The iPad Pro as a Greek tragedy

Back in the nineties, Microsoft threatened to stop developing Microsoft Office for the Mac. Had this come to pass, there would be no Apple today. Similarly, Apple had to go begging to Adobe to port their popular creative apps to Apple’s new platform. Their refusal to do so held back OS X for a long time and forced Apple to develop the Carbon compatibility APIs to bridge between the old and the new. Many suspect that these events have left deep scars inside Apple, and that this is why it is fixated on never being dependent on a third party software developer again.

The irony is that Apple may find itself in such a position again despite their efforts. At this week’s introduction, two companies to centre stage at the iPad Pro’s announcement; Adobe and Microsoft. The choice made sense; both companies are known for making professional software and are actively developing software for iPad. But since Apple has made it basically impossible for smaller third party developers to have any stab at making serious software for the iPad, Adobe and Microsoft are also the only ones left in the arena. Adobe can afford to play around because of their CreativeCloud subscription model and Microsoft has to be on the iPad because the only way for Microsoft Office to remain the dominant office suite, is if they are everywhere.

This puts the fate of the iPad Pro back in the hands of those who nearly killed Apple in the 90s: Adobe and Microsoft. It is almost like a Greek Tragedy; while Apple desperately tried to avoid it, it has unknowingly helped make the inevitable come to pass.