The fact that Apple hasn't released an IDE for iOS that can develop iOS apps is a pretty clear indicator that the iPad is not meant for professional software development, even if some people (myself included) try it anyways just to see how well it works.
However, there are plenty of other professional users who could probably use the iPad as their primary computer now. Photographers, graphic designers, visual artists, and musicians could probably make the switch now and iOS will only get better for them in the future.
I think that Apple's vision for pro users is correct as long as we consider more than just software developers as pro users.
Why would I buy an overpriced tablet that is stuck to being a tablet, while there are many two-in-ones that are 1/2 of the price and not only work just as great as the iPad in their tablet form, but can become an actual computer if one needs them to..?
Microsoft's Surface Book is absolutely stunning, and can become a tablet with great battery life, or be a perfect laptop if you need to type and want to use a mouse.
Well for starters, the Surface Book starts at $1500. The 10.5" iPad Pro with keyboard starts at $800, and the 12.9" with keyboard starts at $1000.
A better comparison would be the Surface Pro, which starts at about the same price as the 12.9" iPad Pro with keyboard. However, that configuration has a core m3 processor and 4GB of RAM. I'm pretty sure the iPad Pro will outperform the Surface Pro pretty handily until you get a model with 8GB of RAM, which will put you back about the same price as the Surface Book ($1500).
If you can point me towards a two-in-one that's half the price of the 10.5" iPad Pro with keyboard and performs as well, I'll be very impressed. $400 dollars doesn't buy a lot of computer. Even if you can find one, I'm 100% sure you won't find one that has the same build quality and battery life that the iPad Pro does.
I'd also be impressed if you could point be towards any non iOS tablet that works just as well as an iPad. Using iOS on a tablet is far, far superior in my opinion to Android or Windows. Android has nowhere near the app selection and Windows still feels like you should be using a keyboard and mouse for most things.
The real issue here, though, is that more and more people have absolutely no need for an "actual computer" and so they don't care if the iPad fits that definition or not. For some it's actually a negative because of the added complexity.
However, there are plenty of other professional users who could probably use the iPad as their primary computer now. Photographers, graphic designers, visual artists, and musicians could probably make the switch now and iOS will only get better for them in the future.
I think that Apple's vision for pro users is correct as long as we consider more than just software developers as pro users.