14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is getting ready to launch a new iPad Pro, and while the company remains tight-lipped on its 2-in-1 plans, estimates are already pointing to strong sales in the first quarters on the market.
A report from Digitimes and citing industry sources and market watchers reveals that “upstream supply chain’s shipments” of a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro coming next month have increased lately, and now estimates are pointing to approximately 600,000 units sold every month starting July.
Apple is projected to unveil the new model next month at WWDC, so sales are likely to begin in late June or early July. The original sales forecast was 500,000 units, but now analysts are confident that the iPad Pro could reach 5 million sold units this year alone. Production of the device started in March-April, the report adds.
Apple vs. Microsoft in 2-in-1s
While Microsoft does not reveal unit sales for the Surface lineup, it’s no secret that sales of the Surface lineup have dropped lately, mostly because of the lack of product refreshes.
The latest-generation Surface Pro and Surface Book were launched in October 2015, with Microsoft expected to unveil new models in the fall of 2016 and then in the spring of this year. The delays were mostly caused by some features not being ready for launch, with Microsoft then said to be holding back the release until a later time to get everything right on the new devices.
In the meantime, Microsoft is preparing to unveil a new Surface Pro upgrade next week in Shanghai, but contrary to expectations, this isn’t going to be a major overhaul of the device, but only a hardware refresh. New chips, more storage and RAM are all likely, though the device will be very similar to the existing generation.
As far as Apple is concerned, the next-generation iPad Pro lineup with a 10.5-inch screen is likely to bring more substantial upgrades, including a bezel-less design.