iPad Pro能重振平板电脑市场吗？

    平板电脑销售一直步履蹒跚已经不是秘密。国际数据公司（IDC）的数据显示，今年第一季度全球平板电脑出货量比上年同期下降了5.9%；同时，尽管凭借多款iPad继续在市场上领跑，但苹果公司的平板电脑出货量已连跌五个季度。

    正因为如此，新款iPad成为上周三苹果产品发布会上的重磅消息之一才让人特别感兴趣。

    iPad Pro是迄今为止尺寸最大的iPad，配置也最让人心动。它采用12.9英寸的Retina屏幕。苹果同时宣称，iPad Pro的处理器速度“超过了80%的出厂时间不超过一年的便携式电脑”。但它不只是改善了原有iPad的外观并提高了性能（iPad Mini 4已经上架，而iPad 2也还未下架）。iPad Pro预装了商业软件，并把键盘和手写笔作为可选配件，这意味着苹果进入了一个新领域，而苹果的转向一定会引起科技界的注意。

    人们不免要把iPad Pro和微软的最新二合一产品Surface Pro 3比较一番。两款平板电脑都面向企业用户，可以运行微软的Office软件，也都配备了可拆卸键盘和手写笔这些旨在提高办公效率的配件。尽管Surface的操作系统是Windows 10移动版，但iPad Pro更像是台式机和移动设备的混合体，它具有多任务处理功能并可运行一些企业级软件，而采用的则是和iPhone一样的iOS操作系统，还可以连接LTE网络。

    虽然Surface Pro和iPad Pro是否真的存在直接竞争仍值得商榷，但有一点显而易见，那就是我们所知的平板电脑还在不断发展，并在这个过程中不断调整着自己的目标受众。

    国际数据公司高级研究分析师吉特希·乌布拉尼说：“人们意识到，他们的很大一部分内容消费活动现在都能在平板手机上完成。这就是我们看到平板电脑向大屏化、移动联网和可拆卸配件方向转移的原因之一。”

    随着智能手机越做越大，为再买一台平板电脑这样的内容消费设备找理由变得更加困难。但具备办公功能后，平板电脑的用途就变得很明朗。这就是IBM开发iPad商用App的原因。也正因为如此，微软才跟戴尔和惠普合作，向企业推广Surface Pro。

    咨询公司加德纳研究负责人布莱恩·布劳指出：“[要获得成功，]iPad Pro就得不光是一款消费产品。它必须具有核心生产力，可通信，便于携带，还能提供企业用户需要的App和服务，这样才能得到更广泛的接受。”

    就算企业用户没有广泛采纳iPad Pro，也不一定意味着这个概念的失败。它是第一代产品，而且苹果很可能基于企业用户的反馈做出调整。比如说，许多用户可能更喜欢完整版的Mac操作系统，而不是iOS。就像推出Surface的微软一样，苹果也将遭遇“成长的烦恼”，但这方面的商业需求显然是存在的。

    随着苹果加入竞争行列，平板电脑的发展速度也许会加快，从而让它摆脱介于手机和笔记本之间的尴尬位置，并将台式机的优势和手持设备的直观性结合在一起。

    如果这样的产品更多地出现在董事会议上，而不是人们的日常生活中，请不要感到奇怪。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    校对：詹妮

    It’s no secret that mobile tablet sales have been floundering—according to IDC, worldwide shipments were down 5.9% year-over-year in Q1 of 2015, and though Apple still leads the market with its various iPad models, it’s seen a decline in shipments for five consecutive quarters.

    Which is why it’s especially interesting that one of the biggest announcements from Apple’s event on Wednesday was an addition to its tablet lineup.

    The iPad Pro is Apple’s largest and most impressively specced tablet to date, with a 12.9-inch retina display and a processor which Apple claims is “faster than 80 percent of the portable PCs that shipped in the last 12 months.” But this device isn’t a sleeker, more powerful update to previous Apple tablets (there’s a new iPad Mini 4 on the way, and the iPad 2 is still in the lineup). With business-minded software features and an optional keyboard and stylus, the iPad Pro marks a move into new territory for the company. And when Apple takes a step in a different direction, the tech world takes notice.

    Understandably, the iPad Pro is drawing comparisons to the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft’s latest two-in-one product. Both devices are designed for enterprise use, with the ability to run Microsoft Office programs, and both work with productivity-focused accessories like a detachable keyboard and a stylus. But while the Surface runs full desktop Windows 10 in a portable package, the iPad Pro offers more of a hybrid of desktop and mobile features. These include multitasking and some enterprise-level programs, but the same iOS software you’ll find on an iPhone, with LTE connectivity as well.

    While we can debate whether the Surface Pro and the iPad Pro are truly competing devices, one thing seems clear: The tablet as we know it is evolving, and its target audience is adjusting in the process.

    “People are realizing that a big portion of their content consumption activities can now be done on phablets,” says Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC. “That’s one of the reasons we’re seeing a shift towards larger and mobile-connected tablets and detachables.”

    With smartphone screens getting bigger, it becomes harder to justify buying an additional content consumption device like a tablet. Add in the ability to get real work done, though, and the use case becomes clear. That’s why IBM’s developing made-for-business apps for the iPad and other apps, and why Microsoft’steamed up with Dell and Hewlett-Packard to sell the Surface Pro to companies.

    “[To succeed] the Pro does need to be more than a consumption device,” says Brian Blau, research director at Gartner. “It has to enable core productivity, communications, portability and also have the necessary apps and services meant for enterprise use for the device to gain broader acceptance.”

    If the corporate world doesn’t latch on to the iPad Pro, that doesn’t necessarily mean the concept is a flop. It’s a first-gen product, and Apple will likely make tweaks in response to feedback from enterprise users—many of whom might prefer the full Mac operating system to iOS, for example. Like Microsoft with its Surface, Apple will face growing pains, but it’s clear that the business demand is there.

    Now that Apple has a hat in the ring with the iPad Pro, it could hasten the evolution away from a category of devices that sit awkwardly between phones and laptops toward a class of products that blend the best of full-fledged computers with the intuitiveness of a handheld design.

    Just don’t be surprised if it’s more at home in the board room than the living room.