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Report: Google Merging Chrome OS Into Android to Rival iPad
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And the developement of chrome os seems at lightspeed compared to Apple’s iOS.
That didn’t take long. 😄
The desktop (MacOS) versions of apps are generally gimped and almost always one or two steps ahead of what the phone OS, I mean iPadOS version offers. Teams is atrocious on the iPad. Selecting the correct cells, selecting the correct place to insert/modify text, writing formulas, etc. is all much easier on MacOS. The fact you have to take a keyboard with you says a lot. I don’t use Acrobat so I can’t comment.
Don’t get me wrong, I use both. But if I had to have only one it’s going to be MacOS.
Some of the criticism of iPadOS is because people are trying to shoehorn legacy desktop OS workflows onto a tablet OS and are frustrated it's not as capable. But there are some legitimate shortcomings to iPadOS:
- Apps tend to not be as full-featured as their desktop counterparts, and the smaller screen real estate and touch-first UI paradigm means many iPad apps are also less user friendly or are harder to navigate than the desktop counterparts.
- Apps don't always support new features or APIs launched by iPadOS. For example most apps still sequester their files into their own internal file systems that aren't visible to the Files app, leading people to claim iPadOS lacks a real file system (this is false). Similarly many apps have lousy mouse and keyboard support (Microsoft Office I'm looking at you).
- Multitasking on an iPad is still quite limited, especially as it relates to background processes. Apps performing a lengthy operation, such as a video export, can't be switched to the background to do something else (unless using Stage Manager). Moving an app to the background will usually cause the export to cancel or the app to shut down and refresh entirely.
iPad is an awkward device for my needs, something in between, very limited and intentionally not good enough to replace the computer. My M1 11” iPad has an unimpressive battery life, the larger iPad is too heavy for my liking and wrists. Not sure I’ll update in future, unless iPadOS gets replaced with macOS. But I know I’ll keep using my MacBook Pro 14” because it does everything I need and more. Might just sell the iPad actually…
And, make no mistake, price is going to become more important for many Americans going forward - no matter how much they make like iPads.
Perfect for another future project to be added to the list of projects that Google abandoned.
So after this is done. Every Android phone and tablet will have all the capabilities of Chrome OS.
Many Apple uses have asked why Apple can't put a full desktop OS on the iPad with support for multitasking and loading content and apps from any place. looks like Google beats Apple on this.
ChromeOS is basically a full-up Linux system with an easy-to-use point-and-click user interface and a bunch of built-in apps. But you always have the option to ignore the web-based apps and even the graphical interface. Now you will have this same thing on phones and tablets.
This is like if Apple decided to put MacOS on the iPhone.
Technical users, who might be using Linux for things like robotics controllers (as is my case) will jump on this.
Many Apple uses have asked why Apple can't put a full desktop OS on the iPad with support for multitasking and loading content and apps from any place. looks like Google beats Apple on this.
ChromeOS is basically a full-up Linux system with an easy-to-use point-and-click user interface and a bunch of built-in apps. But you always have the option to ignore the web-based apps and even the graphical interface. Now you will have this same thing on phones and tablets.
This is like if Apple decided to put MacOS on the iPhone.
Technical users, who might be using Linux for things like robotics controllers (as is my case) will jump on this.
Honestly, I would love an iPad that ran ChromeOS. I'm using an ARM tablet Chromebook, and it blows my old iPad Pro 2018 out of the water in terms of functionality. It runs a full Chrome browser (I prefer Firefox on my desktop, but I can deal with Chrome), it runs Linux programs surprisingly capably (including, amusingly, Firefox), and it has access to Android apps. By contrast, the iPad runs... iOS. That's a lot of breadth for something people regularly dismiss as a basic kid's computer.
The only thing it's lacking is processing grunt, which the iPad has in spades.
The only thing it's lacking is processing grunt, which the iPad has in spades.
Everything old is new again...
www.thurrott.com
Google Has Allegedly Killed Its Andromeda Project
A long-rumored Google project that would combine Android and Chrome OS into a single platform has allegedly been scrapped. What does this mean for the future?
www.thurrott.com
You could have made this case 5+ years ago, but not anymore. There are still frustrating limitations but I use iPads for roughly 50% of my work: Zoom calls, email, social media graphic design, reading books, writing a book, web browsing, teaching, translating, signing documents, messaging apps etc. I could do much of this on my MacBook but it's far more enjoyable on an iPad or on iPhone for maximum mobility. The "let's be honest" manipulative language doesn't make up for a weak, pleading argument.
You mean to bring back a pixel branded laptop? Because they already made the Chromebook pixel, long before even the pixel line of phones existed.
Lets be honest, the iPad is perfect for that kind of small stuff here and there, but even my kids who are forced to use them at school comment on how they’d much rather use a laptop.
No one can honestly say they’d rather answer email’s on an iPad all day verus a Mac. Zoom calls, ok. Signing documents, absolutely. Messaging and reading a book, I agree. But those are all very small slices of a work day for most people. Rarely do you see iPads replacing laptops in corporate America, outside of checking in at an Apple store or dpoctor’s office.
@bradman83 did an exccellent job of summarizing things.
The US Govt is about to change hands. If there is any antitrust action it will either be part of a shakedown and/or a reward to a well-connected competitor.
