The iPad Pro, Apple's high-end tablet computer that rivals desktop computer performance, is having a tough go as of late when it comes to product quality news.
Multiple reports that iPad Pro's are arriving new to customers — many of which as Christmas presents — with a bend in the center. That's right: weeks ago, new iPad Pro owners took to internet forums that their new tablets were bent, with one side visibly higher than the other. In other words, Apple's new $1,000 tablets don't sit flat on a desk for many new owners. How did Apple react? The company curiously announced that it wouldn't be doing anything about the affected units.
In a widely circulated e-mail, Apple VP Dan Riccio responded to a user's complaints that despite the bend, Apple's iPad Pro "meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing."
Understandably, users were nonplussed. But, if sales-rank data tells us anything, sales of the iPad Pro haven't been dinged. At least, as of yet. Both the 12.9-inch and 11-inch versions of the device at Best Buy have held their sales ranks all along.
It's still early, of course, and as "bend-gate" continued to gain news tractions — and as consumers return to work next week — it's entirely possible that consumers will revolt. We'll keep an eye on the iPad Pro's sales as things develop. But, for now, it appears that Apple's in the clear.