iPad Pro and the Goal of Perfection (Above Avalon Report)

An examination of Apple’s iPad strategy as the new iPad Pro goes on sale.

Written by Neil Cybart – May 17th, 2024.


The state of iPad is strong as Apple moves that much closer to its long-held goal of having the iPad become a magical piece of glass. If there is such a thing as an ideal state – a state of perfection – for iPad, Apple sure seems to be getting close. Of course, the company will never get to that point. Perfection is not an end state but rather a state of mind.

Apple has rightly resisted calls to morph iPad into a Mac hybrid. Criticism that the iPad has somehow fallen short of its initial expectations fail to acknowledge the product category’s positioning within the Apple ecosystem. iPad is a touch-first computer offering more versatility than any other Apple product category.

With the iPad Pro cementing its place as the marquee iPad, a discussion regarding the new iPad Pro will inevitably evolve into a discussion about the current state of the iPad.

We begin such a discussion by looking at the iPad’s early days.

Table of Contents

  • History

  • The New iPad Pro

  • iPad Strategy

  • Criticism

  • My iPad Theory

  • Future

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More on the Current State of iPad, CIRP’s Wacky iPad Upgrade Math, My iPad Upgrade Data

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