iPad Pro rant again
I should really stop reading discussion threads. They just make me feel the need to rant more. A lot of people are clearly deluded about what an enterprise device is. Many are arguing that the iPad is already was an enterprise device because it was used in enterprises. And many argue that based on historical usage within enterprises that the new iPad Pro is basically guaranteed to be a success.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I don't doubt that the iPad Pro will sell enough units to be a financial success for Apple. I also don't doubt that in some niche markets the iPad Pro will indeed be an enterprise success. But, existing enterprise iPads don't guarantee success and many of those "enterprise" iPads are not being used as enterprise devices.
So, first, lets nail down what an enterprise device is. And we'll start by what is not one. An enterprise device is NOT a personal device you bring in with you and use on occasion within an enterprise environment. Sadly, this probably accounts for most people's perception of the iPad being historically successful in the enterprise. A CEO buying a single or a handful of iPads for high ranking execs does not make it an enterprise device, even if the sole purpose of the purchase is for business use.
An enterprise device is one purchased by the enterprise (generally through the IT budget where applicable) that is used primarily for work and provisioned for use within the business. Depending on IT departments and usage, provisioning may be nothing more than tracking who has which devices, but more typically it means setting up the device with a corporate account and some form of device management including locking down certain settings, pre-installing certain apps, etc... I would say, as a general rule of thumb, if you selected the Apple account yourself, it isn't an enterprise device. If IT doesn't control the account the device is used under, then it cannot be remotely wiped by IT and therefore the data and any IP cannot be protected by the enterprise. They also wouldn't control what is an isn't encrypted, etc.... This is pretty damn basic stuff when it comes to enterprise management of a device. And this isn't how most iPads are used in the workplace.
But, holistically, is that important? Perhaps not. The iPad Pro is MUCH more expensive than existing iPads. If Apple can replace enough existing "enterprise" iPads with their new ones, or convince enough people to replace some other device with this, then they could probably call it an enterprise success without having too many people go out of the way to correct them on technicalities.
The problem is, by and large, that I don't see this happening. Firstly, existing iPad success is irrelevant. This is a new class of device. The screen size is WAY too big for this to automatically classify as a straight replacement for even an existing iPad. Not to mention the cost. From my experience, CEOs carry iPads as secondary devices and only because they are portable. This is much less portable, and bearing iOS, no more viable as a primary device replacement. The keyboard is a non-factor. Accessory maker have not only been making iPad keyboards for years now, but they've even been making ones of the style Apple is offering.
Where we end up is, it is unlikely you'll replace your smaller iPad as a secondary device with the iPad Pro, and you would only replace your primary computing device if the only limiting factor in the past were size.
But size isn't likely the limiting factor. Many people have pointed out that the new iPad Pro can be connected to an external monitor... but then, there were ways of achieving the same thing with older iPads as well. Again, this isn't really anything new. Most of those companies are using OSX or Windows devices for reasons that have nothing to do with the size of their iPads.
So again, hard to see a mass exodus or adoption of the iPad Pro as a primary computing device either.
As I said, there will be niches. Graphic design, marketing and other industries where your primary computing device is also often part of the demonstration to clients and those demos are a big part of your work are the sorts of places where I expect to see these. In many of these cases, people are already using existing iPads as demo devices. If the larger size and something like the pen mean that they can feasibly move to the iPad Pro for their daily work... it makes sense. In those cases, it isn't just the high res screen that matters, the appearance of the device it is displayed on can also affect the viewers perception of the content. In those scenarios it is easy to see people either replacing their existing iPads or even their existing computing solution with an iPad Pro.
Funny question though? Does Apple even want that? Those are also prime candidates for people using MacBooks. Those same industries where the iPad Pro seems like a strong candidate are also the sorts of places where I would expect Macs and MacBooks to dominate. A win for the iPad Pro is a loss for Apple if it means people go from using a MacBook Pro and iPad Air to just using an iPad Pro. That would be hundreds of dollars in lost profit.
So, while I can see this product succeeding there, I can't really imagine that is what Apple wants.
This is only a win for Apple in the enterprise if the iPad Pro replaces an existing tablet or an existing Windows, Android or Linux PC. Aside from Android, that is also exactly the segment where nothing much has been done to make it a competitive offering.
I haven't covered the consumer sphere, because it isn't relevant to the enterprise discussion. I imagine it will imagine some success there as well.
To conclude, I don't know whether or not the device as a whole will be a success or not. With Apple's margins they don't need to sell comparatively well for the company to break even on it, so it probably will be profitable. And it will probably be more profitable than Surface in short order (Microsoft's margins are nowehere near as forgiving, so the bar is fairly low). This will likely lead people to proclaim its success regardless.
It seems unlikely however that it will become a viable true enterprise device. And, like I said earlier, in many cases where it is treated as such, it is likely that it will do so at the expense of cannibalizing Apple's own laptop and PC business.
I largely see the iPad Pro as a bad strategic move for Apple at this point in time. iOS, in my opinion, isn't far enough along to replace Windows 10, let alone OS X. It seems like Apple's plan is to push iOS in favor of OS X going forward, and that is fine. But its missing key 1st party apps for that approach. With iOS9 the way it is, they either should have invested the effort in making OS X touch friendly and putting out a tablet with that on it instead, or waiting until the have all of the key 1st party apps available on iOS before doing this.
Like the Apple Watch... a company that has upwards of $200B, has profit margins that range on average between 20-60% and a brand that effectively guarantees at least single digit millions in sales of any product bearing their brand can afford to keep pushing this thing and iterating on it until it eventually becomes what it originally promised it would be.
Even Microsoft was able to iterate until the Surface Pro 3 which finally delivered on the promises of the original. I'm sure, by the time we see the iPad Pro 3, it will either be running OS X, or iOS will be technically capable of anything, including programming.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I don't doubt that the iPad Pro will sell enough units to be a financial success for Apple. I also don't doubt that in some niche markets the iPad Pro will indeed be an enterprise success. But, existing enterprise iPads don't guarantee success and many of those "enterprise" iPads are not being used as enterprise devices.
So, first, lets nail down what an enterprise device is. And we'll start by what is not one. An enterprise device is NOT a personal device you bring in with you and use on occasion within an enterprise environment. Sadly, this probably accounts for most people's perception of the iPad being historically successful in the enterprise. A CEO buying a single or a handful of iPads for high ranking execs does not make it an enterprise device, even if the sole purpose of the purchase is for business use.
An enterprise device is one purchased by the enterprise (generally through the IT budget where applicable) that is used primarily for work and provisioned for use within the business. Depending on IT departments and usage, provisioning may be nothing more than tracking who has which devices, but more typically it means setting up the device with a corporate account and some form of device management including locking down certain settings, pre-installing certain apps, etc... I would say, as a general rule of thumb, if you selected the Apple account yourself, it isn't an enterprise device. If IT doesn't control the account the device is used under, then it cannot be remotely wiped by IT and therefore the data and any IP cannot be protected by the enterprise. They also wouldn't control what is an isn't encrypted, etc.... This is pretty damn basic stuff when it comes to enterprise management of a device. And this isn't how most iPads are used in the workplace.
But, holistically, is that important? Perhaps not. The iPad Pro is MUCH more expensive than existing iPads. If Apple can replace enough existing "enterprise" iPads with their new ones, or convince enough people to replace some other device with this, then they could probably call it an enterprise success without having too many people go out of the way to correct them on technicalities.
The problem is, by and large, that I don't see this happening. Firstly, existing iPad success is irrelevant. This is a new class of device. The screen size is WAY too big for this to automatically classify as a straight replacement for even an existing iPad. Not to mention the cost. From my experience, CEOs carry iPads as secondary devices and only because they are portable. This is much less portable, and bearing iOS, no more viable as a primary device replacement. The keyboard is a non-factor. Accessory maker have not only been making iPad keyboards for years now, but they've even been making ones of the style Apple is offering.
Where we end up is, it is unlikely you'll replace your smaller iPad as a secondary device with the iPad Pro, and you would only replace your primary computing device if the only limiting factor in the past were size.
But size isn't likely the limiting factor. Many people have pointed out that the new iPad Pro can be connected to an external monitor... but then, there were ways of achieving the same thing with older iPads as well. Again, this isn't really anything new. Most of those companies are using OSX or Windows devices for reasons that have nothing to do with the size of their iPads.
So again, hard to see a mass exodus or adoption of the iPad Pro as a primary computing device either.
As I said, there will be niches. Graphic design, marketing and other industries where your primary computing device is also often part of the demonstration to clients and those demos are a big part of your work are the sorts of places where I expect to see these. In many of these cases, people are already using existing iPads as demo devices. If the larger size and something like the pen mean that they can feasibly move to the iPad Pro for their daily work... it makes sense. In those cases, it isn't just the high res screen that matters, the appearance of the device it is displayed on can also affect the viewers perception of the content. In those scenarios it is easy to see people either replacing their existing iPads or even their existing computing solution with an iPad Pro.
Funny question though? Does Apple even want that? Those are also prime candidates for people using MacBooks. Those same industries where the iPad Pro seems like a strong candidate are also the sorts of places where I would expect Macs and MacBooks to dominate. A win for the iPad Pro is a loss for Apple if it means people go from using a MacBook Pro and iPad Air to just using an iPad Pro. That would be hundreds of dollars in lost profit.
So, while I can see this product succeeding there, I can't really imagine that is what Apple wants.
This is only a win for Apple in the enterprise if the iPad Pro replaces an existing tablet or an existing Windows, Android or Linux PC. Aside from Android, that is also exactly the segment where nothing much has been done to make it a competitive offering.
I haven't covered the consumer sphere, because it isn't relevant to the enterprise discussion. I imagine it will imagine some success there as well.
To conclude, I don't know whether or not the device as a whole will be a success or not. With Apple's margins they don't need to sell comparatively well for the company to break even on it, so it probably will be profitable. And it will probably be more profitable than Surface in short order (Microsoft's margins are nowehere near as forgiving, so the bar is fairly low). This will likely lead people to proclaim its success regardless.
It seems unlikely however that it will become a viable true enterprise device. And, like I said earlier, in many cases where it is treated as such, it is likely that it will do so at the expense of cannibalizing Apple's own laptop and PC business.
I largely see the iPad Pro as a bad strategic move for Apple at this point in time. iOS, in my opinion, isn't far enough along to replace Windows 10, let alone OS X. It seems like Apple's plan is to push iOS in favor of OS X going forward, and that is fine. But its missing key 1st party apps for that approach. With iOS9 the way it is, they either should have invested the effort in making OS X touch friendly and putting out a tablet with that on it instead, or waiting until the have all of the key 1st party apps available on iOS before doing this.
Like the Apple Watch... a company that has upwards of $200B, has profit margins that range on average between 20-60% and a brand that effectively guarantees at least single digit millions in sales of any product bearing their brand can afford to keep pushing this thing and iterating on it until it eventually becomes what it originally promised it would be.
Even Microsoft was able to iterate until the Surface Pro 3 which finally delivered on the promises of the original. I'm sure, by the time we see the iPad Pro 3, it will either be running OS X, or iOS will be technically capable of anything, including programming.
Comments
Post a Comment