Apple has started selling the capacious new 128GB iPad, the latest update to its fourth-generation Retina Display-sporting tablet design. The 9.7-inch iPad is pulling away from its 7.9-inch younger sibling, desperately crying out “I’m different!” with a flash storage bump. But more importantly, it’s also narrowing the perceived gap between itself and competitors like Microsoft’s Surface Pro.
The Surface Pro, an iPad competitor? Nay, you say. Microsoft’s computer is a computer, running a full-fledged desktop OS capable of running powerful apps like Photoshop and more, powered by an Intel Core i5 processor. It, too, comes equipped with up to 128GB of storage, features a number of input and output ports, and has a fancy stylus for handwriting.
But the iPad is not, nor has it ever been, in direct competition with incumbent devices running Windows software. In fact, the iPad has made its enterprise progress in spite of not being able to do all those things the Surface Pro is trumpeting about. People seeking out the Apple tablet for business use aren’t doing so because it has full Windows software support – it doesn’t. They’re doing it because what Apple does provide is conducive to changing practices in the workplace and new ways of getting things done.
