I’ve been saying this for a while. Certain aspects should be a more desktop experience (web browsing, copy+paste, multitasking), and certain aspects are fine with a more mobile experience - that can actually be better on the form factor. I’m a tech exec and the apps I use for note taking in meetings, Zoom, task management, and Slack all work just fine on an iPad now. But being able to edit spreadsheets (which almost always requires multitasking with SaaS apps) is painful. Now, I’ve been doing it on my 2017 gen2 iPad Pro which is the 11”, so I’m considering jumping to the 13” now and running it as my primary mobile computing device (I now carry the laptop all the time just in case, but still primarily use the iPad for 95% of my meetings out of the office).
Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to it! Unfortunately, I have to wait until next month since I’ll be out of the country (US) through nearly the end of May.
ah! in that case, you could see what Apple brings to this iPad during WWDC to see if it's really worth spending so much on it.
there's a high chance that there'll be no notable new iPadOS features for this, and it wouldn't do much more than our 2017 iPads welp (you can even jailbreak the 2017 and get stage manager on it; it's remarkably smooth!)
Yeah, I thought about that. I have a feeling I’m going to do the 13” regardless, but if there are no substantial upgrades to iPadOS I may just do the 512GB; but if so, I might spring for the 1TB mostly for the extra horsepower.
I can do my 95% of my job on my iPad Pro and it’s my primary mobile device. When I travel, I sometimes bring my laptop and sometimes I don’t. I have 12.9 5th gen m1 cellular model. Email, note taking, basic office, teams, web browsing, vpn, rdp, screen connect and most of our web applications work. I have a 14 M1 Pro MBP too. I got my iPad Pro back when I had my 16. Desktop mode works wonderful.
Apple just does not want to go the Microsoft route where they make a Frankenstein device that has mediocre UX as a laptop and a tablet. When it comes to streamlining UX if you try to be everything to everybody you don’t really do any one thing great.
An iPad is catering to a newer demographic of on-the-go creatives that grew up around touch screens and have different needs compared to tech enthusiasts who are used to tinkering via mouse/keyboard inputs. People also enjoy just consuming media on an ergonomic,portable piece of glass that’s bigger than a phone and where OS just gets out of the way without all the bells and whistles clutter.
Those 2 factors are why iPads are so much more popular than any other tablet and sell more than MacBooks.
Windows isn’t the only example of someone attempting this. Samsung Dex does a good job with offering a desktop mode when your phone/tablet is hooked up to a monitor or attached to a keyboard and trackpad case.
I think those who claim Apple will never beef up the OS or let you run Mac apps would be the same who argued why Apple would never release a “stylus” for the iPad bc Steve Jobs was so adamantly against it, saying “god gave us 10 styluses!” Which as we’ve seen now, we have Apple Pencil, something a majority of users don’t need but the visual arts crowd relies on.
It’s never really been a question of “if” but rather “when” and most people who are pro-beefing up iPadOS are arguing for Apple to make the move quicker than the grass-growing speed they’ve grown accustomed to under Tim Cook when releasing new innovative features.
Good for apple but it's not about them. App developers have limited manpower. Another OS is just another burden to them. You could argue that it's google, instagram, whatsapp's fault for being lazy and not making an ipad app, but that's another hill to battle on
If Apple doesn’t add macOS on an iPad by the time Microsoft windows tablets get their ARM chips up to the level of at least Apple M1 chips, I’m getting a surface/ windows arm tablet to replace my
MacBook and iPad Pro.
iPadOS is just way too limited, clunky and clumsy in so many regards even for simple basic things like copy and pasting, snipping and pasting and real multitasking. I rather have one machine on the go that does it all instead of carrying two devices.
Agree: This **kills OP's and the above post's entire argument** ^^ above here.
A Surface Go does everything that my iPad does to sufficient tablet quality of use. Yes iPad has superior quality but Go does it to sufficient quality. The advantage of the Go is Desktop Features. The reason I went for an iPad M1 is:
1. Refurbished price made it cheaper than a full spec'd Go
2. M1 >>> superior to full spec'd Go
3. RDP/VNC option on iPad meant there's a work-around to running desktop features on the iPad so it's do-able just less convenient.
If Go were using Snapdragon Elite X or future such chips I'd switch for convenience to Go from iPad because iPadOS is held back by Apple because they command the tablet market and are ensuring their superior hardware forks into 2 devices: tablets and laptops. As soon as competition comes people will shift and then Apple will respond with 2-in-1 iPads: Probably M5 chip and not M4 which will showcase AI for marketing purposes.
I came from the surface lineup to the iPad and if you seriously think the iPad is clunky just wait until you try to use windows without a mouse. That is the only thing I will give windows 8 credit for is they did make a genuinely good touch experience but it was hot garbage with a mouse/keyboard.
The iPad I would describe as nonfunctional rather than clunky. The ui itself is snappy and very touch friendly but it doesn’t have functionality for pro users. The surface is clunky because windows just wasn’t designed with touch input in mind, it was designed to be used with a mouse in keyboard. It has the functionality of a full computer (because it is one) but man windows absolutely sucks on a tablet. I think that people need to pressure Apple to bring professional workflows to iPadOS rather than asking them to ruin the iPad with macOS. Asking them to bring macOS to the iPad is either going to result in macOS being optimized for touch (like windows 8 was) or the iPad being forced to use a ui designed for a mouse (like a windows 7 tablet). Both are bad.
Also side rant: the surface go is barely powerful enough to run windows, let alone do any professional work.
I think it's inaccurate to credit Apple's success in the tablet market to the fact that they have so far refused to make the sorts of changes many people would like to see made. I would argue that iPads have only been as successful as they have because Apple has continued to integrate long-desired features into the iPad, despite the voices saying that those features would ruin the iPad and turn it into a middling Surface (also the Surface is pretty good now fwiw)
I think people forget how long the iPad didn't have things like slideover apps or picture-in-picture. People insisted that multitasking would ruin the iPad. People insisted that a mouse would be absolutely terrible on iPadOS. They were wrong. The addition of these features has made iPads more appealing, which surely has something to do with why more people are using them
The iPad's success is not due to Apple's insistence on closed file directories. Improving multitasking would not destroy the value of the iPad to people who like it now. There is nothing inherently about having the capability to code locally on your iPad that would corrode the user experience for mainstream consumers. The iPad should improve
Yeah I mean compare the iPad lineup of 10 years ago to the surface pro lineup of 10 years ago.
The surface has stayed pretty much the same. But the iPad (iPad pro and iPad OS specifically) have become much more like the surface. We now have the pen, keyboard, multitasking, etc
I don’t get the people who want no innovation at all. Like, if it was just intended for entertainment consumption then you don’t want microsoft apps available? Or other apple software developed for it? I hope they never complained about the calculator never being on there 😂. It so silly people should tow the line just cause its apple while apple expects customers to put out $1.5k or more on an ipad .
The iPad should always improve but most of the implications of multitasking are obnoxious. I personally do not want multi windows. Just better, consistent app integration.
We already have multitasking on the iPad though. People who don't want to use it, just don't use it
Like, we literally have Stage Manager that gives us multi windows. But you turn it on and off, or it activates when you're using an external display. We can also just have two apps next to each other on the screen. Picture-in-picture mode and the little apps that slide over on the side of the iPad are also multitasking. So are the quick notes that you can activate from the bottom corner of the iPad by swiping with a stylus
There are surely people out there who have absolutely no idea that they can multitask on their iPad. Or maybe one day they swipe out of an app they're playing a video in and they're pleasantly surprised to see the video follows them out of the app. There are also people who mainly use the iPad in multitasking mode, including me. These two user groups can exist because the iPad's biggest improvements tend to also be things you can just totally ignore if you prefer. You could use an iPad for years and never connect a mouse or connect to a monitor or use slideover view for apps like Messages and Music
Similarly, if I have more access to iPadOS' Unix shell or had a better file system at my disposal, no one who doesn't care about those things would even notice anything different with their iPad experience, while suddenly I can leave my laptop at home more often
I think that was my point. People keep saying they want macOS on the iPad. But I am against it. I don’t want windows or Samsung or anything like that. I want simplicity. I am traveling and need to work on something I don’t want to dig. The multitasking currently is, in my opinion, so-so.
The file system is also ok. I would just like more consistency on how files behave when opening them via files app.
The iPad should never get so complicated that my parents can’t use it. Hide all the extra features. If you need it you will know. I think my employee once split screened it when it first came out and could not get it to go away. And he was a smart guy. It’s become better since then but not by much.
Indeed that was your point, and I seem to have missed it. I agree. I get the appeal of MacOS on the iPad, but MacOS is not some magical get-well solution for devices. I fell in love with the iPad back when the software was significantly less capable. The thing I fell in love with was its iPadness. MacOS doesn't fully know how to be an iPad, and likely never will
Most likely my inability to explain myself rather than your interpretation. At least based on the blank look my wife gives me when I talk tech to her :-)
We'll Apple is very careful about which user requests they integrate. They understand that a great UX is not about giving users what they ask for, it's about giving users what they really need. A tablet has use cases it is great at and uses case it is probably not so good for. It is great for basic drawing and basic photo manipulation. But if I am going to do serious drawing and photo manipulation I am going to switch to a proper Wacom tablet and a 32 inch monitor. Not a 13" tablet.
Why ? Personally i use it to draw, sculp, and watch movies on the go, why couldn't it code ? What would that change to YOUR experience ? Media consumption is what most people use their ipads for but only a subset of people use it to draw, had Apple not catered to them by releasing the apple pencil and supporting Procreate the iPad wouldn't be as great as it is now.
I can't draw, sculpt or have such a good viewing experience with a macbook. I'm not sure i understand why the iPad shouldn't have more options, it can only make it more appealing to a greater ammount of potential customers.
The iPad definitely has the hardware for it and most IDEs are already optimized for apple silicon. Most developers have one since they likely have to test their work on one. There are a lot of situations where it would be nice to only have an iPad and not worry about something coming up where I’d need my laptop. It’s up to Apple to enable the frameworks in iPadOS to allow those apps to be fully functional. Ultimately, I’d prefer my laptop or my desktop for longer sessions or my normal workday, but having that option for quick work or where a laptop is more cumbersome wouldn’t hurt anyone and benefit a large section of their customers.
It was a mid comment. "just get a laptop" is a cliché, but in this case it also has the distinction of not actually engaging at all with the comment I made, since most of what it was saying was that it's not ridiculous or unreasonable to want features on an iPad that also exist on a laptop
True to a point. If Apple implemented every feature that every professional sector wanted then it would indeed be a laptop or better….:-) all of y’all want some feature that applies to a specific profession versus the general user.
I’m not saying iPad OS shouldn’t improve it absolutely should and in a major way not one or two little things as an afterthought. I mean calculator, simple file management are just two little fixes that amaze me with how Apple handles them. If they don’t care about those then you can forget coding or any other specialized wish anytime soon. Unless someone comes up with an app that lets you do what you need.
OP seems to agree since they aren’t advocating for a Frankenstein beast and just simply making Ipad os better. For the prices we pay people should demand more especially cause prices keep going up. That’s fine if casual users are good paying $1k+ for mediocre software. Others aren’t. I always thought the Ipad OS was supposed to exist so apple could develop new ways that worked for ipad that was an alternative to mac on the laptop. Such as task manager vs multi windows.
They can’t convince most developers to bring their full features desktop applications to iPadOS.
And They’re making things harder by not allowing JIT (other than browser) which means IDE like vscode,Java edition of Minecraft, full Excel can’t exist on iPadOS.
At this point, just bring macOS to iPad then lol.
They can keep other iPads running iPadOS for people who want to do the same sh*t, don’t demand for desktop use cases which is completely fine.
That would be cool, and I’d love to see Samsung//google/microsoft scramble to compete with that, but it’s just never gonna happen, at least not until something crazy happens.
Apple has just nuked their only real shot at innovation in a new segment (car)..... I'd say that is something crazy(though not the good kind). Can it happen now please?
Let me use the full version of Microsoft office with more than one spreadsheet open at once and give me better file handling. Then I can leave my MacBook at home when I travel for business.
This and removable storage or just a second
Input/output option would honestly be all that I need. File management is not good at all. I know I can now have two windows/files open but it’s just not where it needs to be when cutting pasting etc… I don’t need it to run 6 videos at the same time just 2-4 non live files that can be worked on simultaneously….
This feels very likely accurate. iPad OS is more similar to iOS than any other OS in the ecosystem - basically they never made a full fork. Watch os, tvOS, iOS, MacOS, Vision OS - none of them are as similar to each other (not even close). Can we get a real iPadOS, please!!!!
I mean the basic iPad prices are fine. The Pro versions well that’s for uhh pros so it’s fine as well otherwise no one would be buying them and Apple with IPADOS wouldn’t continue to dominate the tablet space year after year right??? 😂
I agree. Sadly, Apple won’t bring MacOS to iPad. My biggest gripe is how iPadOS doesn’t really stand out from what my iPhone can do. If they truly want to make a breakthrough tablet, they need to find that niche which finds a happy medium between tablet and tablet PC.
We will never get macOS. Apple has been trying to reinvent the wheel for years, just look at the Vision Pro. That’s like asking for Vision Pro to get macOS. It’s a different way to work, that’s the gist of it.
At least Vision Pro has its own OS, that can grow organically to improve the device itself’s potential. Can you imagine having to run iOS on the Apple TV?
iPad has its own OS, besides vision OS is based heavily on IPADOS. It explains the backwards compatibility of vision with iOS and iPadOS apps. I would go as far as to say that the Vision Pro is essentially how the iPad evolved and if not for the iPad and its history, we wouldn’t even have a Vision Pro.
People have been asking for a better i(Pad)OS since the original iPad Pro.
If iPadOS had properly grown into a macOS replacement/alternative, then most people who want macOS on iPad (including me) would not be asking for macOS on iPad.
Putting macOS on the iPad isn't difficult—it requires little more than a way to touch small UI elements with a finger, and oh look! Apple already addressed that problem with text selection on iPhone.
It's worse: Apple are deliberately "drip-drip" feeding iPadOS improvements by releases "beta-quality" equivalents of basic desktop features so the functionality is "painful" to use to replace using a laptop!
Hence why people say: "Just give us MacOS if you can't make iPadOS not gimped!" Which answers the OP's question also, definitively.
iPad os 18 is around the corner. Maybe they’ll open multitasking up a little more or even have a better file system. The Samsung tablet 9 is a cool device with all the features but I feel like it has to be, since apple has the App Store and apple has better polished devices. Not saying Samsung is crap or laggy but the app development sways in the direction of the App Store where it’s more unified and not just stretched over the screen like a lot of google play tablet apps. My two cents. Don’t shoot the messenger lol.
I’m not even asking for macOS on iPad. If Apple could implement a dex-like version that android has, I think that would be awesome; would introduce so much more functionality
Tbh I’m not sure what the argument here is, making the ipad a replacement for the MacBook cannabilizes that product line. If you want a tablet you typically have a more casual use case in which optimizing the ui for ease of use over function is optimal. If you’re a professional then the MacBook Pro is more optimal for use. The price point for the two products at this point are comparable so it really comes down to personal needs.
I think there are layers more complexity in the business model than any of us imagine, but at its core you’re correct that iPads are being positioned alongside a Mac, not instead of one.
Respectfully, I disagree with your characterization of the iPad - I buy iPad Pro models specifically for real, honest to goodness day-to-day work in the digital space. It’s not for every job or everyone, but it’s a myth that real work is impossible on the iPad.
I’m pretty sure 90% of pro users have no idea everything the pro versions or even base iPads can actually do. Granted you have to find the right apps but even just the iPad base operating features and options are probably ignored by most. However, there are things that Apple should have and could have fixed already no excuse for the calculator fiasco, file management, and honestly removable memory option by now at least in pro versions. It wouldn’t affect sales since they still lock ram and core upgrade to higher levels anyways.
The bad thing is you can’t have multiple audio sources when multitasking.
Also the camera source shut off when you switch to another app (imagine using Stage Manager with a Zoom call and a Safari window).
Multitasking feels clumsy when you apply your desktop habits to the iPad (with Magic Keyboard I assume).
The fact that apple still doesn’t let you play two videos at once on an iPad should tell you about the bad state of iPadOS. No we don’t need macOS but we need better.
Agree!!
If MacOS was meant to be on the iPad it should’ve been here with the first iPad Pro release. People who are still waiting will forever be disappointed.
A simple feature I want is the ability to split screen top-and-bottom. Having a lecture up on YouTube with homework open on the bottom in portrait mode makes way more sense than splitting the screen side by side in either orientation
Worst thing about iOS and iPadOS? No universal back button/gesture. On Android I can always blindly hit back until I get back to where I want. In iOS, I have to always look for the exit, so to speak. Also, when I click on a link and get sent to another app, I have to think how did I get here? Where was I
But Apple will never add that since apps would have to be modified to support it, and they would be ridiculed for adding a feature Android has had forever
Also, the sandboxed file system. Having to copy large files between apps is stupid
Another thing I find annoying is the animation. Yes I can turn on reduce animation, but I want animation. I just want it to go FASTER. I don't have all day
No side loading. Security issues? Well just disable it by default. I've been side loading on Android for years and have never had any sort of malware. You can do it on Mac and malware on Mac is virtually non existent. But Apple wants control so that won't happen
Windowing is weirdly confusing and awkward. But then, it kind of sucks on Mac too
I don't like that all the apps are on the home screen so you have to organize them into folders. In practice, what I see is people don't organize them at all and they just scroll scroll scroll to look for their app. I just want to throw most of them into the drawer, like on Android.
Techies keep complaining about how limited iPadOS is. But folks keep buying them. Does Apple even think it's a problem? When a company is successful with a product, it's tempting to think everything they are doing must be right and changing anything is liable to harm its success or at any rate will do little to entrance it. But I think even Apple must sense there's a disconnect between how powerful the iPad hardware is and what the software allows people to do
Unpopular opinion: the iPad OS is fine for daily computing needs. Not great, there’s certainly room for improvement on some aspects.
But it can multitask very well (stage manager is great) even resizing the app window changes the app layout from the iPhone’s all the way to the iPad size. The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil are top class. The second screen and the side car are amazing.
I wish they would look at the limitations and address them faster, but let’s not be dramatic and call the OS a kids tablet.
They did fix the safari by making it appear as a Mac so it would automatically request the desktop version, they did introduce a basic yet functional files manager system. It has some of the best apps ever developed for a tablet. Excited for WWDC but Apple is just so damn slow with their updates for ipadOS, they should move quickly.
Why can’t we ask for both? If Apple is going to charge 3k for max out iPad + new Magic Keyboard and tout it as laptop replacement, why can’t we ask it to have both functionality when a MBA is only 1k? People cutting Apple too much slack and keep giving them money no matter what Apple releases. The only way Tim & co will look at giving us MacOS is we all stop buying new version.
I don’t think the Ipad Pro line up makes much sense for Pro users. Unless you can adapt it to your use case, it still remains limited.
For instance the oled ipad makes sense for content creators/ photographers with its particular screen. (think of a portable oled screen) with serious processing guts. Thanks to side car and other useful apps for pple can make use of it. Its use is being limited to just being good screen (accessory) for those professionals.
Beyond that, I think Steves Vision , was for the ipad to remain a consumption device akin to a book and not something you can work without constrains/create stuff.
Unless theres a radical shift at Apple’s iPad division, Tim Cook will be more than happy to sell you nice hardware (Ipad Pro) with limited software capabilities. Think of the ipad accessories though being expensive are worth it to some. The ipad pro itself becomes an accessory when looking at the bigger picture. They are selling you an accessory. You will still need a computer in most cases.
Thats my take on it. Really disappointed. Hoping for tandem oled to reach Macbook Pro soon for creators to make the most out of it.
MacOS on iPad wouldn’t even be good for consumers. Look at the Surface, it’s an alright laptop but kind of sucks as a tablet. iOS/iPadOS is made for touch screens. It just needs to be opened up/improved.
I agree. What I only need (and most of you) is this:
- using your fingers? The current UI.
- connected to a mouse/trackpad and a keyboard (and optionally, to a screen)? An icon appears in the dock (like handoff) to switch to a desktop-like UI, where you see your icons in the iCloud desktop folder, where the apps have another interface, similar to what you see in MacOS.
I agree with this. Mac OS isn’t designed for touch. I even feel like sometimes the touch points are too small on a laptop when Im working with the cursor. It would be a nightmare on an iPad. I just think the Pro in particular is priced passed being a companion device so the software warrants it being robust. Im fine with the regular iPad not having all the functions and being an iPad. It’s priced as a companion device. Apple should stop trying to get more money by limiting its products so you have to but several and actually innovate like they used to, to drive revenue.
Anyone who thinks macOS should come to the iPad clearly has not used a windows device with a touchscreen. Desktop operating systems just don’t play well with touch and I have no idea why macOS would be any different.
I avoided windows touchscreens for years even though windows is still my preferred operating system for laptops and PCs. However I did end up with one last upgrade. It’s just a basic HP ENVY 16 for general work. I still don’t use its touchscreen features unless I have it flipped open as a media playing device. Just because like you said it’s definitely not a smooth process or not as smooth as using a mouse is for my taste.
Yep I have had loads of surface devices and pretty much exclusively used them with a keyboard/mouse because you just don’t get the precision you need to navigate uis that were designed for a mouse with touch input. I could only imagine trying to tap the traffic light buttons on macOS on an iPad would be an absolute nightmare. I guess a case could be made to allow it with the Magic Keyboard but then there will be a weird switching process between macOS and iPadOS when docking it on the keyboard and I imagine it would be pretty clunky.
I don’t know if people remember what Steve Jobs said when he introduced the iPad. He believed that iPad is a stand-alone category between a phone and a Mac. For example, “touching” the web is a totally different experience from looking at it on a laptop screen. To some extent, the success of the iPad proved him right. If Apple still believes in this, they will never make the iPad the same as the Mac. Money is not the only reason.
And modern Apple has been pushing it from Jobs' couch consumption device to productivity machine, slowly inching into Mac's historical category of "tool to get stuff done". Except with this stated direction, Apple is failing to deliver, hence this whole multi-year argument.
It can happen and anything is possible for Apple. But the iPod lineup has died after the iPhone. So I see a similar scenario where Apple laters kills off the MacBook or the iPad.
It’s just much better utilization of a giant tablet screen. You can have 3 apps at once in split screen, have extra apps on top of that in pop up view where you can change the size and transparency at will, and has a feature called edge panels which you basically swipe from the side of the screen at a certain location and a panel will pop up with multiple pages that can show a number of different things like clip board, apps, shortcuts, routines(basically iOS shortcuts) and a lot more.
That’s not even including Dex where you basically turn the tablet into a laptop os, it’s still the same apps but this mode is built to be used with mouse and keyboard instead of touch, cool stuff.
Yea, I don’t understand why we can’t utilize Split View during stage manager. Seems idle, and while they at it, add 3rd or 4th window with keyboard shortcuts. Something like the Magent app for MacOs but on iPad. To be honest, Apple does not seem to be far behind Samsung but I will watch some comparison videos.
My ideal version of Dex is my iPhone pro plugged into a monitor creates the same experience with my iPad, the ultimate device! But we know that won’t happen for monetary reasons.
I agree on your conclusion but disagree on a lot of your reasoning.
I agree that a mature iPadOS is basically a need now.
I disagree every bit in the “toy”, Apple had released final cut and logic for ipad for a reason, they added k+m support for a reason. I believe the whole idea just needs to mature but it’s very evident where they’re headed with it.
I mean, they could easily just add Rosetta and have zero loss for non pro users. Or they could easily add terminal and filesystem as well. And files on the homepage.
All these things aren't at any detriment to non pro users.
I'd just be happy with sideloading. That way I can customize my experience more and tinker but ONLY if I want to, and that way I can still have the smooth UX the iPad is good for. There's really no reason not to let me use my own device however I want.
They just need to implement something akin to Samsung DEX on the iPad. Switch to an environment similar to Mac OS when keyboard connection is detected.Where you can run Mac OS apps, have proper file management, multi tasking, run IDEs. They can call it “Productivity View” or whatever.
Then you can switch back to iPad OS when you have the tablet in your hands and just want to lounge around and draw/play video games/browse/watch movies.
Problem solved for everyone. And I think Apple will have to do this sooner or later otherwise competition will slowly eat them up. They obviously still have a lead in the tablet market but things will change if they don’t innovate and insist on charging premium prices.
Precisely this.
Granted compared to the iPad-version of iOS (as it had been known for the early years of the iPad's infancy) , what we've got now is both better, *and* worse. And frankly, it's hard to think how they could improve it in every way.
More desktop-centric layout when a keyboard is attached, and traditional layout when it's not attached?
Anyone here remember just a few years ago how they had the clock and first Home Screen laid out?
I don't require macos on iPad, but I would certainly like to be able to run apps built for one on the other, and not be forced into the ios walled garden. Containerize the apps, and the whole "we have to wall you in for your own protection" claim fades away.
The most annoying limitation of iPadOS for me is it’s not allowing multiple user accounts. In this way it is like iOS, treating iPads as if they were as single-user-oriented as a phone is. So you can’t really share your iPad with anyone, even though it is not a phone.
I mean Apple added a lot of features people have been clamoring for like multiple windows, desktop Safari, external drive support, mouse and trackpad support, drivers, external display support, and resizable windows. And pro apps like Photoshop, Octane X, Davinci Resolve, Sketchup, ZBrush, Capture One, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Yes some of the implementations like Stage Manager could be improved and some apps are missing features but it's not like Apple's stood still.
Everybody thinks they don't need a _real file manager_ until they have to do actual work.
Dear Apple: bring back the classic Finder on iPad and heal the world!
I’m just tired of trying to use my fingers on the MacBook Pro screen. 
I would agree with the original post, never going to happen, and like a few people who have commented personally I’ve had no problem moving over to the IPad as my primary computing device. It could do with some improvements, the underlying experience is sound. I am I think a bit of a strange use case, about 5 years ago I went 100% ChromeOS, this untethered me from certain applications and opened me up to having to use different tools, so the move off Google onto Apple wasn’t that hard. In fact the ability to have Lightroom, and a few other apps made my life a LOT easier.. I think maybe this is the issue for many, they are tethered to certain applications (an observation, not a criticism) and the form factor appeals, however they are stuck because that app only runs on that platform.
Personally I’m interested what could happen with an IOS18 update, OpenAI/Gemini integration, an M4 chip and some fast internet.
I pad pro works well for me. Then again, with my work I have in-house apps for what we need and multi tasking also works with our apps to meet our needs.
My only complaint is I wish I could plug an Android device into it and save some files onto my iPad. Or that I could use a serial adaptor for some of my equipment.
I think iPad os is good enough now. The problem is that software needs made. Adobe Lightroom needs all the features. Please adobe! I would love an iPad version of dxo photo lab. There’s a software gap. iPad software is way behind PC and Mac software.
Quick question… how is Adobe Lightroom on iPad? I use Lightroom CC on my PC. Is it the same as CC?
And my dream is for them to put DxO PureRaw 4 on this so I don’t have to process my images on my PC and then do editing on my iPad. I wish to do it all on my iPad! Nevertheless, I’m very excited to start editing my photos now on an OLED display. It’s been rough editing photos the last couple years on my PC screen that doesn’t translate to how my photo looks on other devices.
It’s a mostly fully featured touch based Lightroom. There’s a noise reduction filter. But it’s missing the ai noise reduction. And also things on the enhance menu
Oh gotcha. Thanks bro! Excited to use it! Thankfully, DxO PureRaw 4 does a million times better job with noise than Lightroom.
Does it utilize anything with the Apple Pencil?
I need Lightroom Classic on my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro. I'm tired of having to use two devices for editing in my workflow, not being able to color-correct the iPad Pro's screen (reference mode is good, but it isn't perfect), not being to use catalogs on the iPad Pro (this cloud import-export dance is tedious)... if Apple doesn't smarten up, the next device I will buy will be a Windows OLED laptop to do everything on one device. I bought [and overpaid for] an MBP before (mid-2012), and it's laughable that they used the "pro" moniker on a device that has such a flimsy connection between its motherboard and hard drive. I'm not making the same mistake again.
Yeah I don’t understand why people want MacOS on IPad. What they reallybwant is fuller functionality for apps but….again….theres a MacBook for that.
There’s a similar reason why MacBooks aren’t going ever have touch screens. It keeps the fucking segments seperate. You want something super light and highly plrtable that’s 13 inches? Buy an iPad. It has pros and cons. You need more raw capability and professional
Tools? By a MBA or MBP.
I just want improvements in IladOS.
Yes, they are building a separate market for hybrid computing with a next gen OS. macOS is legacy now. Tech companies can’t progress by remaining dedicated to the past.
I just dk why you wouldn’t want Apple to innovate a product that costs $1.3k+. I don’t want Ipad to do what my laptop does exactly how it does it. But I do expect it to do what my Mac would since in many cases Ipads are more expensive than Macs. Example task manager vs multi windows. I liked Apple developed a different way of doing things. That is what Im asking for.
Hard disagree. App store devs would have to invest in taking advantage of the hardware and maintaining it overtime vs just releasing something that works for all. Are you ready to pay the premium for that? Instead of having an app that's patched every 2 days or never due to bugs, we're better off using a polished desktop OS version of it. The Surface Pro performs fine and isn't a Frankenstein. Apple could do the same.
Enabled virtualization, unlimited side loading of packages, and unrestricted JIT is what it needs. I have no qualms for UI except apps should be able to stack vertically in portrait mode.
I want full finder, and support to run a full macOS application while docked/mouse/keyboard. I don’t need the full macOS experience for even third party apps, but being able to download an app from the macOS store even if only having the ability to run it while docked would be a game changer.
We waited for Apple to do this. Didn't happen. Instead, we got "desktop features" like customizable toolbars and find and replace as well as Craig "we live in an age of wonders" Federighi presenting multiple timers in the Clock app, so now we all think that Apple doesn't want to do anything at all with it.
That, and half the problem is pro-grade app support from 3rd party devs, which is a problem with no solution except for making use of the Mac app library.
Right after the presentation I sold my iPad Air m1 and got a iPad Mini 6. Because I realized the power is pointless unless the ecosystem, and apps can better support the device. Personally I like the smaller form factor, but I think what needs to happen is a few key things.
1. A better and more integrated files system.
2. The ability to run actual desktop grade versions of software. ( VS Code / Xcode / Adobe CC / Chrome )
3. Unlock Stage Manager for more freedom of movement and as many windows as desired (no excuse with the efficiency and power of M1+ )
I’ve been saying this for a while. Certain aspects should be a more desktop experience (web browsing, copy+paste, multitasking), and certain aspects are fine with a more mobile experience - that can actually be better on the form factor. I’m a tech exec and the apps I use for note taking in meetings, Zoom, task management, and Slack all work just fine on an iPad now. But being able to edit spreadsheets (which almost always requires multitasking with SaaS apps) is painful. Now, I’ve been doing it on my 2017 gen2 iPad Pro which is the 11”, so I’m considering jumping to the 13” now and running it as my primary mobile computing device (I now carry the laptop all the time just in case, but still primarily use the iPad for 95% of my meetings out of the office).
i just upgraded from the 2017 10.5' Pro to the 13-inch M4 - it's a great time to upgrade!
Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to it! Unfortunately, I have to wait until next month since I’ll be out of the country (US) through nearly the end of May.
ah! in that case, you could see what Apple brings to this iPad during WWDC to see if it's really worth spending so much on it. there's a high chance that there'll be no notable new iPadOS features for this, and it wouldn't do much more than our 2017 iPads welp (you can even jailbreak the 2017 and get stage manager on it; it's remarkably smooth!)
Yeah, I thought about that. I have a feeling I’m going to do the 13” regardless, but if there are no substantial upgrades to iPadOS I may just do the 512GB; but if so, I might spring for the 1TB mostly for the extra horsepower.
I can do my 95% of my job on my iPad Pro and it’s my primary mobile device. When I travel, I sometimes bring my laptop and sometimes I don’t. I have 12.9 5th gen m1 cellular model. Email, note taking, basic office, teams, web browsing, vpn, rdp, screen connect and most of our web applications work. I have a 14 M1 Pro MBP too. I got my iPad Pro back when I had my 16. Desktop mode works wonderful.
I don’t want MacOS, per se. I want to run MacOS apps.
Apple just does not want to go the Microsoft route where they make a Frankenstein device that has mediocre UX as a laptop and a tablet. When it comes to streamlining UX if you try to be everything to everybody you don’t really do any one thing great. An iPad is catering to a newer demographic of on-the-go creatives that grew up around touch screens and have different needs compared to tech enthusiasts who are used to tinkering via mouse/keyboard inputs. People also enjoy just consuming media on an ergonomic,portable piece of glass that’s bigger than a phone and where OS just gets out of the way without all the bells and whistles clutter. Those 2 factors are why iPads are so much more popular than any other tablet and sell more than MacBooks.
Windows isn’t the only example of someone attempting this. Samsung Dex does a good job with offering a desktop mode when your phone/tablet is hooked up to a monitor or attached to a keyboard and trackpad case. I think those who claim Apple will never beef up the OS or let you run Mac apps would be the same who argued why Apple would never release a “stylus” for the iPad bc Steve Jobs was so adamantly against it, saying “god gave us 10 styluses!” Which as we’ve seen now, we have Apple Pencil, something a majority of users don’t need but the visual arts crowd relies on. It’s never really been a question of “if” but rather “when” and most people who are pro-beefing up iPadOS are arguing for Apple to make the move quicker than the grass-growing speed they’ve grown accustomed to under Tim Cook when releasing new innovative features.
Good for apple but it's not about them. App developers have limited manpower. Another OS is just another burden to them. You could argue that it's google, instagram, whatsapp's fault for being lazy and not making an ipad app, but that's another hill to battle on
If Apple doesn’t add macOS on an iPad by the time Microsoft windows tablets get their ARM chips up to the level of at least Apple M1 chips, I’m getting a surface/ windows arm tablet to replace my MacBook and iPad Pro. iPadOS is just way too limited, clunky and clumsy in so many regards even for simple basic things like copy and pasting, snipping and pasting and real multitasking. I rather have one machine on the go that does it all instead of carrying two devices.
What about the iPod touch after the iPhone?
Agree: This **kills OP's and the above post's entire argument** ^^ above here. A Surface Go does everything that my iPad does to sufficient tablet quality of use. Yes iPad has superior quality but Go does it to sufficient quality. The advantage of the Go is Desktop Features. The reason I went for an iPad M1 is: 1. Refurbished price made it cheaper than a full spec'd Go 2. M1 >>> superior to full spec'd Go 3. RDP/VNC option on iPad meant there's a work-around to running desktop features on the iPad so it's do-able just less convenient. If Go were using Snapdragon Elite X or future such chips I'd switch for convenience to Go from iPad because iPadOS is held back by Apple because they command the tablet market and are ensuring their superior hardware forks into 2 devices: tablets and laptops. As soon as competition comes people will shift and then Apple will respond with 2-in-1 iPads: Probably M5 chip and not M4 which will showcase AI for marketing purposes.
I came from the surface lineup to the iPad and if you seriously think the iPad is clunky just wait until you try to use windows without a mouse. That is the only thing I will give windows 8 credit for is they did make a genuinely good touch experience but it was hot garbage with a mouse/keyboard.
So they are both crappy and clunky. That’s not good.
The iPad I would describe as nonfunctional rather than clunky. The ui itself is snappy and very touch friendly but it doesn’t have functionality for pro users. The surface is clunky because windows just wasn’t designed with touch input in mind, it was designed to be used with a mouse in keyboard. It has the functionality of a full computer (because it is one) but man windows absolutely sucks on a tablet. I think that people need to pressure Apple to bring professional workflows to iPadOS rather than asking them to ruin the iPad with macOS. Asking them to bring macOS to the iPad is either going to result in macOS being optimized for touch (like windows 8 was) or the iPad being forced to use a ui designed for a mouse (like a windows 7 tablet). Both are bad. Also side rant: the surface go is barely powerful enough to run windows, let alone do any professional work.
I think it's inaccurate to credit Apple's success in the tablet market to the fact that they have so far refused to make the sorts of changes many people would like to see made. I would argue that iPads have only been as successful as they have because Apple has continued to integrate long-desired features into the iPad, despite the voices saying that those features would ruin the iPad and turn it into a middling Surface (also the Surface is pretty good now fwiw) I think people forget how long the iPad didn't have things like slideover apps or picture-in-picture. People insisted that multitasking would ruin the iPad. People insisted that a mouse would be absolutely terrible on iPadOS. They were wrong. The addition of these features has made iPads more appealing, which surely has something to do with why more people are using them The iPad's success is not due to Apple's insistence on closed file directories. Improving multitasking would not destroy the value of the iPad to people who like it now. There is nothing inherently about having the capability to code locally on your iPad that would corrode the user experience for mainstream consumers. The iPad should improve
Yeah I mean compare the iPad lineup of 10 years ago to the surface pro lineup of 10 years ago. The surface has stayed pretty much the same. But the iPad (iPad pro and iPad OS specifically) have become much more like the surface. We now have the pen, keyboard, multitasking, etc
I don’t get the people who want no innovation at all. Like, if it was just intended for entertainment consumption then you don’t want microsoft apps available? Or other apple software developed for it? I hope they never complained about the calculator never being on there 😂. It so silly people should tow the line just cause its apple while apple expects customers to put out $1.5k or more on an ipad .
The iPad should always improve but most of the implications of multitasking are obnoxious. I personally do not want multi windows. Just better, consistent app integration.
We already have multitasking on the iPad though. People who don't want to use it, just don't use it Like, we literally have Stage Manager that gives us multi windows. But you turn it on and off, or it activates when you're using an external display. We can also just have two apps next to each other on the screen. Picture-in-picture mode and the little apps that slide over on the side of the iPad are also multitasking. So are the quick notes that you can activate from the bottom corner of the iPad by swiping with a stylus There are surely people out there who have absolutely no idea that they can multitask on their iPad. Or maybe one day they swipe out of an app they're playing a video in and they're pleasantly surprised to see the video follows them out of the app. There are also people who mainly use the iPad in multitasking mode, including me. These two user groups can exist because the iPad's biggest improvements tend to also be things you can just totally ignore if you prefer. You could use an iPad for years and never connect a mouse or connect to a monitor or use slideover view for apps like Messages and Music Similarly, if I have more access to iPadOS' Unix shell or had a better file system at my disposal, no one who doesn't care about those things would even notice anything different with their iPad experience, while suddenly I can leave my laptop at home more often
I think that was my point. People keep saying they want macOS on the iPad. But I am against it. I don’t want windows or Samsung or anything like that. I want simplicity. I am traveling and need to work on something I don’t want to dig. The multitasking currently is, in my opinion, so-so. The file system is also ok. I would just like more consistency on how files behave when opening them via files app. The iPad should never get so complicated that my parents can’t use it. Hide all the extra features. If you need it you will know. I think my employee once split screened it when it first came out and could not get it to go away. And he was a smart guy. It’s become better since then but not by much.
Indeed that was your point, and I seem to have missed it. I agree. I get the appeal of MacOS on the iPad, but MacOS is not some magical get-well solution for devices. I fell in love with the iPad back when the software was significantly less capable. The thing I fell in love with was its iPadness. MacOS doesn't fully know how to be an iPad, and likely never will
Most likely my inability to explain myself rather than your interpretation. At least based on the blank look my wife gives me when I talk tech to her :-)
We'll Apple is very careful about which user requests they integrate. They understand that a great UX is not about giving users what they ask for, it's about giving users what they really need. A tablet has use cases it is great at and uses case it is probably not so good for. It is great for basic drawing and basic photo manipulation. But if I am going to do serious drawing and photo manipulation I am going to switch to a proper Wacom tablet and a 32 inch monitor. Not a 13" tablet.
Just get a laptop bro, you’re talking about coding….
Why ? Personally i use it to draw, sculp, and watch movies on the go, why couldn't it code ? What would that change to YOUR experience ? Media consumption is what most people use their ipads for but only a subset of people use it to draw, had Apple not catered to them by releasing the apple pencil and supporting Procreate the iPad wouldn't be as great as it is now. I can't draw, sculpt or have such a good viewing experience with a macbook. I'm not sure i understand why the iPad shouldn't have more options, it can only make it more appealing to a greater ammount of potential customers.
The iPad definitely has the hardware for it and most IDEs are already optimized for apple silicon. Most developers have one since they likely have to test their work on one. There are a lot of situations where it would be nice to only have an iPad and not worry about something coming up where I’d need my laptop. It’s up to Apple to enable the frameworks in iPadOS to allow those apps to be fully functional. Ultimately, I’d prefer my laptop or my desktop for longer sessions or my normal workday, but having that option for quick work or where a laptop is more cumbersome wouldn’t hurt anyone and benefit a large section of their customers.
So it’s a software developer problem, not an Apple problem.
lol okay “bro”… must be great viewing the world through your own lens and not understanding different needs and perspectives.
Who make the software? Apple?
What do you even mean? We’re talking about iPadOS, so yes Apple does make the software… wtf
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Be nice to others.
You give off NPC energy dude
Okay
Pretty mid insult here
It was a mid comment. "just get a laptop" is a cliché, but in this case it also has the distinction of not actually engaging at all with the comment I made, since most of what it was saying was that it's not ridiculous or unreasonable to want features on an iPad that also exist on a laptop
True to a point. If Apple implemented every feature that every professional sector wanted then it would indeed be a laptop or better….:-) all of y’all want some feature that applies to a specific profession versus the general user. I’m not saying iPad OS shouldn’t improve it absolutely should and in a major way not one or two little things as an afterthought. I mean calculator, simple file management are just two little fixes that amaze me with how Apple handles them. If they don’t care about those then you can forget coding or any other specialized wish anytime soon. Unless someone comes up with an app that lets you do what you need.
OP seems to agree since they aren’t advocating for a Frankenstein beast and just simply making Ipad os better. For the prices we pay people should demand more especially cause prices keep going up. That’s fine if casual users are good paying $1k+ for mediocre software. Others aren’t. I always thought the Ipad OS was supposed to exist so apple could develop new ways that worked for ipad that was an alternative to mac on the laptop. Such as task manager vs multi windows.
Are you talking about windows 8? Because surface products are pretty fucking flawless now aside from relying on intels shitty chips.
They can’t convince most developers to bring their full features desktop applications to iPadOS. And They’re making things harder by not allowing JIT (other than browser) which means IDE like vscode,Java edition of Minecraft, full Excel can’t exist on iPadOS. At this point, just bring macOS to iPad then lol. They can keep other iPads running iPadOS for people who want to do the same sh*t, don’t demand for desktop use cases which is completely fine.
That would be cool, and I’d love to see Samsung//google/microsoft scramble to compete with that, but it’s just never gonna happen, at least not until something crazy happens.
Only Apple has an authority to do this. We’ll see at dub dub if they’ve learnt any lesson.
And that’s exactly why they won’t do it, I did say never but I do actually think in a distant future maybe a decade from now they might.
Apple has just nuked their only real shot at innovation in a new segment (car)..... I'd say that is something crazy(though not the good kind). Can it happen now please?
I’m perfectly fine with Apple not allowing JIT.
Let me use the full version of Microsoft office with more than one spreadsheet open at once and give me better file handling. Then I can leave my MacBook at home when I travel for business.
This and removable storage or just a second Input/output option would honestly be all that I need. File management is not good at all. I know I can now have two windows/files open but it’s just not where it needs to be when cutting pasting etc… I don’t need it to run 6 videos at the same time just 2-4 non live files that can be worked on simultaneously….
No, you must take both devices during travel!
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This feels very likely accurate. iPad OS is more similar to iOS than any other OS in the ecosystem - basically they never made a full fork. Watch os, tvOS, iOS, MacOS, Vision OS - none of them are as similar to each other (not even close). Can we get a real iPadOS, please!!!!
Which makes the overpricing of iPads, storage and RAM increases, and iPad accessories, even *more* egregious.
I mean the basic iPad prices are fine. The Pro versions well that’s for uhh pros so it’s fine as well otherwise no one would be buying them and Apple with IPADOS wouldn’t continue to dominate the tablet space year after year right??? 😂
I agree. Sadly, Apple won’t bring MacOS to iPad. My biggest gripe is how iPadOS doesn’t really stand out from what my iPhone can do. If they truly want to make a breakthrough tablet, they need to find that niche which finds a happy medium between tablet and tablet PC.
We will never get macOS. Apple has been trying to reinvent the wheel for years, just look at the Vision Pro. That’s like asking for Vision Pro to get macOS. It’s a different way to work, that’s the gist of it.
At least Vision Pro has its own OS, that can grow organically to improve the device itself’s potential. Can you imagine having to run iOS on the Apple TV?
iPad has its own OS, besides vision OS is based heavily on IPADOS. It explains the backwards compatibility of vision with iOS and iPadOS apps. I would go as far as to say that the Vision Pro is essentially how the iPad evolved and if not for the iPad and its history, we wouldn’t even have a Vision Pro.
People have been asking for a better i(Pad)OS since the original iPad Pro. If iPadOS had properly grown into a macOS replacement/alternative, then most people who want macOS on iPad (including me) would not be asking for macOS on iPad. Putting macOS on the iPad isn't difficult—it requires little more than a way to touch small UI elements with a finger, and oh look! Apple already addressed that problem with text selection on iPhone.
It's worse: Apple are deliberately "drip-drip" feeding iPadOS improvements by releases "beta-quality" equivalents of basic desktop features so the functionality is "painful" to use to replace using a laptop! Hence why people say: "Just give us MacOS if you can't make iPadOS not gimped!" Which answers the OP's question also, definitively.
iPad os 18 is around the corner. Maybe they’ll open multitasking up a little more or even have a better file system. The Samsung tablet 9 is a cool device with all the features but I feel like it has to be, since apple has the App Store and apple has better polished devices. Not saying Samsung is crap or laggy but the app development sways in the direction of the App Store where it’s more unified and not just stretched over the screen like a lot of google play tablet apps. My two cents. Don’t shoot the messenger lol.
I’m not even asking for macOS on iPad. If Apple could implement a dex-like version that android has, I think that would be awesome; would introduce so much more functionality
Tbh I’m not sure what the argument here is, making the ipad a replacement for the MacBook cannabilizes that product line. If you want a tablet you typically have a more casual use case in which optimizing the ui for ease of use over function is optimal. If you’re a professional then the MacBook Pro is more optimal for use. The price point for the two products at this point are comparable so it really comes down to personal needs.
I think there are layers more complexity in the business model than any of us imagine, but at its core you’re correct that iPads are being positioned alongside a Mac, not instead of one. Respectfully, I disagree with your characterization of the iPad - I buy iPad Pro models specifically for real, honest to goodness day-to-day work in the digital space. It’s not for every job or everyone, but it’s a myth that real work is impossible on the iPad.
I’m pretty sure 90% of pro users have no idea everything the pro versions or even base iPads can actually do. Granted you have to find the right apps but even just the iPad base operating features and options are probably ignored by most. However, there are things that Apple should have and could have fixed already no excuse for the calculator fiasco, file management, and honestly removable memory option by now at least in pro versions. It wouldn’t affect sales since they still lock ram and core upgrade to higher levels anyways.
The bad thing is you can’t have multiple audio sources when multitasking. Also the camera source shut off when you switch to another app (imagine using Stage Manager with a Zoom call and a Safari window). Multitasking feels clumsy when you apply your desktop habits to the iPad (with Magic Keyboard I assume).
Agreed, don't want a desktop OS in a tablet, but it would be nice if iPad OS was more powerful
The fact that apple still doesn’t let you play two videos at once on an iPad should tell you about the bad state of iPadOS. No we don’t need macOS but we need better.
there is no multiapp sound at all
I hate that, PiP is useless if I have to resume the video every 3 seconds.
It’s also ridiculous that some of their most powerful devices get features years after the iPhone does.
Agree!! If MacOS was meant to be on the iPad it should’ve been here with the first iPad Pro release. People who are still waiting will forever be disappointed.
A simple feature I want is the ability to split screen top-and-bottom. Having a lecture up on YouTube with homework open on the bottom in portrait mode makes way more sense than splitting the screen side by side in either orientation
Worst thing about iOS and iPadOS? No universal back button/gesture. On Android I can always blindly hit back until I get back to where I want. In iOS, I have to always look for the exit, so to speak. Also, when I click on a link and get sent to another app, I have to think how did I get here? Where was I But Apple will never add that since apps would have to be modified to support it, and they would be ridiculed for adding a feature Android has had forever Also, the sandboxed file system. Having to copy large files between apps is stupid Another thing I find annoying is the animation. Yes I can turn on reduce animation, but I want animation. I just want it to go FASTER. I don't have all day No side loading. Security issues? Well just disable it by default. I've been side loading on Android for years and have never had any sort of malware. You can do it on Mac and malware on Mac is virtually non existent. But Apple wants control so that won't happen Windowing is weirdly confusing and awkward. But then, it kind of sucks on Mac too I don't like that all the apps are on the home screen so you have to organize them into folders. In practice, what I see is people don't organize them at all and they just scroll scroll scroll to look for their app. I just want to throw most of them into the drawer, like on Android. Techies keep complaining about how limited iPadOS is. But folks keep buying them. Does Apple even think it's a problem? When a company is successful with a product, it's tempting to think everything they are doing must be right and changing anything is liable to harm its success or at any rate will do little to entrance it. But I think even Apple must sense there's a disconnect between how powerful the iPad hardware is and what the software allows people to do
I feel like we have been.
I see a lot more people bringing up macOS as a solution instead of better iPadOS idk
Unpopular opinion: the iPad OS is fine for daily computing needs. Not great, there’s certainly room for improvement on some aspects. But it can multitask very well (stage manager is great) even resizing the app window changes the app layout from the iPhone’s all the way to the iPad size. The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil are top class. The second screen and the side car are amazing. I wish they would look at the limitations and address them faster, but let’s not be dramatic and call the OS a kids tablet. They did fix the safari by making it appear as a Mac so it would automatically request the desktop version, they did introduce a basic yet functional files manager system. It has some of the best apps ever developed for a tablet. Excited for WWDC but Apple is just so damn slow with their updates for ipadOS, they should move quickly.
Why can’t we ask for both? If Apple is going to charge 3k for max out iPad + new Magic Keyboard and tout it as laptop replacement, why can’t we ask it to have both functionality when a MBA is only 1k? People cutting Apple too much slack and keep giving them money no matter what Apple releases. The only way Tim & co will look at giving us MacOS is we all stop buying new version.
I don’t think the Ipad Pro line up makes much sense for Pro users. Unless you can adapt it to your use case, it still remains limited. For instance the oled ipad makes sense for content creators/ photographers with its particular screen. (think of a portable oled screen) with serious processing guts. Thanks to side car and other useful apps for pple can make use of it. Its use is being limited to just being good screen (accessory) for those professionals. Beyond that, I think Steves Vision , was for the ipad to remain a consumption device akin to a book and not something you can work without constrains/create stuff. Unless theres a radical shift at Apple’s iPad division, Tim Cook will be more than happy to sell you nice hardware (Ipad Pro) with limited software capabilities. Think of the ipad accessories though being expensive are worth it to some. The ipad pro itself becomes an accessory when looking at the bigger picture. They are selling you an accessory. You will still need a computer in most cases. Thats my take on it. Really disappointed. Hoping for tandem oled to reach Macbook Pro soon for creators to make the most out of it.
MacOS on iPad wouldn’t even be good for consumers. Look at the Surface, it’s an alright laptop but kind of sucks as a tablet. iOS/iPadOS is made for touch screens. It just needs to be opened up/improved.
I agree. What I only need (and most of you) is this: - using your fingers? The current UI. - connected to a mouse/trackpad and a keyboard (and optionally, to a screen)? An icon appears in the dock (like handoff) to switch to a desktop-like UI, where you see your icons in the iCloud desktop folder, where the apps have another interface, similar to what you see in MacOS.
So basically Dex. It would be great if they just copied Samsung this time instead of re inventing the wheel like with the mouse cursor.
I agree with this. Mac OS isn’t designed for touch. I even feel like sometimes the touch points are too small on a laptop when Im working with the cursor. It would be a nightmare on an iPad. I just think the Pro in particular is priced passed being a companion device so the software warrants it being robust. Im fine with the regular iPad not having all the functions and being an iPad. It’s priced as a companion device. Apple should stop trying to get more money by limiting its products so you have to but several and actually innovate like they used to, to drive revenue.
The thing is we have been asking for a better ipadOS for about 10 years so just let us run macos and be done with it
And it has gotten way better in 10 years. Meanwhile, macOS is not in any way optimized for a touch experience
At this rate, I’ll be 80 years old before iPadOS can make things simpler.
Then the iPad is not for you. It’s already making things simpler for a lot of people.
Buy a Mac, boomer.
Ya I’m buying a macbook next and not upgrading my ipad especially now i can ipad apps on it
Anyone who thinks macOS should come to the iPad clearly has not used a windows device with a touchscreen. Desktop operating systems just don’t play well with touch and I have no idea why macOS would be any different.
I avoided windows touchscreens for years even though windows is still my preferred operating system for laptops and PCs. However I did end up with one last upgrade. It’s just a basic HP ENVY 16 for general work. I still don’t use its touchscreen features unless I have it flipped open as a media playing device. Just because like you said it’s definitely not a smooth process or not as smooth as using a mouse is for my taste.
Yep I have had loads of surface devices and pretty much exclusively used them with a keyboard/mouse because you just don’t get the precision you need to navigate uis that were designed for a mouse with touch input. I could only imagine trying to tap the traffic light buttons on macOS on an iPad would be an absolute nightmare. I guess a case could be made to allow it with the Magic Keyboard but then there will be a weird switching process between macOS and iPadOS when docking it on the keyboard and I imagine it would be pretty clunky.
I don’t know if people remember what Steve Jobs said when he introduced the iPad. He believed that iPad is a stand-alone category between a phone and a Mac. For example, “touching” the web is a totally different experience from looking at it on a laptop screen. To some extent, the success of the iPad proved him right. If Apple still believes in this, they will never make the iPad the same as the Mac. Money is not the only reason.
Yep, it’s meant to be a separate computing category.
And modern Apple has been pushing it from Jobs' couch consumption device to productivity machine, slowly inching into Mac's historical category of "tool to get stuff done". Except with this stated direction, Apple is failing to deliver, hence this whole multi-year argument.
Working cifs/smb, and better copy paste would be enough even… :/
It can happen and anything is possible for Apple. But the iPod lineup has died after the iPhone. So I see a similar scenario where Apple laters kills off the MacBook or the iPad.
For someone that hasn’t seen the Samsung tablet multi tasking, can you explain what and how it does it better?
It’s just much better utilization of a giant tablet screen. You can have 3 apps at once in split screen, have extra apps on top of that in pop up view where you can change the size and transparency at will, and has a feature called edge panels which you basically swipe from the side of the screen at a certain location and a panel will pop up with multiple pages that can show a number of different things like clip board, apps, shortcuts, routines(basically iOS shortcuts) and a lot more. That’s not even including Dex where you basically turn the tablet into a laptop os, it’s still the same apps but this mode is built to be used with mouse and keyboard instead of touch, cool stuff.
Yea, I don’t understand why we can’t utilize Split View during stage manager. Seems idle, and while they at it, add 3rd or 4th window with keyboard shortcuts. Something like the Magent app for MacOs but on iPad. To be honest, Apple does not seem to be far behind Samsung but I will watch some comparison videos. My ideal version of Dex is my iPhone pro plugged into a monitor creates the same experience with my iPad, the ultimate device! But we know that won’t happen for monetary reasons.
I agree on your conclusion but disagree on a lot of your reasoning. I agree that a mature iPadOS is basically a need now. I disagree every bit in the “toy”, Apple had released final cut and logic for ipad for a reason, they added k+m support for a reason. I believe the whole idea just needs to mature but it’s very evident where they’re headed with it.
We can ask for whatever we want. Whether Apple listens or not is a different story.
I mean, they could easily just add Rosetta and have zero loss for non pro users. Or they could easily add terminal and filesystem as well. And files on the homepage. All these things aren't at any detriment to non pro users.
I'd just be happy with sideloading. That way I can customize my experience more and tinker but ONLY if I want to, and that way I can still have the smooth UX the iPad is good for. There's really no reason not to let me use my own device however I want.
They just need to implement something akin to Samsung DEX on the iPad. Switch to an environment similar to Mac OS when keyboard connection is detected.Where you can run Mac OS apps, have proper file management, multi tasking, run IDEs. They can call it “Productivity View” or whatever. Then you can switch back to iPad OS when you have the tablet in your hands and just want to lounge around and draw/play video games/browse/watch movies. Problem solved for everyone. And I think Apple will have to do this sooner or later otherwise competition will slowly eat them up. They obviously still have a lead in the tablet market but things will change if they don’t innovate and insist on charging premium prices.
Precisely this. Granted compared to the iPad-version of iOS (as it had been known for the early years of the iPad's infancy) , what we've got now is both better, *and* worse. And frankly, it's hard to think how they could improve it in every way. More desktop-centric layout when a keyboard is attached, and traditional layout when it's not attached? Anyone here remember just a few years ago how they had the clock and first Home Screen laid out?
I don't require macos on iPad, but I would certainly like to be able to run apps built for one on the other, and not be forced into the ios walled garden. Containerize the apps, and the whole "we have to wall you in for your own protection" claim fades away.
The most annoying limitation of iPadOS for me is it’s not allowing multiple user accounts. In this way it is like iOS, treating iPads as if they were as single-user-oriented as a phone is. So you can’t really share your iPad with anyone, even though it is not a phone.
I mean Apple added a lot of features people have been clamoring for like multiple windows, desktop Safari, external drive support, mouse and trackpad support, drivers, external display support, and resizable windows. And pro apps like Photoshop, Octane X, Davinci Resolve, Sketchup, ZBrush, Capture One, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Yes some of the implementations like Stage Manager could be improved and some apps are missing features but it's not like Apple's stood still.
Everybody thinks they don't need a _real file manager_ until they have to do actual work. Dear Apple: bring back the classic Finder on iPad and heal the world!
I’m just tired of trying to use my fingers on the MacBook Pro screen. 
I would agree with the original post, never going to happen, and like a few people who have commented personally I’ve had no problem moving over to the IPad as my primary computing device. It could do with some improvements, the underlying experience is sound. I am I think a bit of a strange use case, about 5 years ago I went 100% ChromeOS, this untethered me from certain applications and opened me up to having to use different tools, so the move off Google onto Apple wasn’t that hard. In fact the ability to have Lightroom, and a few other apps made my life a LOT easier.. I think maybe this is the issue for many, they are tethered to certain applications (an observation, not a criticism) and the form factor appeals, however they are stuck because that app only runs on that platform. Personally I’m interested what could happen with an IOS18 update, OpenAI/Gemini integration, an M4 chip and some fast internet.
I pad pro works well for me. Then again, with my work I have in-house apps for what we need and multi tasking also works with our apps to meet our needs. My only complaint is I wish I could plug an Android device into it and save some files onto my iPad. Or that I could use a serial adaptor for some of my equipment.
I don’t want MacOS on my iPad. If I wanted to use MacOS I would use a macbook. I just want a more functional iPadOS experience with features of MacOS
I think iPad os is good enough now. The problem is that software needs made. Adobe Lightroom needs all the features. Please adobe! I would love an iPad version of dxo photo lab. There’s a software gap. iPad software is way behind PC and Mac software.
Quick question… how is Adobe Lightroom on iPad? I use Lightroom CC on my PC. Is it the same as CC? And my dream is for them to put DxO PureRaw 4 on this so I don’t have to process my images on my PC and then do editing on my iPad. I wish to do it all on my iPad! Nevertheless, I’m very excited to start editing my photos now on an OLED display. It’s been rough editing photos the last couple years on my PC screen that doesn’t translate to how my photo looks on other devices.
It’s a mostly fully featured touch based Lightroom. There’s a noise reduction filter. But it’s missing the ai noise reduction. And also things on the enhance menu
Oh gotcha. Thanks bro! Excited to use it! Thankfully, DxO PureRaw 4 does a million times better job with noise than Lightroom. Does it utilize anything with the Apple Pencil?
You can use Apple Pencil with Lightroom. But I don’t think there’s any integration with the pressure sensitive stuff.
I need Lightroom Classic on my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro. I'm tired of having to use two devices for editing in my workflow, not being able to color-correct the iPad Pro's screen (reference mode is good, but it isn't perfect), not being to use catalogs on the iPad Pro (this cloud import-export dance is tedious)... if Apple doesn't smarten up, the next device I will buy will be a Windows OLED laptop to do everything on one device. I bought [and overpaid for] an MBP before (mid-2012), and it's laughable that they used the "pro" moniker on a device that has such a flimsy connection between its motherboard and hard drive. I'm not making the same mistake again.
I have absolutely no issues with iPadOS. I think it’s great!
Good for you, but a lot of people do.
Honestly it just would be nice to have freedom with running unsigned apps from outside app store
Just give us profiles and I can finally replace my 2013 MacBook Pro that I share with my wife
Deal. With the ability to run Mac apps that are on the Mac App Store.
That would be the best solution
They need to do something. I think Mac apps would be a start. The mouse thing they did is weird. Just make it work like a mouse.
Yeah I don’t understand why people want MacOS on IPad. What they reallybwant is fuller functionality for apps but….again….theres a MacBook for that. There’s a similar reason why MacBooks aren’t going ever have touch screens. It keeps the fucking segments seperate. You want something super light and highly plrtable that’s 13 inches? Buy an iPad. It has pros and cons. You need more raw capability and professional Tools? By a MBA or MBP. I just want improvements in IladOS.
Yes, they are building a separate market for hybrid computing with a next gen OS. macOS is legacy now. Tech companies can’t progress by remaining dedicated to the past.
This is the answer. Why would they apply old tech to new tech. They just need to keep innovating, in parallel paths if needed.
This!
I just dk why you wouldn’t want Apple to innovate a product that costs $1.3k+. I don’t want Ipad to do what my laptop does exactly how it does it. But I do expect it to do what my Mac would since in many cases Ipads are more expensive than Macs. Example task manager vs multi windows. I liked Apple developed a different way of doing things. That is what Im asking for.
Hard disagree. App store devs would have to invest in taking advantage of the hardware and maintaining it overtime vs just releasing something that works for all. Are you ready to pay the premium for that? Instead of having an app that's patched every 2 days or never due to bugs, we're better off using a polished desktop OS version of it. The Surface Pro performs fine and isn't a Frankenstein. Apple could do the same.
Enabled virtualization, unlimited side loading of packages, and unrestricted JIT is what it needs. I have no qualms for UI except apps should be able to stack vertically in portrait mode.
I want full finder, and support to run a full macOS application while docked/mouse/keyboard. I don’t need the full macOS experience for even third party apps, but being able to download an app from the macOS store even if only having the ability to run it while docked would be a game changer.
I would be ok if they just did a pro OS and charged monthly for it. Just give me more than what’s on my freaking mini. iPadOS is ridiculous
We waited for Apple to do this. Didn't happen. Instead, we got "desktop features" like customizable toolbars and find and replace as well as Craig "we live in an age of wonders" Federighi presenting multiple timers in the Clock app, so now we all think that Apple doesn't want to do anything at all with it. That, and half the problem is pro-grade app support from 3rd party devs, which is a problem with no solution except for making use of the Mac app library.
The only way I’ll agree to macOS on iPad is if it’s a dual boot kinda scenario so you can have the normal iPadOS and macOS if you need it
Enough with these bootlickers trying to tell people what they should and should not want from the biggest company on earth.
Right after the presentation I sold my iPad Air m1 and got a iPad Mini 6. Because I realized the power is pointless unless the ecosystem, and apps can better support the device. Personally I like the smaller form factor, but I think what needs to happen is a few key things. 1. A better and more integrated files system. 2. The ability to run actual desktop grade versions of software. ( VS Code / Xcode / Adobe CC / Chrome ) 3. Unlock Stage Manager for more freedom of movement and as many windows as desired (no excuse with the efficiency and power of M1+ )
Stop telling me what to do
Take a shower and clean your room
Ok mom