPU performance compared to the previous model. Prices for the 11-inch tablet start at $799, while the new 12.9-inch version starts at $1,099. 5G is available, but it costs $200 extra.

One of the best ways to assess what this power means is to look to the immediate improvements Adobe experienced when it introduced an M1-native version of Photoshop for Macs. It will be interesting to see what that application is capable of on an iPad, and it surely brings Final Cut Pro X for iPad closer to becoming a reality.

But hardware doesn’t tell the whole story. Most industry watchers seem to think that while the power of the chip is remarkable, what can be achieved with the device will be limited by the user interface. “Users are not able to take full advantage of Apple’s unifying hardware architecture yet,” observed Oppenheimer analyst Martin Yang.

The business case for iPadOS+

The potential for these iPads will be unlocked by what Apple does in the next iteration of its OS, which it will introduce at WWDC 2021, beginning June 7. At this point, we don’t know very much concerning Apple’s future plans to improve iPadOS with version 15.

Bloomberg recently claimed that improvements will include an updated lock screen, a redesigned Home screen with enhanced widget support, new notification preferences, and big improvements to iMessage designed to make that system a more convincing alternative to WhatsApp.

Most of what Bloomberg shares sounds interesting, if perhaps a little lacking in terms of what the professional users most likely to invest in iPad Pros need, so it seems probable that Apple will also push forward to improve the devices’ weaknesses, such as multitasking.

The thing is, these M1-powered tablets should be able to run anything. After all, if you can run Linux or Windows for ARM on an M1 Mac using Parallels Desktop, why not run the same operating systems in emulation on iPad OS? And if you can run those, why not run macOS with those as well?

The new iPad Pro can also output to the Pro Display XDR. That’s nice, but not every app supports display output, which makes it likely that Apple will introduce multi-display support in iPadOS 15.

Apple is nothing if not ambitious. Having built a platform capable of so much, the company is unlikely to want to hobble its potential. We also think we know the company hopes to shift five million of its new iPads this year — and that’s even before it begins manufacturing the other tablets we believe it intends to introduce in 2020.

Who are iPads for?

With entry-level iPads starting from $300 and the new Pro range costing as much as or more than some Macs, there really is blue clear water emerging between consumer and pro users in Apple’s tablet empire. 

We’ve also seen a lot of growth in the product line over the last 12 months. “Apple has seen a major renaissance of growth from its iPad… showing 40% year-over-year growth the last few quarters as more employees and students went through an iPad refresh,” said Daniel Ives at Wedbush Securities.

Given that the people purchasing iPad Pros are also likely to be working from home at least part of the time, it makes complete sense that Apple would want these devices to be compelling work machines, rather than being companion products.

“We believe demand from enterprises to adopt more mobility-friendly, productivity-enhancing computing devices to support a hybrid workforce makes Apple well-positioned to grow its share in the PC/tablet market,” said Katy Huberty at Morgan Stanley.

Power, but to what purpose?

With the same processor now inside Macs and the iPad Pro, one compelling direction of travel might be to move broadly toward a dual-OS system, with iPadOS as default and macOS as required. I don’t think Apple is ready to do that, but it’s an enticing idea to contemplate for future products.

Copyright © 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

38 COMMENTS

  2. Hi there very nice website!! Man .. Excellent ..

    Superb .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?
    I am happy to seek out a lot of useful info here within the publish, we need develop more
    techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  4. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and
    in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Any way I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

  5. Undeniably believe that that you stated.
    Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web the easiest thing to remember of.
    I say to you, I definitely get irked at the same time as other people consider worries that they plainly do not recognize about.

    You managed to hit the nail upon the highest as well as outlined out the whole thing with no need side-effects ,
    other folks can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more.
    Thank you!

    Here is my blog :: http://www.mhes.tyc.edu.tw

  6. obviously like your web-site but you need to take a
    look at the spelling on several of your posts.
    Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the reality however
    I will certainly come back again.

    Have a look at my blog post – http://www.craksracing.com

  10. I’m amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both
    equally educative and amusing, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
    The problem is something too few men and women are speaking intelligently about.
    I am very happy I came across this during my hunt for something relating to this.

    Here is my web-site :: joker388 bonus, https://sg918kiss.com/,

  14. With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright violation? My site has a
    lot of unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it looks
    like a lot of it is popping it up all over
    the web without my authorization. Do you know any methods to help reduce content from
    being ripped off? I’d certainly appreciate it.

    my blog; bbs.yunweishidai.com

  15. My husband and i were very excited Jordan managed to finish up his
    web research through your precious recommendations he obtained out of your web pages.
    It’s not at all simplistic just to happen to be handing
    out information which some other people could have been making money from.
    And we also remember we have you to appreciate for that.
    Those explanations you have made, the simple site navigation, the relationships you make it possible to create – it is
    everything powerful, and it’s facilitating our son and our family understand the
    subject is pleasurable, which is certainly seriously indispensable.
    Many thanks for all!

    My page :: http://www.lubertsi.net

  17. Definitely consider that which you said. Your favourite justification appeared to be on the web the simplest thing to
    bear in mind of. I say to you, I definitely get irked at
    the same time as people think about worries that they plainly do not
    know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could
    take a signal. Will likely be again to get more.
    Thanks!

    Also visit my homepage: http://www.consulting.sblinks.net

  23. hello there and thank you for your info – I have certainly picked up
    something new from right here. I did however expertise several technical points using this web site,
    since I experienced to reload the website lots of times previous to I could get it to load correctly.
    I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google
    and can damage your high-quality score if ads and
    marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to
    my e-mail and can look out for much more of your respective fascinating content.
    Ensure that you update this again soon..

    Check out my website … Max Rize Review

  24. 762153 169252The article posted was extremely informative and beneficial. You men and women are doing a fantastic job. Maintain going. 458827

  25. 272612 168387There is noticeably a bundle to learn about this. I assume you created specific good points in attributes also. 708280

  26. 240246 737137Beneficial information and outstanding style you got here! I want to thank you for sharing your ideas and putting the time into the stuff you publish! Wonderful function! 608186

  27. 595271 750490Hmm is anyone else encountering difficulties with the pictures on this blog loading? Im trying to figure out if its a dilemma on my finish or if it is the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. 341472

  28. 749930 847315Das beste Webdesign Berlin erhalten Sie bei uns, genauso wie professionelles Webdesign. Denn wir sind die Webdesign Agentur mit pfiff. 353248

  30. 82368 191533I wish I had a dime for every bad article Ive read lately. I also wish other writers had your talent and style. Thank you. 33170

  35. самоходная тележка
    [url=https://samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru]http://samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru[/url]

  36. 240241 770671youve got an critical weblog proper here! would you wish to make some invite posts on my blog? 320837

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here