Ask people what they wanted at the turn of last century (aka 1900) and people would have told you they wanted a better buggy whip. Then came the car. People don’t know what they want. They only know what they want solved, not how.
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Craig Federighi Explains Why Apple Won't Merge iPad and Mac: 'We Don't Want to Build Sporks'
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They have an option, macOS computer, or iPadOS device...
IIRC, macOS takes up nearly 100GB of space. That’s enormous for what iPads have. Most start at 128GB. There just isn’t enough storage on base iPads for having two operating systems, let alone apps and data.
On top of that, most buyers are normies. Their eyes would glaze over if you told them to delete macOS, an OS they will never use.
They are different devices, so it does not many any sense to put macOS on the iPad nor put iPadOS on the Macintosh. There are times when you need a traditional operating system and then there are times when you need a modern operating system. Apple’s approach makes sense, otherwise you end up with something like Windows 8.
Bullcrap. They don't want iPad cannibalizing Mac market and want nice AppStore revenues, is all.
Yeah you'd be good with a chromebook if this is your opinion after regressions across multiple apps like System Settings, Disk Utilities, Final Cut Pro, Aperture and system stability and dumb useless projects like the Touch Bar and Mac Catalyst
Majority of people is fine with a chromebook too. Majority of people still complains on Amazon reviews that Macbooks missing USB-A is a con. "MacRumors echo chamber" was right about every flaw of the MacBook Pro with touch bar too, for a decade straight lol. Being passionate about the Mac and not wanting it to regress into a dumbed down unstable mess, you know, what Apple keep trying to do every year basically, is not a flaw, it's what keep Mac alive to this day.
None of that changes the fact that most people do not want their iPad running macOS. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of people who buy an iPad do so because it doesn't run macOS, not in spite of it, because they either 1) can't/don't want to deal with a full-blown desktop/laptop OS, or 2) they already have a MacBook/Mac Mini/Mac Studio or whatever and don't need or want another device running the same OS and apps.
Having owned a Surface Pro a couple of years ago, I have experienced firsthand what happens when you put a desktop OS on a tablet: It doesn't turn it into a great hybrid device, it just turns it into a combination of a ****** tablet and a ****** laptop.
The iPad is a perfect tool for high level executives who mostly respond to email, messages and calls all day and occasionally have to review documents sent by employees reporting to them. If I had this kind of job, I would probably also be fine working exclusively on iPadOS.
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A M series iPad is basically a MacBook Air, both are fanless I sure MacOS would run fine on them iPads
You completely ignored most of my comment. I do heavy command line work and scientific computing on my Macs using many different command line utilities and applications. I'm able to do that at least as well as or better than I ever have in decades of using Macs as part of my research. I'd use Macs exclusively, but some software I use requires CUDA.
Just because you don't like some of the changes to the UI or certain software, does not mean macOS is becoming iPadOS. What can people not do in macOS (I'm not talking about specific software) that we couldn't do and really needed to do 15 years ago?
You've really drunk the coolaid haven't you.
They're different devices with different focuses on the UI because Apple insists on keeping them that way, it's not inherent.
Explain to me how my iPad shifting into a Mac-style UI when I connect it to a keyboard and trackpad, and returning to traditional touch UI when I undock it, is a bad experience. Apple have essentially admitted that's what it should do, with all their failed attempts to re-invent a windowed UI, they just keep half-arsing it. They've also essentially admitted that touchscreen on a laptop style device is useful, because people like me use the touchscreen on our iPads all the time while they're in their Magic Keyboard, so we know that excuse is nonsense too.
There are other things they'd need to do to really make the iPad Pro live up to its name (user control over application state being the big one), but that's the main UX component of it.
An iPad Pro could easily be made with the same thermal headroom as a MacBook Air. It's almost the same device now.
An iPad Pro is a terrible user experience for actual professional work. I've tried to make it work, I really have, it's just not a Pro device. The window management is terrible, and more importantly you can't reliably switch between pro apps without one of them closing. That alone disqualifies it from being Pro.
If they want to admit that an iPad isn't a Pro device and never will be, and that you need a computer too, then fine, they can stop pretending, stop calling it Pro, stop suggesting someone with an iPad doesn't need a "computer". If they do want it to be Pro, then it needs to have those features (and ideally, for me, a full terminal experience too, though that's more specific to certain industries and not a general purpose pro requirement). And once it has those features, it's basically MacOS. I think that's the main point - it's not how you get there, nobody *really* cares which OS it has on it, just that it works like that.
As for "they're not afraid of cannibalising their own stuff", I agree the iPhone precedent is a strong argument, and I can't say for sure what's different this time, but clearly something is. Could be Jobs vs Cook; could be that they didn't feel they could sell iPhones without cannibalising iPods whereas they do feel they can with iPads and Macs; could be the different competition; could be lots of things. Of course we're really all guessing when make assertions about their motives, all we can safely say is that their excuses don't hold water.
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I work in a fairly large corporation. Five years ago we replaced all of our laptops (which had touchscreens) with newer models that didn't have them and people complained. Five years later we're now upgrading those models to even newer ones that have touchscreens again and people are absolutely elated. They do indeed lift their hand off the keyboard to smudge their fingers across the screen to scroll. To be clear most of these users are fairly non-tech savvy people.
Heck my mother in law has a touchscreen Windows laptop and at this point she ONLY uses the touchscreen, she never uses the trackpad. (And you are correct, it's not at all accurate or speedy).
Most people buy iPad never think about macOS running on iPad, doesn’t means they don’t want to. They just use iPad as it is.
I have owned Surface Pro from first generation to the 7th generation. I can tell you that I love the Surface Pro form factor. I rather take combination of ******* tablet and a ***** laptop than take a tablet and a laptop with me.
Surface Pro is perfect.
I get what you're saying, but switching between two separate operating systems, even at a level of integration that Apple could pull off, sounds incredibly convoluted from a user perspective. And even on M-series iPads the hardware would struggle to keep up. The chips are fast enough, yes, but most are limited to 8GB of RAM and relatively low storage amounts. Unless we're dual booting on those models (which is the opposite of a seamless experience) the hardware would struggle to keep up if one OS had to be virtualized inside of another.The quote about 'sporks' actually made me chuckle and I understand where Craig is coming from.
That said, why not make the iPad 'context based' and have two native OSs stored on the HDD ready for when:
Running macOS on an iPad in Scenario 1 is the equivalent to what Craig is saying is 'Spork' mode which I agree with.
- Stand alone (Spoon)
- iPad functions as is with iPadOS, utilising all the traditional iPad apps and services as a creator/consumer wants. You sit on the couch and watch Youtube, play some Apple Arcade Games and message people.
- Connected to a Monitor/Dock (Fork)
- User could select to switch iPad over to macOS for Mx chip iPads with the iPad screen as either a virtual keyboard or additional screen (yes - a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse would be the optimum user input to compliment this). Files are shared natively through File Browser/iCloud, full macOS application support available but the user has ultimate choice of whether to use a (generally) watered down iPad app or the native macOS app.
However... there are use cases where I feel two OSs could be utilised on the same device e.g.
Sure, there's the age old financial consideration from Apple's perspective of cannibalising their extant laptop and desktop range/offering but they could move towards the future with a different way of categorising their products i.e. screen based, headless and spatial.
- User packs their iPad and boards the train
- While on the train the user watches a movie on AppleTV on the slim 12.9" screen
- User arrives at work and connects their iPad to a USB-C that has two monitors connected
- User selects macOS and their bluetooth accessories are automatically linked
- User works throughout the day on macOS if that is their preferred method of working
- User finishes work, returns home via public transport and takes home just a slim piece of glass aka the iPad and plays some mobile orientated games.
- User finishes dinner and goes to their bedroom where they connect their iPad to their monitor, chooses macOS and continues to play Assassins Creed Shadows or starts a new programming project in Terminal running python scripts.
Personally, I'd love the opportunity to go one step further than what is provided as an example above and just have an iOS and macOS capable iPhone. That way, my phone operates as an iOS phone whenever I'm on the go but then I have a fully fledged macOS device in my pocket that gets connected to a work monitor. (Pipe-dream - absolutelybut surely one can dream! )
I think Apple's current approach of adding additional use modes to iPadOS to enable a more Mac-like experience when a keyboard and mouse/trackpad are used is the correct one. What people really seem to be missing are desktop quality apps, which I think is why people are pining for macOS. But slapping macOS on the iPad isn't the solution in my opinion. Apple, and the user base, should be prodding developers to offer more robust apps closer to parity with their desktop counterparts. Apple has made a lot of updates to iPadOS to help facilitate this (allowing apps to open and save from the filesystem, adding the menu bar in iPadOS 26) but it's up to devs to actually do something with it.
In a world with smartphones and tablets it makes perfect sense. It’s intuitive to many people.
Please note, I’m not disagreeing with whether it’s the best method or not.
As I move towards the elder end of the workforce, most of my colleagues are generationally younger than me and have lived in touch-scroll paradigms for much of their computing lives.
Efficiency is the second concern in user interactions. The first is expediency and familiarity.
Personally, I have a flywheel mouse for my work computer so I scroll with reckless but precise abandon. (Like I said, garbage PC touchpads are the norm for mass-provisioned corporate lappies.)
At home I use the Mac touchpad because it’s awesome and precise and flexible and I have habituated myself for almost 15 years of Apple laptops.
some of the apple apologist comments for not allowing a user to run whatever os they want on the hardware they spent their money on is simply comical. if someone uses a hammer to seal a paint can do you flip out because it wasn’t used on a nail?
what the hell do you care how someone else uses a tool they bought? if they like the form factor and want to use it as a desktop, again, wth do you care? if you don’t like it, great - it already works that way. apple does not have to change how either os works. it is literally the same underlying hardware now. why some people like being dictated to is beyond me. perhaps they love lack of flexibility and forced obsolescence. it’s almost like bots programmed to argue silly points.
what the hell do you care how someone else uses a tool they bought? if they like the form factor and want to use it as a desktop, again, wth do you care? if you don’t like it, great - it already works that way. apple does not have to change how either os works. it is literally the same underlying hardware now. why some people like being dictated to is beyond me. perhaps they love lack of flexibility and forced obsolescence. it’s almost like bots programmed to argue silly points.
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I disagree. I want MacOS on an iPad exclusively. I want one device that can do everything. There is precious little iPadOS can do that MacOS cannot, especially if MacOS were touch-designed.