It’s been years since Apple started using the iPad “Pro” moniker and releasing tablets that were way too big to be considered real tablets. The old 12.9-inch iPad Pros, the new 13-inchers – these things are as huge, if not bigger, than a MacBook. And the hardware inside has the power to match – most recently, the Apple M4 debuted on an iPad, not just any kind of Mac! For all these years, the tech community has always had one question and one hope: why can’t we use macOS on these things? And people were analyzing the design elements of each next version of macOS, looking for signs that it was designed with the touchscreen in mind – bigger buttons, sliders, etc.
Considering that an iPad Pro with all its peripherals costs about the same as a MacBook Pro, it better be able to perform the same tasks with the same efficiency, right?
But iPadOS is still not good at multitasking, mobile apps aimed at professional work still can’t match the flexibility and ease of use of desktop (or laptop) apps, and trying to manage files with this is even more annoying and cumbersome.
The iPad will never have macOS
Apple stubbornly refuses to equip MacBooks with a touch screen and the iPad with a Mac-type operating system. Frustrated fans point the finger at greed or a “lack of understanding” of what consumers want.
Well, given that MacBooks are some of the best-selling laptops and iPads are the best-selling tablets, I’m not sure we should blame this one on Apple for not “attracting” customers.
With these two categories so popular and successful, Apple is in a unique position to try to offer a different class of device – not a tablet that cannibalizes laptop space, but a tablet that does its own thing.
Now, here’s the problem – admittedly, Cupertino doesn’t seem to know exactly how to turn the iPad into a thing in its own right, different from a personal computer. This is why new updates and features take so long to arrive. At least that’s what I believe.
Back when Slide Over and Split View were introduced, I remember the iPad was already years behind in the multitasking part. More recently we’ve had windowed multitasking apps on iPads, but instead of making it a “normal” desktop interface, Apple had to invent the Stage Manager spin-off.
And it didn’t work very well – Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 was limiting, frustrating, and nausea-inducing because it was so intent on using exact window sizes in precise places on the screen. Now with iPadOS 17, it’s much more lax and generally very usable.
But this whole Stage Manager fiasco, combined with the “What is a computer?” » ad campaign for old iPads made me think about how Apple views the iPad and why it will never get macOS.
Quite simply:
The iPad Pro is not for you
OK, I’m going to guess that if you’re here, reading this editorial and wondering why “the iPad Pro is so limited,” you’re probably a tech-savvy person. You like to push your phones to the brim, maybe running a benchmark after every update, and you’re probably very familiar with working on a desktop interface, whether it’s macOS or Windows.
Well… the iPad Pro isn’t exactly for you. The only value you can get from an iPad is if you use it specifically as a secondary device, as an assistant, as a powerful display when you’re away from your primary screen. And there are certainly use cases, but it’s not going to be the backbone of your digital work.
So if it’s not for you, why does it have cutting-edge hardware, why does Apple market it as being able to create music, splice videos, and work on photo editing?
It’s simple: there is a subset of people, professionals in different fields, who don’t really know how to use a computer. Over the past 17 years, smartphones have permeated everything: they have brought the Internet within people’s reach, they have made businesses dependent on a digital presence, and they have made the creation of media, websites and promotions extremely simple.
I know such people – young, successful, intelligent. They have a business and create TikToks, Reels, photo posts, ads, and other content to keep their services top of mind for their customers, all from their phone. It’s just that their work and lifestyle is more physical, or service-oriented: they haven’t spent much time behind a keyboard in their life.
Now imagine if one of these people decided to upgrade their work to a smartphone – doubling up on the small screen and squinting to cut a clip’s timeline becomes obsolete at some point. “It’s time to upgrade to a computer,” this person might think.
Learn Windows? Learn macOS? What a daunting thought for someone who has way too much to do in a day.
Oh, but what is an iPad? Well… it’s a lot like a computer, but it looks, acts and works much more like a smartphone. “I can do it!”
The iPad Pro is a lightweight computer
So once that thought occurred to me, it sort of fell into place – which is why Apple stubbornly insists that the iPad feels like a phone, with all the limitations that comes with it. could imply. No taskbar, no multiple windows (except with an external monitor), no need to dig through the file system, no need to look for apps outside of the App Store. For a seasoned PC or Mac user, this looks like a headache and a hassle. half. For someone who is afraid of learning another tech gadget, but wants a larger workspace, this may seem much more familiar and inviting.
Like the photographer who wants to spend more time with their camera and less time on a keyboard, the idea of being able to edit their photos on what is essentially a “floating screen” is very appealing. Or the artist who wants to draw on something that isn’t a Wacom tablet paired with a laptop.
Now, the argument that the iPad Pro might be way too expensive for what it offers is still legitimate here. The fact that the Air doesn’t have a 120Hz refresh rate is pretty hard to swallow. The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil prices send your iPad investment to the moon. Yes, Apple’s pricing strategy is very crazy… But apparently, it works.
Is this the final form of the iPad Pro?
If I had to guess, I would say: no. But, again, Apple is extremely slow to implement new features. Trying to add new features without stepping on the MacBook’s toes, while improving the iPad’s user interface and keeping it in its own “productive tablet” category.
I wouldn’t dare guess what else is going to happen – the way iPadOS implemented a mouse pointer is silly to begin with, and yet so “mobile”. The Stage Manager surprised us all – who sits down to reinvent floating window multitasking, right?
So, with that in mind… iPadOS will evolve further, but I have no idea what’s coming. Definitely not macOS, though.
