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Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,612
7,791
Is this the 999th or the 1001st thread on this topic? :D

A OS X tablet wouldn't be that useful unless it had apps that were written to work in tablet mode. I believe Apple's plan is to gradually make iOS more powerful, and wait for more and more apps to be created for it, until one day, iOS does everything OS X does today.
 

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
OS X is a dektop designed OS. It's meant for a keyboard and mouse.

iOS was built on OS X and designed for touch input.

If you put regular OS X on an iPad, you'll need a keyboard and mouse to use it efficiently. If that's the case, why not just buy a MacBook Air?
 

Lyn2012

macrumors 6502a
Dec 26, 2007
675
267
Dear Apple, fulfill my dream and give us OSX on a tablet!!! Am i right forum goers?

Yes, I would certainly buy this as my current iPad just sits in a corner unused most of the time. I find it to be just a larger iPhone as without access to the file system, documents stored within different apps and no freedom to download what I like and file it somewhere that suits me, makes for a very limited user experience. I have no need for the OS to make decisions about how to organise my documents as I am quite capable of making a better job of it myself.
 

David085

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2009
811
3
Nope you're right should bring OS X on tablets iOS is locked down not much to do. but apps.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,448
43,368
I'm a Surface Pro fan and I can see that tablet being very useful, but its meant to be a laptop replacement.

If we go with OSX on a tablet, then Apple will be cannibalizing its own sales, i.e., people who would be buying a MBA or even MBP would opt for this tablet. I'm also guessing that the tablet would be priced cheaper then a laptop which would further eat into Apple's laptop sales.

There's no touch enabled apps for OSX and what would be the purpose of this over the iPad and iOS. Laptop sales are decreasing, why go after a shrinking market when they can focus on a growing market, i.e., continue to improve iPads.
 

VI™

macrumors 6502a
Aug 27, 2010
636
1
Shepherdsturd, WV
If OS X was either optimized for a tablet or iOS was more powerful, then I think it would be benificial for power users. It wouldn't be for everyone of course.

But if you could have a tablet that you could use to remotely configure a router or server without having to tote a laptop around, then I think it would be way more useful.
 

sonicrobby

macrumors 68020
Apr 24, 2013
2,482
526
New Orleans
I agree, OSX should be optimized for tablet use. Ive used splashtop to remote to my mac from my iPad, and it was gorgeous! I wish they could natively run OSX on tablets.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,612
7,791
But if you could have a tablet that you could use to remotely configure a router or server without having to tote a laptop around, then I think it would be way more useful.

Are you looking to do something that can't be done with logmein, Splashtop, Teamviewer, etc?
 

TWO2SEVEN

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2010
3,531
741
Plano, TX
Sounds like the answer to what you want is a remote desktop app. Then you can use OSX on your iPad as much as you want.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,284
13,017
where hip is spoken
Dear Apple, fulfill my dream and give us OSX on a tablet!!! Am i right forum goers?
You are obviously entitled to your opinion, and in theory that sounds like it might be useful. But based on my experiences with iPads, and Surface RT/2 devices, I can say that in reality that would be a nightmare.

Rather than go into all of the reasons why OSX on a tablet is not a good idea (similar to reasons why legacy x86 apps are not a good idea on a Windows tablet), I'll touch upon what WOULD be helpful...

For current iPad hardware, provide support for bluetooth mice. One thing that I've learned from using the iPad 4 with a Logitech ultrathin keyboard cover is that physical keyboards ARE useful on a tablet in certain scenarios but that experience is hampered by the lack of a mouse.

On my Surface 2, having the ability to use keyboard and mouse greatly improve productivity.

For next generation iPads, provide support for: active pen, USB devices, cross-application access to files (doesn't need to be a full-on exposing of the file system).

Apple doesn't need to go extreme and bolt on OSX to a tablet... IMO, just a few changes (to existing and future iPads) would go a long way in improving the productivity aspect of the iPads.
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,943
9,484
Atlanta, GA
If we go with OSX on a tablet, then Apple will be cannibalizing its own sales, i.e., people who would be buying a MBA or even MBP would opt for this tablet. I'm also guessing that the tablet would be priced cheaper then a laptop which would further eat into Apple's laptop sales.

Apple is happy to let the MacBook Air canibalize MacBook Pro sales, and the iPod Touch canibalize iPhone sales.

I'm not convinced that an OSX tablet, running MacBook Air components would be much cheaper than a MacBook Air.
 

ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,011
Between the coasts
If the Surface was a true tablet, they wouldn't feel the need to include the keyboard in every ad. If it was a true PC, it wouldn't need a docking station - two accessories that ought to be built-in.

The "right" solution for Apple, imho, is an even lighter version of MBA - proper keyboard, Thunderbolt ports rather than docking station. Can it be hinged so that the keyboard is deactivated and stowed behind the display? Sure. Something like the articulated displays on better cameras and camcorders, perhaps.

I see little point to a tablet running OS X - the vast majority of computer users need a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. OS X already has a fair number of gestures for trackpad/Magic Mouse. While I don't think I'd use touch screen a lot (I often use a keyboard with my iPad, and I find having to reach for the screen to be a pain in that configuration), there's no reason touch can't be part of an OS X computer, so long as there's a keyboard/pointing device equivalent for every touchscreen function.

iOS devices are what they are (simplified computing appliances) in order to be attractive to the masses. There are limits to how PC-like they can become without violating their fundamental properties. PCs - general-purpose computers - have to offer greater flexibility to developers and users.

PCs certainly have to keep evolving, but for a company like Apple, the product lines also need to be distinctive - if it looks like an iPad, it'd better be an iPad.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Apple, fulfill my dream and give us OSX on a tablet!!! Am i right forum goers?

Yes. you are right. It is your dream.

But if you are trying to imply that everyone shares your dream, then no. Not everyone agrees that Mac OS X needs to be on a tablet. With or without a touch overlay or however you think they should make it work.

If you just really gotta have Mac OS on a tablet form, go get a Modbook and enjoy

----------

Is this the 999th or the 1001st thread on this topic? :D

A OS X tablet wouldn't be that useful unless it had apps that were written to work in tablet mode. I believe Apple's plan is to gradually make iOS more powerful, and wait for more and more apps to be created for it, until one day, iOS does everything OS X does today.

Bingo. Parity of features is how they will 'merge' the two. But the hardware in the iOS devices does NOT have the power for full on Mac OS and getting the needed hardware to that form at a decent price isn't even close to happening. MAYBE in like 5-6 more years.

Not to mention that Apple sees the iPad as a computing device for folks that don't need a full on computer so they might not be inclined to really try to push the growth of the tech to some extreme to make a few folks happy
 
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