I Want a MacPad!

Apple iPads
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Let’s approach from the other angle (because if anything, it’s iOS that’s going to rapidly evolve, while MacOS gets relegated)…

What would it take for iOS to become sufficiently desktop-like to suit your needs? You’ve mentioned true multi-monitor support and better file management, but let’s be more specific about the UX and usage.

Do you need a multi-window mouse-based interface? What is your default desktop app load-out, and which of those don’t have a suitable App Store alternative? Any other gripes about iOS, that you find yourself ‘freed’ from in MacOS?

Others are welcome to reply too. :slightly_smiling_face:

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This is the baseline starting point. Before we even get true multi-monitor support is the need for REAL external monitor support as an extension of the desktop, not just a mirror of the 4:3 iPP screen. The file system needs an infusion of the column view in MacOS Finder to boot.

Yes. Would need to be able to “snap” two side by side Word or PDF documents for editing and comparison.

Office 365 (Word, Excel, Powerpointless, Outlook, OneNote), OneDrive, Chrome, and at least Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (but a BETTER PDF annotator). Most of this exists in water downed versions (Word and Outlook pretty good; rest are subsets at best; with OneNote being a real PITA because of poor features and weak synching).

Much of the rest of my frustrations rest around the (lack of a) file system. You cannot practice law without a hierarchical file system - sorry but that is my opinion. The remainder is the lack of a usable multi-window system - “slide over” IS NOT a multi-window system. That’s why I strongly advocate for a dual mode - MacOS when docked (or if the user is a masochist) and iOS as a tablet.

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I’m not typical use case, but if this were to be the holy grail only device for me, I need a full MacOS experience for a full terminal with Bash, which means a lot more control than Apple would want to give with iPadOS. I need to be able to write code in something like VSCode, and live debug. There are a few programs that try to emulate this on IOS, but they are extremely limited. It’s not at all like having a laptop with you to be able to pull up and look at a piece of code and test it with your full work flow wherever you are.

Realistically, I don’t see Apple trying to make IOS robust enough for my line of work anytime soon. They want it to be locked down and streamlined for user experience, where developers need a whole lot of control.

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This isn’t perfect by any means, but if Apple is forced to allow sideloading without restriction which is a growing possibility these days, running a macOS VM would be the answer:

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I’m going to offer a view, call it Apple biased or whatever, but here goes.

I’ve been working with Apple in my various roles for most of my career. One through line is that more so than any other computer manufacturer, they believe in highly defined “use cases” and or defined roles and user types for all of their products.

Periodically, it bubbles up as to why Apple doesn’t bring features X or Y to platforms B and C in addition the established platform A.

Prior to the M1 iPads, the most recent possible crossover that we and our customers were most interested in was if Apple would bring Pencil Support to the then newly released iPhone Pro Max.

Many of our customers and a lot of the tech press saw the Max as reaching the size barrier that they think was keeping Apple from bringing it to the platform. In fact some of our “apple experts” were certain that it was “imminent” .

Of course, that has yet to happen.

Almost the same thing happened with the release of the M1 Pros. Those same “experts” as well as of a lot of the tech press were certain that it was imminent and one of the Apple blogs even went as far as to say. it was “just a matter of weeks”. And you also saw something similar when the magic keyboards were released with a built in trackpad.

Going all the way back to the days of the Apple II and then IIGS which coexisted with the Mac, Apple has been consistent in the message that they see each product line as separate and distinct, and the focus by Apple is on bringing the best features and functionality to each. And relatively recently a focus on interoperability “where it makes sense.”

TLDR, sadly especially for those of us here on the “one device to rule them all”, quest, we are never going to see an iPad running MacOS or for that matter, a touchscreen MacBook Pro because either represents too many compromises to the core functionality of those devices.

IMHO one notable exception is what they did with the iPhone versus iPod. But I also think that’s the exception that proves the rule.

EDIT: PS I am on a four week streak for at least one “tome” post every week :slight_smile:

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One additional comment on why the iPhone is an outlier to my mind.

In several Apple oriented books I’ve read , there has been discussion around how Jobs, Ive and Cook were all very active users of mobile phones and a consensus that A, they were all still much too hard to use, and B they were going to be ubiquitous as the computing device that more people will own, far more than a conventional laptop or desktop.

Throw in that idea that Jobs was looking at a “bet the company” moment/opportunity and there you go…

And yes Android is dominating market share, just like Windows dominates Mac OS, but I don’t think there is any question that Apple dominates “mindshare”.

Not to mention that at least as one point (don’t know if it’s still true) Apple’s iPhone sales dominated the profits compared to the Android market. And thus one of the big reasons Apple became the first trillion dollar company in valuation IMHO anyway

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iPhones contribution to the trillion $ valuation is both mind share and the discipline to maintain premium pricing strategy through incremental upgrades. Android is, in theory, far more customizable; but that is not what the vast majority of (at least US) customers demand.

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…and profit-share…“Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021”

SUCKERS!

image

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One more thought about this Jedi mind control by Apple - if they wanted to treat us like adults, couldn’t they just tell us we’re on our own if we flip the switch to enable MacOS on an iPad Pro? Oh, what was I thinking…

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I get that the total maniacal control Apple holds over their user experience is part of what makes the platform pretty stable compared to Windows and Android, who allow other companies to mess with their software much more easily. I do wish they actually considered power users more in their “Pro” lines though, and gave us more control if we wanted it.

Truth be told though, what I really want, is a tablet with the form factor of the iPad Pro, specifically the 11, but I like my 12.9 also, and with the power and energy consumption of the M1Pro, or whatever the upgraded M2 will be, but with Windows OS when “docked” and iPadOS when in tablet mode, with Apple pencil, and file sharing between the Windows and iPad OSes. Or, better yet, Windows and Android, with Wacom EMR stylus, and Procreate baked in to Android. I could sketch while in tablet mode, dock it, connect to a Wacom tablet while docked to transfer said sketch to the Windows machine, finish the art. Then, also while docked I could design a website to publish said artwork on, test, and deploy it, undock, check it on my mobile browser with a different OS, all on the same machine. That sounds nice.

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Do you remember the rumours of an iOS DeX mode?

So unlike all the doom-and-gloom on here, I’m pretty optimistic this will eventually come, first to ‘Pro’ devices then consumer, as many Apple internal engineers are probably prototyping this functionality (and likely, personally want it for themselves :stuck_out_tongue:).

So just keep tilting there old Quixote boy, you’ll eventually find it. :wink:

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Thanks @Marty - hope this comes to be, but by 2028 it would be a little too late for this old fossil.

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Watching the Galaxy Unpacked livestream (emphasizing Galaxy device interoperabilty - from phone to tablet to their Windows laptops, looking a lot like Handoff) and all I keep thinking is “I’ll take a MacPad with that next iPhone!”

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I need an intervention gang! Next time I post anything anywhere about wanting a “MacPad” everyone bring your baseball bats and beat the living **** out of me. Although the SP8 starts out thicker and heavier than even an iPad Pro 12.9 (1.96 vs 1.5 lbs) if you slap on the Magic Keyboard vs Type Cover the scales tip the other way: 2.56 vs 3.01 lbs. Not to mention: no full desktop Office 365/Outlook/OneNote, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, NO FILE SYSTEM, no external display support (beyond mirroring) - and the list goes on.

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Are you saying the walled garden is in reality a web???

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Give that man the first place trophy for today! Yes, you caught my multiple meaning video by the wings…

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That seems harsh. :joy: A macpad (or McYoga in my case) would be great, if it’s a skinny lightweight (<2.5lbs) quiet and cool yoga form factor device with touch and pencil support, with long battery life (they can do that part) that runs full macOS and that can run iPad apps natively (they can also do that part).

They can do all of this ‘easily’ do this: they have all the tech in-house, maybe except for the 360deg hinges. Whether they will depends on whether they feel they make more money by keeping things well separated. My guess is that they wouldn’t lose a lot of iPad sales if they did come out with something like this. And yet, I don’t see them doing it. Hope to be proven wrong though!

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IF they EVER do this, I don’t see a 360 degree device…

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I struggle to think what else they could do. Not allowing 360deg flips make writing uncomfortable. A detachable device would be too clunky AND eat into their iPad market.* The ole’ swivel type X61t convertible: also too clunky. SLS flippy screen? Too flimsy/weird for Apple. The Yoga form factor at least has the potential to be sleek.

(*) or wait, that’s kind of what the iPad with magic keyboard is. But if they allow full MacOS on that they’d sell fewer macs.

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I’m just speaking from my HP and Lenovo experience, but a 360 degree tablet is a clunky beast, and even the leather Spectre Folio, despite its better form factor and function, was a chunky beast in draw mode, much like the Surface Laptop Studio.

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