What Will Be the Top iPad Pro Apps?

Hey. Good news for us app developers in San Francisco. Apple’s releasing the 12.9 inch iPad Pro on November 11. Check the press release if you don’t believe us. In just two days you’ll be able to bury your nose in  2732×2048 resolution and 5.6 millions pixels. Mmmm hmmm. Sweet, sweet pixels.

iPad Pro

But like all new Apple devices, the mammoth tablet device is only as good as its mammoth tablet device apps. We already know Apple will roll out plus-sized apps for GarageBand, Notes, and Mail. Microsoft will let you pay real money for Office 365 (its free on smaller tablets). Adobe is also in on the fun with its new Pro app, Photoshop Fix. After seeing previews of these apps, we have to ask: What will be the top iPad Pro apps.

Here at Appstem we are hard at work at updating apps to take advantage of the glorious new real estate of the iPad Pro. But the iOS 9 SDK allows for a lot more than just stretching your screen — it includes more than 5000 APIs, including multitasking and multitouch support for the Apple Pencil, the hottest stylus to come out of Cupertino in years. Whatever app that emerges as the iPad Pro killer app, it will have to support the pressure-sensitive Pencil and split-view multitasking as well as visuals optimized for the big screen. There will surely be an increase in development costs, and we fully expect high-functionality iPad Pro apps to be priced at a premium, at least next to the 99-cent apps for iPhone.

Somewhere between a tablet and a notebook, the iPad Pro is a “tweener” device. It can’t quite replace a notebook, at least not for most cubicle-dwelling professionals. Of course, no one quite knew where the original iPad would fit in the market between the iPhone and the Mac. Apple created the tablet market, and today, years later, that market is just fine.

In Conclusion

Starting at $799, the iPad Pro is a gamble for Apple. The keyboard and stylus will run you $169 and $99, respectively. Will the premium apps emerge that make the iPad Pro worth it? We think so. And we’ll get our first look on November 11. See you in line.