Given how well macOS was running on the Mac mini ARM developer device is there any realistic chance of Apple letting people chose between an iOS or macOS mode on the iPad Air or iPad Pro? It would be quite coup for Apple to announce at WWDC this year that every iPad sold for last two years can now also be used a macOS if you connect a mouse and keyboard.
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All iPads Mac OS for iPad?
- Thread starter kuliand
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The video of iPad running macOS is impressive for sure, but it's also slow and laggy and takes forever to boot up. The limitation is most likely RAM. Until Apple starts putting more RAM in iPads, it is not a feasible option any time soon. Good tech demo of what Apple silicon is capable of, but I still think if Apple ever does this it's going to be a new device that's not an iPad OR a Mac.
That's Catalina on x86 emulation though. The Mac Mini Developer Transition Kit with A12Z with native, optimized code likely performs much better.
The iPhone 12 series' A14 chipset has near the same single core score as the new Macs' M1 chipset. I expect the upcoming rumored iPad Pros with A14X/Z and 8GB RAM will be able to handle macOS really well if given the chance.
2020 iPad Pros with A12Z, 6GB RAM and 128GB base storage on macOS may be doable.
4GB RAM and 64GB base storage or less? I don't think that'll provide a good experience.
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Before I see macOS on the iPad, I'd like to see Apple's idea of a touch friendly desktop OS. If they would add touch support to the MacBook lineup it would give us an idea. Until it's proved out on laptops, I would prefer they stick with the desktop-ification of iPad OS - coming from a touch-first perspective. Apple has done a good job making iPad a much more capable device using iPad OS. I'm more interested in them bringing more desktop software to iPad OS. Specifically, IDEs for software development - eg Xcode
It will require a further redesign of the OS to be more touch friendly, not to mention for the on screen keyboard to not cover things up.
It would require ZERO redesign - MacOS on iPad could require mouse/trackpad/magic keyboard trackpad just like MacOS on a MacBook does.
I have no desire to use MacOS touch screen. Have two separate devices with different OS for a reason.
YES!!! I want this so badly. Make the 2021 iPad Pro with 8GB RAM and limit the ability to boot into Big Sur to 8GB iPad only. This would give user who have 2018/2020 iPad Pro incentive to spend $1000+ for an upgrade that without MacOS brings no no functionality. Oh and spare me the MacOS not designed for touch screen - when iPad is running Big Sur you would use a mouse/trackpad just like on a MacBook.
It would be awkward not to be able to keep using your iPad just because you picked it up. I don't see Apple doing that.
But really, why would you buy an iPad if the OS doesn't allow you to use it in tablet mode? What advantage does the iPad provide over a MacBook Air, which is lighter than the iPad Pro and MagicKeyboard?
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macOS is supposed to run on Macs. iPadOS is supposed to run on iPads.
people seem to be not reading my initial post. I am not asking for any kind of touch interface to be added to macOS. The new M1 Macs architecturally are now the same as iPads but with a bit more power so what I'm wanting is for Apple to have some kind of OS or interface switching function on the iPad if you connect a mouse and keyboard. The big benefit of this is I could just buy one device rather than two devices that are almost the same in hardware but just run slightly different operating systems.
Did you read my initial post at all? as it doesn't sound like it. Want I want is the option to switch between the current iPadOS and macOS so if I picked it up without a keyboard or mouse connected then yes I would just use iPadOS. the advantage I'm seeking is to not have to buy two different devices when one could do the job.
To quote Jurassic Park:
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
I read and understand your post, I just think its a flawed idea for the vast majority of people and here is why.1. It requires someone to have both mouse and keyboard control.
2. It renders your iPad useless as a tablet, which is what it primarily is, unless you reboot into a second OS.
3. To be able to use your iPad as tablet means you would need to have both iOS and MacOS running simultaneously and smoothly, with minimal lag switching between them. I don't think that 8GB is enough to have both environments running smoothly especially when you might have a lot of apps going in both. People have noticed some OS stuttering when doing heavy lifting on 8GB M1s.
So now you'd have people who would need two iPads, one for iOS and the other for MacOS, and once you get into two devices you might as well have a MacBook Air and an iPad. Apple isn't going to put MacOS on a tablet until it is touch friendly.
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The way that they are currently designed I would think that this would be impossible. The two operating systems are inherently different in file structure and operation making on the fly switching between them likely impossible. Presumably with a restart it could work with boot loader that supports both systems, but the two would have to reside in different storage areas. Keep in mind that iOS is designed to have application storage sandboxed so browsing around for data one created in iOS while running MacOS would not be possible .
I think anyone who knows Apple way of doing things and philosophy can agree that a device with a “switch” (whether it’s active or passive, like adding a keyboard) to change between a mobile and desktop OS will never exist.
There are countless problems with that: first and foremost, the inconsistency, because the iPad is a tablet, without the legacy of a PC/Mac, and it mustn’t resemble a PC/Mac, although it can do things PC/Macs do (in a different way). And besides that: how is memory shared, time of change between OS, fragmentation because of APIs for iPad specific hardware...
There are countless problems with that: first and foremost, the inconsistency, because the iPad is a tablet, without the legacy of a PC/Mac, and it mustn’t resemble a PC/Mac, although it can do things PC/Macs do (in a different way). And besides that: how is memory shared, time of change between OS, fragmentation because of APIs for iPad specific hardware...
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Don't get me wrong, I'd love a MacOS tablet but apple isn't going to half-ass it with MacOS only running if you have a mouse and keyboard connected because it would be an inferior experience.