The new iPad Pro is a game changer for restaurants!
The November 2015 release of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Pro carries huge implications for restaurant owners looking to elevate their business with innovative technology. Gone are the days when restaurants were forced to choose between the modernity and mobility of cloud based systems and the large screen size of their legacy counterparts. Now restaurateurs have the flexibility of incorporating a mix of iPad sizes into their business, including the new “full-screen” iPad Pro.
Industry veteran and Apple enthusiast Louis Aurrichio spoke with us last week about the new iPad Pro and how it will affect the world of restaurant point of sale. Aurrichio is director of operations at Cervion Systems, a POS value added re-seller with a broad customer base in NY, NJ, & PA, and a former restaurant owner.
“When we talk to people in the field, they’re excited about cloud and tablet technology but have historically been apprehensive about the screen size,” he said.
“With the faster processor and huge screen, it’s hard to think of the iPad Pro as a tablet – it feels more like an extraordinarily powerful, extraordinarily lightweight touchscreen computer.”
“In all honesty, I’d feel a bit silly using one to read a book on a train. But in the restaurant POS landscape, it fits perfectly- it’s something our customers have been waiting on for a long time.”
Aurrichio says the aptly-named “Pro” is indicative of Apple’s push to move their product line into the professional landscape, a big plus not only for Apple shareholders but for technophiles in the SMB market.
“On a personal level, I’ve used Apple products for almost as many years as I’ve been involved in the restaurant industry. When personal computing became more accessible, we started to see POS run on the same type of operating system we’re familiar with at home. And with the iPad being the first real tablet to hit the consumer market in 2010, of course they were scrambling to create POS products that would work on these new, consumer model touch screens.”
“Those beginning stage products,” said Aurrichio, “were too green to use in a serious restaurant environment. Much like the first few restaurant POS systems to run on a consumer PC, when tablet systems first came out, they were terrible! The cool factor alone wasn’t worth the trade off.”
But just as the iPad itself has become bigger and better, so have the mobile applications that run on it. “Today, there’s some really exciting things happening in cloud technology for restaurants. The iPad systems can do things that even the industry giants can’t do. Restaurant owners are using the technology to connect and communicate with their customers in new ways. Tablet technology has reached a point in the development curve that’s really revolutionized the industry.”
“To me, the iPad Pro is the final piece in a much larger puzzle,” said Aurrichio. “If I were opening a new restaurant today, there’s no question that I’d go with an iOS system,” he said. “I’d put a few Pros behind the bar, an iPad Air at the host stand, and let the service staff use the iPad Mini to engage with guests on the floor. Now that Apple has made the leap to the professional landscape, it’s become abundantly clear that the future of restaurant POS has arrived.”
