Seeing how China warmheartedly welcomed the latest Apple handsets, it was expected that the iPad Pro premium slate would be greeted with the same level of enthusiasm.
Sells of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus exceeded expectations in China, with between 3 and 4 million units sold over the launch weekend alone. However, recent numbers show that the Chinese prefer having the latest mobile smartphones instead of the last generation of tablets.
TalkingData is a Beijing-based data firm that keeps a tab on the number of mobile devices that go live in the country. According to its report, the total number of activated iPad Pros neared 50,000 in the first month of sales.
The analytics company shows in a chart the level of popularity iPad Air 2 had last year and pits it against the iPad Pro. For every iPad Pro bought during the first month of sales, the Chinese purchased 10 iPad Air 2 models.
Ann Tao, chief analyst at TalkingData, told Mashable that one of the strong reasons why iPad Pro fares poorly is its tall price point. She went on to say that the strongly featured slate from Apple is part of a larger plan that appeals to high-end users and the business sector.
It should be noted that the base price for an iPad Pro in China is of 5,888 yuan, making it about $908. The hefty price is one of the reasons for the poor sales, another being that the country is home to a myriad of affordable 13-inch tablets and notebooks manufacturers. In other words, Apple cannot hope to compete with the cheaper electronics segments.
In China, Apple faces a problem that is quasi-absent in the U.S. or Europe: the vast number of white box manufacturers who build tablets at a much cheaper price. Strong competition for the Cupertino-based company comes from Lenovo, which dominates the Chinese market with its desktop and notebook systems.
More than 40 countries saw the launch of the latest tablet from Apple, but the Cupertino-based company hoped that the Chinese market will boost its sales.
Some reports estimate that Apple will get $2.4 billion in total revenue, during the first quarter of iPad Pro availability. That is the rough equivalent to selling no less than 3 million sets, 2.6 million of which the analysts think it will sell during 2015.
Under the hood of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablet sits the latest Apple A9X SoC, which means that the device is ready to take a lot of processing effortlessly, including video and image editing. The large display of the iPad Pro is as big as two iPad Air 2 screens placed one next to each other.
In spite of being expensive items, Apple gadgets go around as status symbols in the country of former-chairman Mao. That is why there is quite a frenzy of people uploading images of their new iPad Pros on Weibo, the Chinese variant of Twitter.
A user notes that after connecting the keyboard accessory to the iPad Pro, the device becomes "magical." In the same post, he pointed out that after purchasing the Apple professional tablet, he sees no reason why he should buy a desktop.
"Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones," Tim Cook, Apple CEO previously said in an interview with The Telegraph.
Not everybody agrees with the Apple leader, though. Reviews underline that, although it is a very capable gadget, the iPad Pro has nothing on a powerful laptop.
Apple's marketing efforts promote the iPad Pro to clients who want to take full advantage of the stellar performance, generous display and first-party accessories on the new tablet, but things may not work out as it planned.
