iPad Pro at a glance:
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07/03/2016: Apple's next tablet will be a smaller iPad Pro, rather than the iPad Air 3, as was initially thought.
The new device will have a 9.7-inch display, and could include many features of the original version, such as 4GB of RAM and Apple's latest processor, the A9X, according to Geeky Gadgets.
This smaller iPad Pro could be released as early as this month, reports PC Advisor, at an Apple event to be held on 21 March.
It could be unveiled alongside the iPhone 5se and the Apple Watch 2.
18/12/2015: Apple has teamed up with IBM to create apps especially for the iPad Pro. As part of the two firms' partnership, new iPad Pro apps are to be developed to take advantage of the supersized tablet's expanded power and screen size as well as iOS 9's split-screen functionality.
As reported by IT Pro, the move comes as Apple and IBM release over 100 apps as part of its MobileFirst partnership. IBM also wants to integrate capabilities from its Watson AI program to enable apps to learn from their users.
15/12/2015: The success of the iPad Pro has pushed back the release of the 2016 MacBook Pro, according to analysts. According to Christian Post, it is thought that Apple wants to provide "an ample gap between the release dates of the MacBook Pro 2016 and the iPad Pro to avoid confusion".
16/11/2015: Apple CEO Tim Cook has dismissed suggestions that the Cupertino company will create a MacBook/iPad hybrid.
In an interview with the Irish Independent, Cook said that the firm felt "strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad".
"Because what that would wind up doing, or what we're worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You'd begin to compromise in different ways," he added.
12/11/2015: Apple's Tim Cook has described rival Microsoft's Surface Book as 'deluded,' saying his company's iPad Pro is a much better innovation for those who want to replace their computer with something a little more compact.
"It's a product that tries too hard to do too much," he said in front of Irish students. "It's trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It's sort of deluded."
He went on to say he thinks the iPad will return to growth after a steady decline in sales, which he said would be caused by the iPad Pro and the iPhone eradicating the need for a PC. "I only travel now with an iPad Pro and and iPhone, that's it."
Cook was speaking in Ireland, Apple's European HQ, where he vowed to employ more than 1,000 new people upon the extension of the company's Hollyhill Campus.
This isn't the first time Apple's chief has criticised Microsoft's tablet approach, having previously said the company was "confused" because it was trying too hard to turn PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs.
"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but you know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user," he said back in 2012.
11/11/2015: Apple's touted laptop replacement, the iPad Pro, is available from today to buy in the UK via the online Apple Store.
It will appear in the firm's shops later this week, alongside resellers promoting the device along with their own products.
But early reviews of the device hold mixed opinions about the tablet. While Wired praised the specs of the Pro, and called the stylus "an unbelievably accurate, fine instrument for creation or control", reviewer David Pierce also disputed whether laptop users would be convinced by the Pro.
He wrote: "A touch-first interface just doesn't feel right, and the iPad Pro can't overthrow our existing workflows and tools. Maybe we'll catch up to Tim Cook's vision of work someday. Maybe. But for right now, we have work to do, and no time to reinvent how we do it."
The Verge reached a similar conclusion, with reviewer Lauren Goode writing: "This split-screen mode isn't enough for lots of the "laptop" things I need to do on a daily basis. This is still a mobile OS we're talking about.
"It's nice that it's at least familiar feeling, unlike the foreign hybrid OS that Microsoft introduced with the first Surfaces. But I can't manipulate more than two app windows at a time on the iPad Pro. I can't control things with a trackpad."
A Twitter poll conducted by IT Pro on Monday, 9 November, found 75 per cent of respondents were not excited for the Pro's release.
09/11/2015: It looks like the rumours are true! The iPad Pro has been finally confirmed as being available from 11 November.
Apple confirmed the date in a press release this morning. The large tablet will be available for ordering on Apple's website from that day. The firm's retail outlets, select carriers and Apple Authorised Resellers will begin selling the device later this week.
"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," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
"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 wait to see what they do with iPad Pro."
The Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard will also be available on Wednesday. Prices start at $799 for the base model and go up to $1079 for 128GB and WiFi/4G connectivity.
The iPad Pro will be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, UAE, US, UK, Uruguay and US Virgin Islands.
Apple will also offer customers in its stores help with setting up and using the new iPad Pro.
05/11/2015: Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of software and services, has talked up the prospects of the iPad Pro at the Dropbox Open conference in San Francisco.
According to MacRumors, Apple hopes the iPad will boost enterprise sales, which Cue said offers a "huge opportunity" for growth.
There's still no official release date for the iPad Pro, but Cue told Dropbox CEO Drew Houston he would be able to get his hands on one in "only a few more days". Current rumours are that the device will hit shops on 11 November, but may be available to pre-order before that time.
20/10/2015: The iPad Pro will go on sale on 6 November, according to a new rumour. Japanese Blog Mac Otakara has spoken to sources within the Chinese supply chain who all cite a 6 November launch (via iDigitalTimes). While it's nice to have a specific date in mind, the 6 November release date isn't a massive revelation - Apple itself said the 12in iPad Pro would go on sale in November, and a release earlier in the month, rather than later, has been widely expected.
15/10/2015: The A9X processor used in the iPad Pro could end up costing Apple a lot more than just the cost of production.
The University of Wisconsin has successfully sued Apple for infringing a patent it was awarded in 1998, but which the iPad maker had used without permission in its A7, A8 and A8X chips. While damages haven't yet been awarded, it's thought Apple could be asked to hand over nearly $900 million to the university.
But the story doesn't end there. The University of Wisconsin has also lodged a complaint regarding Apple's A9 and A9X chips, which are used in the iPad Pro, as well as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, alleging an infringement of the same patent.
The complaint was only filed in September, however, so it could be some time before we find out how much this alleged slip-up could cost the company.
16/09/2015: Apple may have difficulty marketing its new iPad Pro to business consumers, analysts have warned.
"They've tried to ... focus on the enterprise," said FBR Capital Markets senior analyst Daniel Ives, quoted in NDTV. "But over the last two years it has really not been successful."
The lack of support for existing software is also a problem, added Forrester principal analyst JP Gownder, who noted "you still can't run all your business-critical applications through Apple".
The 12.9in device is reminiscent of Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, which is aimed at professional users who need power and flexibility.
Both appear to be positioned as replacements for tradition laptops, with Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, claiming that the iPad Pro was faster than over 80 per cent of portable PCs.
One of Apple's main problems is that iPad sales have started to plateau, and have fell for two consecutive quarters.
This is possibly due to the fact that users are happy to keep their iPads for longer periods of time, rather than upgrading with each new release cycle.
09/09/2015: Apple revealed the iPad Pro at its Special Event on 9 September. The 12.9in device is marginally thicker than the iPad Air Pro 2, has a screen resolution of 2732×2048, and is available in Gold, Space Gray or Silver. There are two levels of connectivity available - WiFi only or WiFi and LTE. The WiFi only version costs from $800 before tax for the entry-level 32GB version. The LTE versions will cost $1079 before tax and is only available with 128GB. No UK pricing has yet been announced.
The iPad Pro will be available to buy from November.
Source: iPad Pro: release date, price and specs
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