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Apple's new ad really wants you to believe the iPad Pro is a full computer

Apple's new ad really wants you to believe the iPad Pro is a full computer

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Apple has a complicated relationship with the 2-in-1 computing device. The company has shied away from describing its iPad lineup — even the wondrously expensive iPad Pro with its keyboard and stylus — as a convertible machine in the same language as competitors Microsoft and Lenovo market Surface and Yoga Tab products. Still, Apple wants customers to think of its tablets as more capable than extra-large smartphones. Now, a new iPad Pro ad out today makes the argument as transparently as possible.

Instead of marketing the iPad Pro, which now comes in both 12.9-inch and 9.7-inch models, as a device capable of running desktop-grade software, Apple makes the point that a computer today is about versatility. With an iPad Pro, you can type on a keyboard, but also kick the keyboard out of the way to use your fingers or doodle with the Apple Pencil. Because the iPad Pro runs your standard, touch-based version of iOS, and not a more desktop-like operating system, Apple's only strength here is playing up the full range of possibilities you get from buying its tablet.

It's not exactly a convincing line of thought; iPads are still much better for watching Netflix, web browsing, and playing games than they are for editing documents. Yet it does mark a more clear position from Apple on why you should buy its pricier tablet.


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