I can see the keynote now.
"A tablet... that runs a Full. Desktop. Operating System! We call it: the iSurface, and there has never been anything like it before!"
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What are the chances iPad Pro will eventually have OSX on it?
- Thread starter Turnpike
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I can see the keynote now.
"A tablet... that runs a Full. Desktop. Operating System! We call it: the iSurface, and there has never been anything like it before!"
The only way I see it happening is if somewhere down the line OS X gets more like iOS to the point that it would really be suitable on a tablet. OS X has certainly picked up many aspects of iOS over the years. The biggest shortcoming of iOS is lack of access to the file system which Windows running on a tablet does have even though Windows sucks when compared to OSX.
Say what you will about Windows, but I think that Microsoft and its PC partners have been putting out more innovative products that Apple since Windows 8 launched in 2012.
Thanks for sharing the link. They may be very expensive but they seem pretty cool.
Just ask anyone who has tried to use a Microsoft Surface with Windows RT 8.1! Some of the reviews of the user experience when that thing first came out were laughable. If you've ever watched anyone use a touchscreen device which also has a mouse or other pointing device, they tie themselves in knots trying to decide which metaphor to use.
Apple are certainly capable of creating a version of OS X which runs on ARM architecture as they have moved between processor platforms a few times now and the rumours suggest they already have OS X running on iOS class devices in the laboratory. Given that this is almost certainly the case and given that they themselves have said they don't believe this is a good user experience for customers, they are in a much better position than you or I to judge. Of course you may believe they have ulterior motives so you probably won't accept the "Apple knows best" response.
OS X has been around since 2001 and arguably before that as part of NextStep. It's still a modern OS but undoubtedly has baggage which is unhelpful when running on resource (esp energy) constrained machines such as portable devices. This is why iOS came about - Apple took the core of Mac OS X (kernel, memory management, multitasking, networking etc.) and ported to ARM. They stripped away much of the code and changed the security architecture to a much more restricted model to prevent just the sort of security vulnerabilities which Android continues to suffer from. They then added an application development framework which was specifically designed from the outset to support and enable the multi-touch interface and the metaphors that infers. If you have done any iOS and OS X development as I have, you will be familiar with the important differences between these two worlds and will understand the reasons behind that. Don't get me wrong, there are parallels between some of the frameworks and some frameworks are even shared but much of it is different and for good reason.
One thing I would love to be able to do on my iPad Pro when I get it is Xcode development or even Ruby on Rails development which is how I currently earn my living. However, I would not be prepared to take what might be the easy route to this goal which is to run OS X on the iPad Pro. I would rather wait until either Apple or a 3rd party or even I, manage to achieve this goal without destroying the very essence of the machine. In the meantime I'll continue to dance between iMac, MBP, iPad Pro and iPhone and use the best tool for whatever I happen to be doing. I have no doubt that while Tim Cook and Jony Ive are in charge of Apple, they will stay the course and keep iOS and OS X separate.
To be honest, I don't think I even want OSX on a tablet in their present forms. I think it would suck.
Craig1410,
Very interesting reply. I am currently using a 2009 MBP. It is way more computer than I need. I would love to have the iPad pro for everything except that I have many movies on my computer. I don't have to access the cloud to watch one when I am in the mood. I do have an external 500G hard drive that I have backed my computer up to, but I am not sure there is one for the iPad unless I would use the time capsule.
PS, I am a long haul trucker so my internet is terribly expensive because I need the coverage of verizon.
I would agree if those products could go 10 minutes without auto-BSOD-ing all over themselves.
There are a variety of storage products on the market designed to work with iOS, primarily with the notion that you'll stream media off of them. You could use one of those. Just one example: http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/wireless-plus/#features
I recognize that OS X is not touch optimized by a long shot. I also recognize that if Apple had tried to go with OS X for tablets, we never would have any good user experience there. Any serious company would just not be able to justify two versions of their software for the same device. There would be no restrictions to spark creativity of UX design that the community has driven. I mean, do you even realize how much of the UI we take for granted today came from indie devs trying new things? Pull to refresh? Slide away UI? Disappearing toolbars, and all that?
iOS's restricted nature has contributed enormously to the world of touch UX.
But it doesn't help me. I can't possibly do my whole job on any iOS device. It is not a hardware issue. It's 100% software. Nobody is going to make the software I need because it's too awkward to do so, and, in fact, it's a violation of the app store rules.
So frankly, I'd buy an iPad Pro with OS X as an option. I'd actually be super happy to see Apple copy MS and do a combined "metro" like deal with iOS and OS X flipping back and forth or whatever. I don't care. The ability to get things done with your devices is more important than a perfect UX at this late stage in the game.
That said, I'm still going to get an iPad Pro because I have use cases outside my main toolset so it will still be very useful, but, I will always look at Surface Pro, and even moreso Surface Book and think "If those things didn't crash constantly or ship with what appears to be a 20% fail rate, that's what I'd be using right now. Hands down. No contest."
iOS's restricted nature has contributed enormously to the world of touch UX.
But it doesn't help me. I can't possibly do my whole job on any iOS device. It is not a hardware issue. It's 100% software. Nobody is going to make the software I need because it's too awkward to do so, and, in fact, it's a violation of the app store rules.
So frankly, I'd buy an iPad Pro with OS X as an option. I'd actually be super happy to see Apple copy MS and do a combined "metro" like deal with iOS and OS X flipping back and forth or whatever. I don't care. The ability to get things done with your devices is more important than a perfect UX at this late stage in the game.
That said, I'm still going to get an iPad Pro because I have use cases outside my main toolset so it will still be very useful, but, I will always look at Surface Pro, and even moreso Surface Book and think "If those things didn't crash constantly or ship with what appears to be a 20% fail rate, that's what I'd be using right now. Hands down. No contest."
No, it is an INPUT issue. Not a software or hardware issue. People have so little respect for INPUT methods, when these are actually the life of the device. The reason you cant do all your work is because some of it is meant to be done with a keyboard and mouse. Not everything can be done well with touch, and vice versa.
You have no clue what you're talking about. There is absolutely no input problem for the work I do. iPad has more than enough input capability for my area of work. The actual problems are, firstly, the app store restrictions and second, but, just as important, the lack of a clear demand. It would not be reasonable to expect top class software that normally sells for hundreds of dollars per year to be produced for a new platform with a new interaction paradigm. So adaptation in the opposite direction is a more legitimate expectation.
You're the one with no idea what you're talking about. The only lack of software for iPad is software that needs to be written for KEYBOARD AND MOUSE INPUT, and doesn't translate to touch.
App Store restrictions is a joke of cop-out, and shows how clueless you are.
Doesnt Apple have hundreds of thousands of Apps? You can even make your own apps or download the code off github and install the apps on your device yourself.
Apple seems to have a knack for playing the long game, and I don't think they're stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if they began leaning on developers to create iOS apps that could legitimately replace their OS X counterparts. Adobe, whether you love them or hate them, are making inroads with apps like Sketch, Draw and Premiere Clip (etc). Granted, they're a weak substitute for the real thing today, but they have to develop around weaker processors, tight memory constraints, smaller displays and limited input options.
The iPad Pro, meanwhile, is getting a bit closer to notebook-class performance, it has a larger display and more robust input tools (i.e. Pencil and Smart Keyboard) than any iOS device previously. It's the closest an iOS device has been to being powerful enough that it could theoretically run desktop applications.
So, if we had developers creating more desktop-caliber iOS apps on one hand... and increasingly powerful devices on the other, then I could see us getting to a point of convergence in the future where iOS could legitimately replace OS X. A unified operating system that runs across an entire product lineup. In a sense, I'm describing what Microsoft is trying to do with Continuum... but having recently purchased (and subsequently returned) a Surface Book, I have less confidence in their ability to pull it off. I applaud them for trying, but I think they've essentially made their laboratory public. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that Apple is planning something similar (i.e. a unified operating system with responsive apps that adapt to the device they're being used on), but unlike Microsoft, would play their cards close to the vest until they'd perfected it.
I guess that's an extremely long-winded way of saying that I don't think the iPad Pro will ever run OS X. I actually think it more likely that OS X is retired.
The iPad Pro, meanwhile, is getting a bit closer to notebook-class performance, it has a larger display and more robust input tools (i.e. Pencil and Smart Keyboard) than any iOS device previously. It's the closest an iOS device has been to being powerful enough that it could theoretically run desktop applications.
So, if we had developers creating more desktop-caliber iOS apps on one hand... and increasingly powerful devices on the other, then I could see us getting to a point of convergence in the future where iOS could legitimately replace OS X. A unified operating system that runs across an entire product lineup. In a sense, I'm describing what Microsoft is trying to do with Continuum... but having recently purchased (and subsequently returned) a Surface Book, I have less confidence in their ability to pull it off. I applaud them for trying, but I think they've essentially made their laboratory public. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that Apple is planning something similar (i.e. a unified operating system with responsive apps that adapt to the device they're being used on), but unlike Microsoft, would play their cards close to the vest until they'd perfected it.
I guess that's an extremely long-winded way of saying that I don't think the iPad Pro will ever run OS X. I actually think it more likely that OS X is retired.
I've been using Windows for over 20 years and I've seen the dreaded BSOD only once, and it turned out to be just a minor error in a start up file which was fixed in 5 minutes. I don't know why Mac users always say that it's unstable or plagued with malware. In my experience PCs are just as reliable as Mac, if you buy good ones.
OS X? Probably never? But a more functional iOS that mimics desktop is a possibility.
But I guess never say never, if iPad Pro flops and Macbook flops, and Surface Book sale surges, we'll see OS X on iPad Pro sooner rather than later.
I think they should be merged. the hardware is powerful enough now with A9X.
Just need an "icon" to toggle iOS mode vs. OS X mode.
I don't buy your argument. iPad Pro could run OS X. Apple just needs to allow partitioning (or some more sleek solution) to swap between the 2 operating system. iPad Pro with a keyboard attached and a bluetooth mouse, should be able to turn into a "MacBook" for those tasks such as content creation.
Could a developer create an app that emulates OS X environment? so bam.. click on that app you are in OS X!
Because it's happening too slowly. Every "equivalent" software on iOS is the stripped down version of the desktop version.
Using "Numbers" on iPad for a large spreadsheet that requires functions and formatting is much easier with a mouse and real keyboard, for example.
This...
iOS might gain more functionality resembling OS X, but that's about it. What's so precious about OS X that people Are holding on to this 15 yr old legacy? Habit or fear?
Here in lies the boundary between iPad and PCs. Mouse and Keyboard are an art form. They are their own form of paintbrush. Just like touch is. I love both, and there are certain things I can do with a mouse that I will never be able to do with touch.
People have to wake up and realize that touch has it limitations, and it has nothing do with what version of OS X Apple puts on the iPad. So what if they put the macOS on iPad? You suddenly going to be able to use it without a mouse? NO.
How well did Windows 8 work? The key program managers were fired, demoted or quit. It was a disaster.
That seems the only real way forward. Even then it is a very long road.
Consider complex apps like Excel, Photoshop, Word, Premiere Pro, FCP X, etc. They have hundreds of menus, dialog boxes, sliders, cascading windows, etc -- all designed for mouse & keyboard interaction. There is simply no place to put those on iOS (or Windows "Metro").
Complex windowed apps *can* be ported between OS X and Windows because the UI constructs are there, likewise the underlying OS support for file I/O, threading, thread synchronization, memory management, etc. However it is impossible to port such apps to iOS. The app would have to be totally redesigned and re-imagined from scratch, and even then it's unclear could the same functionality be achieved.
Certainly Microsoft has the greatest incentive to demonstrate this. They envisioned the new tiled interface, they make the OS, they make the apps. Yet to my knowledge Microsoft has never discussed a roadmap for moving these complex full-featured apps to the Metro/Modern UI.
You could theoretically run OS X on a tablet and crudely remap touch events to mouse/keyboard events like Microsoft does when running Win32 apps on a tablet. It is clunky and sort of works in a rudimentary fashion. However I can't see Apple doing that.
Microsoft has the advantage of their x86 software running on x86 tablets. Apple would have the additional problem of having to recompile all that to run on ARM. IOW it would be the Apple version of Windows RT. It seems unlikely Apple will do that.