Apple launched the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro at its event on Sept. 9. Surprisingly, the iPad Pro will include new Office features that were unveiled by Microsoft at the same event.
The iPad Air 2 models measure 9.7 inches while iPad mini models have 7.9-inch displays. Now, the new iPad Pro has become the biggest tablet ever produced by Apple.
The iPad is also now being used in many industries as an enterprise solution. However, many customers who want to use Office applications, such as Word, Excel and more, may find the 7.9-inch or even the 9.7-inch display too small. The iPad Pro is the answer to the problem, and its 12.9-inch display may attract many people to use Office apps on the tablet.
It was very surprising for visitors at the Apple event to see Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate VP of Office 365 client applications at Microsoft, to come on stage and demonstrate some new Office features for the iPad Pro.
Many people may not be comfortable enough using touch interface for creating Microsoft Word documents. However, Koenigsbauer said that with the new Office for iPad Pro, it will be easy for users to create rich documents.
For the first time, Apple has also introduced the Apple Pencil, a stylus that can be used with the iPad Pro when using applications such as Office.
The iPad Pro makes multi-tasking easy. With Split View, users can open two Office files side by side and work on both of them simultaneously. iPad Pro owners will also be able to open and run Microsoft Outlook alongside PowerPoint, Excel or Work.
The Office app for iPad Pro also brings a feature called "Inking" to allow tools like pens and highlighters to be used on documents.
"Using Apple Pencil, you can mark up documents just like you would with pencil and paper—making the collaboration process natural and intuitive," stated Microsoft on the Office blog.
The new Office features for the iPad Pro also include "Intelligent Search," "Wireless Keyboard Support," and "Enhancements to Microsoft Outlook and Translator on the Apple Watch."
Microsoft is due to launch its next-generation Surface Pro 4 tablet soon, and Apple will be competing with Microsoft in the big tablet market. However, having Office on the iPad Pro will definitely send a clear message to enterprise users, who may be interested in buying the latest Apple offering.
