More To Making A Larger iPad Than Expanded Screen Real Estate

CNET’s Ross Rubin has posted a thoughtful analysis of prospects for a larger display iPad Pro, noting that Microsoft and Samsung currently have the large-display touchscreen tablet category to themselves with the Surface Pro 3 and the 12.2-inch Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab Pro models.

However, RUbin observes that there’s more than just display size that sets these products apart that need to be considered in teh context of Apple launching a bigger, “Pro” iPad.

For example, real multitasking, which is a non-negotiable requirement for doing serious productivity work on a tablet Rubin notes that both Microsoft’s and Samsung’s big tablets both can display multiple applications simultaneously on their devices, but so far, there’s been no concrete indication that Apple is prepared to support display of simultaneous apps on iOS, and he observes that there’s no support for this function in iOS 8.

Rubin also notes that Microsoft and Samsung have also emphasized use of keyboards with their largest tablets, while Apple has thus far not bothered to make any keyboard exclusively engineered for use with iPads. The Surface Pro and the Note Pro also include sophisticated styluses, while Apple has steadfastly scorned use of styluses as a crutch.

Rubin also observes that 12-inch plus screen tablets with keyboards to some degree compete with similarly-sized laptops, and Apple continues to enjoy strong MacBook, sales, is investing in new versions of OS X, and despite its “post-PC era” rhetoric really has no anti-laptop agenda, at least not for those machines running its own operating system. Consequently, he thinls that just as the iPad mini maintained the essence of the iPad proposition, a larger iPad Pro likely would stick to the fundamentals as well.

If he’s right, I could happily live without a stylus, and I’m partial to typing on the virtual keyboard, but no multitasking would be a major disappointment and letdown. And while we’re at it, how about support for Bluetooth mice?

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