There were few surprises at today's Apple event, but there was at least one conspicuously absent announcement that had people talking: Apple didn't update its line of laptops, which have been gaining marketshare but haven't seen any updates in over 300 days.
Blame it on Skylake supplies if you'd like, but Apple executives had one key refrain: The iPad truly is the future of personal computing,
according to Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive.
During today's Apple keynote, executives also said the device was increasingly being aimed at a surprising demographic: Windows users.
You may not know this, but the majority of people coming to an iPad Pro are coming from a Windows PC, a desktop or laptop,
said Phil Schiller, senior vice president of marketing for Apple, who dubbed the iPad Pro the ultimate PC replacement.
Unsurprisingly, some folks found that claim hard to swallow.
It's nice to want things.https://t.co/T4tARmdFKv
— Wes Miller (@getwired) March 21, 2016
PC replacement except it can't run Windows apps so
— Matt Rosoff (@MattRosoff) March 21, 2016
It’s weird how Apple talks about Windows users using 5 year old hardware, but their Mac Pro’s haven’t been updated in 3 years themselves.
— Bob Roche (@cpukid) March 21, 2016
The majority of people who come to iPad Pro are coming form Windows. Right. Most people do use Windows, Apple.
— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) March 21, 2016
It also seems to fly in the face of what the market is saying. As I noted earlier today, after an initial spike tablets have struggled to find their place in the computing market.
People trying to get work done still like the form factors of a laptop, even if they want them lighter and with longer battery life, and the iPad's multi-tasking solution still leaves a lot to be desired.
It's interesting, then, to see that Apple is not backing down. Has your business started adopted iOS tablets, and do you plan to? Let us know in the comments or in our latest poll.
