14 DAY TRIAL // Apple launched the iPad Pro with much fanfare in September, and the device is expected to ship in November, but the fruity-named company doesn't seem to be very optimistic as far as early sales are concerned.
A report by Digitimes and citing “sources from the upstream supply chain” (which sometimes are right, but very often are not) reveals that Apple has only placed limited orders for the iPad Pro due to what it believes to be a rather slow early performance in late 2015 and early 2016.
The company ordered only 2.5 million units for the initial batch supposed to cover sales this year, but everyone expects the volume to drop more in early 2016 in case the initial performance is not meeting expectations.
iPad Pro specs
The iPad Pro is the biggest iPad to date and comes with a 12.9-inch display, Apple's A9X chip and support for removable keyboards, which should make it the perfect companion for those who want to remain connected all the time and be productive on the go. There are several storage options available, with the top model coming with 128 GB.
Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 (€620) for the Wi-Fi-only version with 32 GB of storage space, and goes all the way up to $1,079 (€950) for the 128 GB one with both Wi-Fi and LTE. Add the Apple Pencil (currently available for $99/€75) and the Smart Keyboard ($169/€140), and you get the most expensive iPad to date, which could be one of the reasons Apple doesn't expect it to sell in huge numbers.
Time will tell if the iPad Pro has what it takes to be successful, but it's pretty clear that competition is getting tougher in this side of the market, with several other companies already offering similar devices, such as Microsoft and its Surface Pro 3 tablet (which also comes with a pen and a removable keyboard).