iPad Pro MacBook Neo - Slap in the face to iPad/iPad Pro users! No Excuses!

[Maven1975]

Apple... [Insert Two Words Here]!!!

So... mobile CPUs, even those much slower than the more recent releases of the iPad Pros CAN INDEED run MacOS?!

And... there are rumors of a Touchscreen MacBook?

Seems to me that you have done everything possible to handicap the iPad! Unapologetically taking the LONG way around (Slow motion slap - $2,000, 60hz display style) while doing it!

All that TIME and MONEY spent and wasted on Gla$$. Yet, you could not get touch ready? This is all a bunch of garbage!

I don't want to hear nonsense about touch interfaces not being ready. That argument is void when you gladly sell us all $350 keyboards right? Why not limit iPads to running MacOS only when an official keyboard is attached then? That would still be greedy AF, but at least give the user the option! Heck, charge us $500 for the keyboard and call it the MacOS version.

For the apologists:

I am FULLY aware that MacOS was NEVER promised. I am of the generation where companies expanded on their existing products. Pushing products further. Not only for their customers, but to demonstrate further care and innovation towards products they sell. This seems to be an easy "Look at us and what we can achieve" moment Apple refuses to embrace.

iPad's, and more specifically the Pro line, are either overengineered for no good reason or just a gigantic cash grab at this point. Granted, This is nothing new. However, a MacBook Neo running MacOS, on a lower powered chip, costing $599, is absolutely insulting. - I guess I know how Vison Pro owners feel now.

The only logical reason - Apple does not want to hurt sales of other devices by unleashing the full potential of the iPad hardware being sold.

On another note - I appreciate the PWM switch on the iPhone 17 Pro. At least you acknowledged that as being a real issue for some users. Would be nice to see the same switch on a iPad Pro before 2030.

Although, you do lose points for customer care having to escalate my iPad Pro M4 PWM case to your Health and Safety Engineering Team. Their findings? PWM was/is not present on the device. I was told I could kick rocks, offering no other alternative options. Is anyone here old enough to remember Apple customer service/care prior to iPhone? Heck even into the 3Gs days? - This would have never been the case.

Lastly - Get a grip on your Mac AppStore already! Please INCENTIVISE developers to not go out of their way to block application from working on MacOS! The MacOS App store reminds me of using an Android Tablet. - Thus meaning TERRIBLE!

Unleashing the MacBook Neo before getting this straightened out is going to turn people off. Better buckle up!

The RDF is malfunctioning Apple!

 

[ScanTheNavian]

At this point Apple Watches will run MacOS before iPad Pros.

 

[dumastudetto]

The most popular M series processors are already mobile CPUs and built on A series chips. Apple has never claimed that its A series processors couldn't run macOS.

What differentiates iPadOS and macOS is one is a touch-first device, and the other is controlled using a traditional pointing device. *if* macOS hardware gets some touch capabilities in future, it will be similar to how iPadOS now can have traditional pointing device interactions today.

The primary interaction with touch-capable MacBooks will continue to be with a mouse or trackpad and keyboard.

The primary interaction with iPads remains touch, although some of us with 13" iPads Pros do use them as full blown laptop replacements and rarely touch the display with our fingers.

 

[macguy167]

Here is your Apple [two words]:

Tim Cook! He is NOT A VISIONARY ANYTHING! He MUST go!

In fact, the whole Apple management team needs to go!

Just saying!

 

[joeblow7777]

I hear your frustration, OP, but to me it's always been like this:

The iPad is a motorcycle, and that's fine. For some people a motorcycle is the only vehicle they need, or for others it's the quick and fun ride that you hop on when the weather is nice and you don't have much cargo or many passengers.

But some people want the iPad to be an SUV, or at least a modest 4-door sedan. That's just not what it's intended to be.

Are the iPad Pros over-powered and arguably over-priced to be "motorcycles"? Yes, and that's personally why I don't buy the Pro.

 

[Thirio2]

To me the iPad is a consumption device only. With an attached keyboard it is ok for email, but it is definitely not a production device. For productivity you need Mac OS. That said, the iPad form factor is better for watching videos,etc. than a pc for me. A laptop or desktop is much better for serious work in my opinion.

 

[maflynn]

Wow, definitely some hurt feelings.

I'm still missing something. Why get upset that apple has one product that is best for content consumption and they released an inexpensive produce for content creation. People need/want a cheaper laptop, particularly the education segment where chromebooks have failed.

Now, my school system actually tried using tablets for kids instead of chromebooks, it was an utter and absolute failure on so many levels.

I'm a big fan of using the right tool for the job, and for many usages the tablet is a poor fit. Apple keeps trying to push productivity uses for the tablet and there are folks that use it for that, but they're largely the minority and most people will prefer a laptop

 

[turbineseaplane]

It would be nice to see this gap closed, I agree OP.

A maxed out iPP that could run macOS & iPadOS would be insanely attractive to me with the OLED screen and Cellular.

 

[sparksd]

I fail to see this as a slap in the face to iPad users. I am perfectly fine with my 13" M5 and could care less about what the Neo is or isn't. So just some users got slapped.

 

[maflynn]

The only logical reason - Apple does not want to hurt sales of other devices by unleashing the full potential of the iPad hardware being sold.

That's just business 101.

Don't produce a product that will cannibalize the sales of an existing product. That's one reason why the neo has less features, not just due to component cost but enforce product separation

 

[4sallypat]

Wow, definitely some hurt feelings.

I'm still missing something. Why get upset that apple has one product that is best for content consumption and they released an inexpensive produce for content creation. People need/want a cheaper laptop, particularly the education segment where chromebooks have failed.

Now, my school system actually tried using tablets for kids instead of chromebooks, it was an utter and absolute failure on so many levels.

I'm a big fan of using the right tool for the job, and for many usages the tablet is a poor fit. Apple keeps trying to push productivity uses for the tablet and there are folks that use it for that, but they're largely the minority and most people will prefer a laptop

100% agree with you!

In our public school district - we tried both iPad Pros and Macbooks in 2020 for our staff & faculty.

100% use the Macbook.
15% or less use the iPad Pro.

Our new refresh cycle is here and we are buying 1,000 Neo laptops to replace the dog tired, aging, battery failing 2020 MBP.
No iPad purchases planned, except for reusing Gen 9 & 10 for TK-2 and Special Education.

Students currently using the $550 Chromebooks which are lasting about 3-4 years is probably going to be replaced by Neos that should last almost twice as long.

 

[sonicrobby]

I think we will be seeing some progress in this within the next 5 years. Rumors are that there is a touchscreen macbook coming. My guess on that is to prepare for the potential foldable iPad. I believe that would be the first iPad (if any) to get MacOS. I think the touchscreen mac will be the baby steps towards that goal of a iPad with some MacOS. I think we will maybe see if apple embraces a combo iOS and iPadOS into the iPhone fold. If it does there is some hope that the iPad fold could be an iPadOS and MacOS combo device. But its all speculative at this point. Apple is definitely slower with the major innovations, but they do take their time to make sure they do it right and to their standards. But I could see something similar to the Huawei Matebook fold being done by apple in 5 years time. I dont see any other reason Apple would try to put MacOS on an iPad, especially if the sales are already doing well with only hardware bumps. To me that is why the iPad will be limited in its productivity. It has always been the software.

 

[subjonas]

The number of times Apple has supposedly insulted or slapped their customers in the face, yet their customers are still obsessed with them😆. If I thought a company actually insulted me, even once much less over and over, I'd have some dignity and drop them immediately and switch to their competition. In fact, I did so once when I was insulted in a retail store.

Maybe it's not a slap nor even an insult as much as you just want something they don't offer.

 

[aries81]

Aaaand yet another "look at me, I am so insulted, I need attention" post.

 

[rui no onna]

So... mobile CPUs, even those much slower than the more recent releases of the iPad Pros CAN INDEED run MacOS?!

In fairness, I believe the A18 Pro is faster than the M1 (slightly faster multi-core, significantly faster single core).

iPad's, and more specifically the Pro line, are either overengineered for no good reason or just a gigantic cash grab at this point. Granted, This is nothing new. However, a MacBook Neo running MacOS, on a lower powered chip, costing $599, is absolutely insulting. - I guess I know how Vison Pro owners feel now.

The iPad Pros have always been a cash grab. As far as iPhones, iPads and AirPods go, I consider the Pro moniker to mean the luxury model. It's just a question of whether the QoL improvements (FaceID, ProMotion, nano-texture, etc) are worth spending the extra cash for me.

Personally, I buy iPads for the tablet experience. I use a Pencil clone for PDF annotations and notes but I have no interest in the overpriced Magic Keyboard. If they add MacOS support for the iPad, then great for those who want that. Honestly though, it wouldn't change my usage one bit.

 

[snipr125]

Honestly I am happy with iPad OS (not Mac os) on the iPP/Air. It has the same snappiness and optimised apps as the iPhone, but also with Mac OS multitasking with the Windowing system if you want to get some work done. A hybrid OS that goes with the versatility of the iPad. Also the iPP gets all the best display tech first, which then trickles down to the iPhone/MBP later.

 

[4sallypat]

In fairness, I believe the A18 Pro is faster than the M1 (slightly faster multi-core, significantly faster single core).
.....

Yes, this is correct - A18 is slightly better than the M1 on benchmarks.

However the truth will be actual use cases - next Wednesday the Neo will be tested at work & home comparing against my M2 15" MBA w/ 8GB RAM......

 

[JPack]

Apple makes custom hardware and combines it with custom software. That’s what differentiates them from others. They believe a certain combination of hardware and software offers the best experience.

Apple doesn’t even let you downgrade software and you’re expecting them to let iPad run macOS? That’s just silly. If you’ve been using Apple for nearly 20 years, you should know this.

There was never any question an A-series could run macOS. I don’t know why that’s so surprising to some people. The chips all have the same micro architecture.

 

[joeblow7777]

Personally, I buy iPads for the tablet experience. I use a Pencil clone for PDF annotations and notes but I have no interest in the overpriced Magic Keyboard. If they add MacOS support for the iPad, then great for those who want that. Honestly though, it wouldn't change my usage one bit.

My thoughts exactly. I've never owned or used a keyboard with an iPad. 100% of the time, if a task needs a keyboard and mouse/touchpad, I'm grabbing a laptop. The iPad is web browsing, light emailing, media consumption, note taking, document reading and annotating, etc. MacOS will not improve any of that. I'm not against it running full MacOS for those who want it, as long as I can still set it to iPadOS mode and keep using it as a pure tablet.

 

[ignatius345]

This is a shame, but the iPad has always had a gimped OS and continues to do so. They decided at the very beginning that iPads would work on the locked down App Store-only paradigm and they have never strayed from that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[thadoggfather]

I’m old enough to remember when people thought iPad Pro back in 2016 was going to have next level iPad OS Pro specific features because of the upgrade in name

I’m also old enough to remember when people opined on the same subject when Apple dropped in M-series chips to iPad Pro in 2021

What’s next? lol

 

[Royksöpp]

I’m old enough to remember when people thought iPad Pro back in 2016 was going to have next level iPad OS Pro specific features because of the upgrade in name

I’m also old enough to remember when people opined on the same subject when Apple dropped in M-series chips to iPad Pro in 2021

What’s next? lol

Remember when they were talking about iOS 11 like it was going to be some kind of game changer. Oh please! I'm not complaining, I like my iPad as an iPad.

 

[conmee]

Here is your Apple [two words]:

Tim Cook! He is NOT A VISIONARY ANYTHING! He MUST go!

In fact, the whole Apple management team needs to go!

Just saying!

I love the smell of innovation in the morning...

 

[JPack]

This topic comes up so regularly, we should reference this every time.

Craig Federighi Explains Why Apple Won't Merge iPad and Mac: 'We Don't Want to Build Sporks'

MacStories' Federico Vittici, who is known for his focus on the iPad as a main computing device, recently did an interview with Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi. Federighi and Vittici did a deep dive into the iPad and the changes that are coming to iPadOS this fall. Federighi...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Abazigal]

I have zero desire for the iPad to run macOS, and I don’t believe in devices running multiple OSes that you can dual boot into either. Settle on one desired experience, and optimise your device around that.

That the iPad can support a desktop OS doesn’t mean it should, and it’s a hill I am prepared to die on.