See my posts before: I expect this to be a limited form of Xcode. Build iOS apps the way Apple want's you to build iOS apps. I'd go as far as saying this will be Swift only: no ObjC. And no scripts.
Partly agree - it wouldn't make sense for XCode for iOS to be able to create anything that won't run on iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, HomePod etc. - which requires App Store compliance. Otherwise, what you gonna do: hook a Mac (with large display and keyboard) to your iPad with a USB-C cable so you can develop Mac apps remotely on your tiny iPad?
That said, "just" developing App-store compliant iDevice apps accounts for a
huge proportion of XCode use.
If Apple places Xcode on iPad wouldn’t they also have to open the iOS a bit more? I use a lot of scripts in my project.
If Apple deems scripting essential to iOS development, there's no reason that XCode for iPad couldn't run scripts within in the same sandbox/virtual machine that it will inevitably use to run your code.
I need a terminal. I need to be able to run multiple 4k screens (properly). I need full USB device support.
There's no rocket science involved in enabling any of those things in a future version of iPadOS - they're all things that Apple have previously
deliberately left out for strategic, rather than technical, reasons. Terminals, like scripting, could be strictly sandboxed with no access outside the current project. iPad Pros already support a single external display for Apps with "second screen" options and a
very sensible design for XCode would be to run the editor on the "second screen" while previewing the app being developed on the iPad. Future iPad Pros might have USB4 (i.e. Thunderbolt 3 with the serial numbers filed off) which could support multiple screens.
Bear in mind that if XCode for iOS ever appears you'll probably need to register as a developer to get it.
All that has me wondering whether the rumoured 12" ARM MacBook
will actually be running MacOS - or if it will actually be a clamshell iPad with built-in keyboard and touchpad, running iPadOS: The one chink I see in the plausibility of the ARM Mac rumours is the amount of effort that Apple have recently put into making the iPad "more pro" - faster processors, bigger screens, USB-C rather than Lightning, improved USB device support and - in particular - more keyboard/pointer support (which is a
major U-turn on the previous touch-first policy).
Personally, although there are many reasons why I want a Mac/PC rather than an iPad as my main machine, the #1 deal-breaker that limits my iPad to "consumption" has always been that the touch interface
sucks for editing text or code - and if you add a keyboard case what you get is something more bulky and awkward than a MB Air (
it has already been noted that a 12" iPad with Magic Keyboard is heavier than a MBA...)
Ultimately, I'm sure Apple would like to ditch the Mac, since they undoubtedly make more money from subscriptions and App Store purchases from an iPad than a low-end MacBook - and it's clear from the Mini, Mac Pro, iMac Pro specs and pricing that they have abandoned any ambition of attracting new pro users to the Mac platform and are just see how much money they can wring out of pro users in the next few years before they give up and take the hit of shifting to PC.
