iPad Pro: designed for deep pocket devotees or professional users?

By Liu Zheng (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-11-26 07:00

Users can simply change the angle of Apple Pencil the way they would with a brush or pencil. It knows when you are tilting your hand or applying pressure, and responds accordingly.

Who will be the target consumer?

The Chinese mainland, among 40 other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, become the first-launch markets for the new tablet that starts at 5,888 yuan ($925.6).

According to Retale, the US based operations of Bonial International Group, a global network for location-based shopping information, despite a declining interest in tablets last year, the bigger iPad Pro is showing potential to redeem the tablet market with 75 percent of participants who had heard about the product enthusiastically anticipating its release.

"The new products that released in September - iPad mini 4 and the larger iPad Pro - will start driving Apple's tablet sales in the final quarter, with shipment growth that is estimated to exceed 30 percent compared with Q3," said Anita Wang, analysts of global research firm TrendForce.

"The iPad Pro has been tipped to attract business customers -- yet of those surveyed, 57.7 percent said they would use it at home, compared to just 1.9 percent who would use it in the office for business," said technology review site Phonearena, citing a survey conducted by CompareMyMobile.com.

The booming market has also attracted other competitors, including Microsoft's Surface Pro4, Lenovo's Yoga series and ASUS's ZenPad.

According to a latest tablet shipment report revealed by TrendForce on Nov 4, the worldwide shipments in the third quarter totaled 39.3 million units, up slightly by 6.8 percent from the previous quarter.

"Vendors will be relying on new products or promotion deals to drive shipments in the final quarter, which is likely to account for much of the sales this year," said the report.

According to time.com, creative students, frequent travelers and people who need to multitask on the go will choose iPad Pro as their new iPad.

With Christmas shopping season drawing near, given the pros and cons reserved in the device, it is prime time to see if iPad Pro becomes a must-buy or not.