Tim Cook’s bullish claim that the Apple (AAPL) iPad Pro could replace the laptop or desktop PC is a sales pitch that is not going well with buyers. Based on several recent hands-on reviews of experts, the supposedly enterprise-centric iPad Pro is far from becoming an existentialist threat to business laptops and desktop computers.

The experts’ putdown of the iPad Pro as a serious corporate/personal productivity tool is in line with my assessment that the ARM-based iPad Pro is a poor answer to the versatile Surface Book/Pro 4. I see the iPad Pro as a niche product that serves as a companion device for MacBook or Mac-using designers.

I expect Apple to sell 2-5 million units of the iPad Pro, mostly to creative professionals. Aside from print/web designers and digital illustrators, the another niche set of customers that could embrace the pricey iPad Pro are amateur/professional musicians, beatmakers, and digital music producers. Unlike the reluctance of Adobe (ADBE) and AutoDesk (ADSK) to port competent versions of their industry-standard software products to the iOS platform, the music software industry has heartily embraced  the iOS platform as a legit addition to Windows/Mac digital music production.

The future importance of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is best illustrated by the graphic below, which shows just how big this new Apple tablet is. The supersized display means it will allow for more efficient touch operations of advanced music making iOS apps.

(Source: Apple)

The iPad Pro as A Live Performance and Music Composition Tool

Even though I’m tone-deaf, I still play the guitar. I was once a member of an indie punk band during the late 90s. My iPad 2 and iPad Mini 2 indeed greatly helped me improve my guitar playing. The iPad’s potential as a music tool is no longer limited to basic apps like the $4.99 GarageBand from Apple. Like I said, the bigger-display iOS devices have prompted a lot of Digital Audio Workstation ((DAW)) software makers to really come up with advanced music composition-related apps for the iPad.