With the Surface Pro 4 and the iPad Pro, both Microsoft and Apple have launched a new large format tablet in the last throes of 2015, in the hope of winning over new customers and reinvigorating a market which seems to have reached a saturation point.
Apple's powerful new tablet
During the Apple keynote event on September 9, 2015, its executives unveiled the iPad Pro, the group's biggest and most powerful tablet to date (a 12.9-inch screen with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels, and a new A9X chip). Just like Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, it is a real alternative to a laptop.
The iPad Pro is priced between $799 and $1,079, depending on its features. It also has a stylus as an option (a first for Apple), which enables users to be very precise in artistic work and 3D design. The new Smart Keyboard is connected directly to the tablet, without Bluetooth, and its design is slim and resilient. This all suggests that the iPad Pro is being positioned as a rival to Microsoft's Surface Pro range.
A 4th generation Surface Pro
The newest generation of Microsoft's tablet, for which prices start at 999 euros in France, is a little smaller than the iPad Pro, with a 12.3-inch screen. In theory, its stylus can handle up to 1,024 degrees of pressure, resulting in what Microsoft says is a level of precision that has never been seen before with a touch screen.
This 12 inch+ format is a real gamble, which is new for Apple but goes back to 2012 for Microsoft. The product targets business professionals (as the name indicates) as well as private individuals.
Apple was a forerunner in the tablet business and is now the only manufacturer to offer models in three different formats: 7.9 inches (the mini range), 9.7 inches (Air) and 12.9 inches (Pro). With these three sizes, it covers all levels in a market which is reaching a saturation point and is expected to see its first drop in global sales in 2015 (forecasts for the decline range are between 8 per cent and 15 per cent).
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