Will The 9.7-Inch iPad Pro Curb Apple’s Declining iPad Sales?

Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro arrives in stores on Thursday and it has earned a lot of praise. The Verge is the latest news source that loves Apple’s new iPad.

“It looks so much like the iPad Air 2 that you’ll mistake it for one when you see it, yet the insides are so much more powerful it’ll blow your hair back. It’s packed with a weapons depot of ‘bests’ for a tablet: the best screen, the best speakers, the best camera, the best processor.”

Mashable‘s Lance Ulanoff is also a huge fan of the new iPad Pro.

“Did Apple just raise the price of the best iPad? Yes, it did. Is it worth it? When you consider the components and storage in the $599, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, absolutely. I don’t know if this new Pro model will revitalize the iPad market, but with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple has certainly given it its best effort. I know I will find it hard to switch back to using an iPad Air 2.”

Ulanoff compliments the speakers, the display, the increased screen brightness, and the desktop-like power. Some commenters after the article question why the review was so overwhelmingly positive.

“Upgraded components, no real new features and you sing nothing but praise? Get off the Apple hype train, it stopped years ago. If it’s the same size as an iPad Air with upgraded components why still have the Air?” asks Michael Nguyen.

“It’s the same old ipad + marketing BS = pro” says Troclon Lee.

One of the biggest selling points about the new iPad Pro is that, according to Apple, it can replace your laptop. However, a lot of people disagree with this. USA Today‘s Edward C. Baig says the iPad Pro is powerful and pricey, but definitely not a laptop alternative.

“In pretty short order you’re talking about the amount of loot you’d spend on a very nice capable laptop. The smaller iPad Pro comes with 32 gigabytes of storage (versus 16GB for the entry iPad Air 2), but if you spring for the the top of the line 9.7-inch model with 256GB and cellular connectivity to complement Wi-Fi, you’re at $1029. And you’re at $1277 factoring in the keyboard cover, which costs $149, and Pencil, which costs $99.”

Baig adds that all this is close to the $1299 starting price of Apple’s own MacBook Pro laptop with the 13-inch Retina display and 128GB storage. It also costs more than Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air with 256GB storage, which runs at $1099.

“Apple needs to give us what we all want. The MacBook Tablet. A real Mac OS tablet computer. The IPad is an entertainment device not a computer. Microsoft has the Surface and the only thing going to put Apple back on top is the Mac OS Tab Air,” commenter Obadiah Ownens says after the article. It’s a sentiment that several agree with.

The new iPad Pro has caused a lot of excitement on Twitter.

Sitting outside, in direct sunlight, typing on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, listening to Black Sabbath. Incredible sound.

— Jim Dalrymple (@jdalrymple) March 25, 2016

Despite all the great reviews, it looks like Apple is going to have a difficult time trying to convince people to replace their laptops with the iPad Pro, mostly because it doesn’t even run a desktop operating system. Are you going to purchase the new iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments section.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]