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If iPad Pro could run MacOS, would you bother with iPadOS?

  • I would almost always use MacOS

    Votes: 14 15.6%
  • I would almost always use iPadOS

    Votes: 47 52.2%
  • I would split time

    Votes: 29 32.2%

  • Total voters
    90
  • Poll closed .

perezr10

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2014
2,014
1,486
Monroe, Louisiana
I see that "use iPadOS" is winning by a good margin, but I call BS. If iPads could run MacOS, you'd all lose your s*** about how awesome it was.
Wrong. Thats why I stopped using a Mac. I preferred the touch first OS that could easily be switched to portrait mode Among other things. I could complain about macOS all day long.
 
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Rafterman

Contributor
Apr 23, 2010
7,267
8,809
Yeah, lying in a forum poll is really my cup of tea…. Sorry, no I bought an iPad for what it is, if I wanted a desktop Os I would have bought a Mac.

What? People lie all the time on forums. I am not saying you specifically are, but a lot of people do.

But we'll see what happens if Apple ever actualy does put MacOS on an iPad. People said the same things about large screen iPhones ("I don't need a giant phone on my pocket") and even the original iPad itself ("it's just a big iPhone").
 

yabeweb

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2021
823
1,740
What? People lie all the time on forums. I am not saying you specifically are, but a lot of people do.

But we'll see what happens if Apple ever actualy does put MacOS on an iPad. People said the same things about large screen iPhones ("I don't need a giant phone on my pocket") and even the original iPad itself ("it's just a big iPhone").
I disagree with the “iPad itself ("it's just a big iPhone")” as I can hardly work on an iPhone while I earn my living with an iPad.

People lie that’s true, but there are plenty of people that really like iPad OS.
That does not mean I would not want Apple to make more improvement to iPad OS, actually quite the opposite, but I do not want them to turn it into macOS.

I took the time to adapt to a different workflow, and now would not want to go back.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,920
13,269
Wrong. Thats why I stopped using a Mac. I preferred the touch first OS that could easily be switched to portrait mode Among other things. I could complain about macOS all day long.

Same. Well, not a huge fan of portrait mode but I prefer a touch-optimized interface which doesn't require keyboard and mouse/trackpad to use.

We have a few desktops, ThinkPads plus one M1 MBA at home but I'd sooner grab the iPad 5th/6th gen for my normal use than any of the "proper" computers.
 
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Slartibart

macrumors 68040
Aug 19, 2020
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I do all the time. And yes, it works fine.
You mean in the sense of “good enough” I presume? That’s not really what one looks for, isn’t it?

Probably with an external keyboard, mouse or trackpad, I guess?

because without it is definitely - well, even with that additional hardware - it is not “good enough”… it’s a hack. (I am referring solely to remote control here.)

Did you seriously use a program? Just as an experiment - please bare with me here- let’s say you remotely connect and start Blender… sculpt something… rig and animate it… and after that you seriously call this “fine”?
I don’t even bother to to suggest trying to do that with just an iPad… without the peripherals… ???

I never… N.E.V.E.R. … heard somebody, who uses a program on MacOS, Windows, Linux or e.g. AmigaOS or Atari TOS ?, saying that the interface works… “fine.” ??
 
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Slartibart

macrumors 68040
Aug 19, 2020
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What? People lie all the time on forums. I am not saying you specifically are, but a lot of people do.

But we'll see what happens if Apple ever actualy does put MacOS on an iPad. People said the same things about large screen iPhones ("I don't need a giant phone on my pocket") and even the original iPad itself ("it's just a big iPhone").
Look at the screen resolutions (in pixels) of an iPad. Then look on the screen resolutions of the current entry level M1 iMac. You see the difference? You might not be able to imagine what this means for touch targets or the number of lines you can see in a document… well, here we go:

24” iMac uses 4480-by-2520 resolution at 218 pixels per inch

11” iPP 2388-by-1668-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch

I think that most people will agree that the 24” iMac is an entry level, consumer device.

I also think that the 11” iPP is the right size for an iPad assuming touse it as a tablet wherever (your mileage may vary, I have siblings who ”evangelise” for the 12” ?)

Can we be generous for a minute and say that a a touch target when you just would remotely connect to said iMac is roughly half as big on the iPad screen (when scaling iMac onto iPP; otherwise you have a lot f scrolling to do which I suppose makes the whole procedure after a short interval quite tedious and not really ergonomic, right? ?)?
Even worse: imagine that you do so without external hardware (keyboard, trackpad/mouse)… because that’s the iPad “default”. ?

As many - to the astonishment of many others - pointed out, there is a not actually small group of people who are happy with the iPadOS interface as it is. They are not happy about various bugs, inconsistencies, and they might miss features (yes, e.g. extend “desktop” when connecting a monitor should be a general option ?) - but iPadOS does a lot of things right for what it is.
 

Rafterman

Contributor
Apr 23, 2010
7,267
8,809
Look at the screen resolutions (in pixels) of an iPad. Then look on the screen resolutions of the current entry level M1 iMac. You see the difference? You might not be able to imagine what this means for touch targets or the number of lines you can see in a document… well, here we go:

24” iMac uses 4480-by-2520 resolution at 218 pixels per inch

11” iPP 2388-by-1668-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch

I think that most people will agree that the 24” iMac is an entry level, consumer device.

I also think that the 11” iPP is the right size for an iPad assuming touse it as a tablet wherever (your mileage may vary, I have siblings who ”evangelise” for the 12” ?)

Can we be generous for a minute and say that a a touch target when you just would remotely connect to said iMac is roughly half as big on the iPad screen (when scaling iMac onto iPP; otherwise you have a lot f scrolling to do which I suppose makes the whole procedure after a short interval quite tedious and not really ergonomic, right? ?)?
Even worse: imagine that you do so without external hardware (keyboard, trackpad/mouse)… because that’s the iPad “default”. ?

As many - to the astonishment of many others - pointed out, there is a not actually small group of people who are happy with the iPadOS interface as it is. They are not happy about various bugs, inconsistencies, and they might miss features (yes, e.g. extend “desktop” when connecting a monitor should be a general option ?) - but iPadOS does a lot of things right for what it is.

I have an iPad Pro 12.9 and a 13 inch Macbook Pro M1. I have run Teams on both, and when people display their Windows laptop on Teams, it was quite legible on both screens. In fact, it (text) was a hair bigger on the iPad Pro. But I have 20/20.

No one is saying an iPad Pro can completely replicate tjhe Mac desktop experience (geez, why is everything 0 or 100 around here?). But it can do a lot of it.
 

Username-already-in-use

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2021
567
1,056
I see that "use iPadOS" is winning by a good margin, but I call BS. If iPads could run MacOS, you'd all lose your s*** about how awesome it was.
I doubt it. There would be a gazillion threads on how Mac OS isn’t as great an experience on a 12.9” screen and how the interface isn’t the best for touch. Then there will be the “I returned my iPad Pro and got a Macbook Air” threads.

Windows tablets have existed since the early 2000s and PC users carried on as normal, while android tablet users carried on as normal throughout the ‘10s. Having a full desktop OS on a tablet hasn’t really changed much for the tablet market dominated by iPadOS and Android.

If Apple brought out a Mac tablet, or brought in a dual-boot capability for the M1 iPads I doubt it would be earth shattering. It would just appeal to some nerds.
 
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Slartibart

macrumors 68040
Aug 19, 2020
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No one is saying an iPad Pro can completely replicate tjhe Mac desktop experience (geez, why is everything 0 or 100 around here?). But it can do a lot of it.
But this thread is about running MacOS or iPadOS on an iPad.

I am actually one of those users who found a solution for everything I do to do it on an iPP. But that’s of no interest here. At least not in the sense I understand the OP.
And I personally don’t want to bother with something which is “quite” okay or ”fine”…occasionally yes, okay. Over a long interval: nope.

There are restrictions which impede people to use an iPad to do what they want- yep, you can run a shell/terminal or Linux, but you do not have completely device access, etc.. I know that. I am actually on board with a lot of things (and I am excited e.g. about the Swift/Swift UI app development via Swift Playgrounds).

Lucky for everyone missing multi-monitor support or full Photoshop or InDesign…. there is a solution. Actually various. ?
 
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Ludatyk

macrumors 603
May 27, 2012
5,967
5,139
Texas
I see that "use iPadOS" is winning by a good margin, but I call BS. If iPads could run MacOS, you'd all lose your s*** about how awesome it was.
I voted... always iPadOS.

If I wanted macOS... then I'll buy a Mac. Obviously it would be awesome to have macOS on an iPad, but tbh... I'd much prefer Windows on an iPad than macOS. Give me Parallels or VMWare on the iPad... I'll use it for Windows instead of macOS.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,920
13,269
Windows tablets have existed since the early 2000s and PC users carried on as normal, while android tablet users carried on as normal throughout the ‘10s. Having a full desktop OS on a tablet hasn’t really changed much for the tablet market dominated by iPadOS and Android.

I've owned a couple of those before and after getting an iPad. Apart from the overheating and awful battery life, they pretty often required mouse or stylus to function.

In the end, I figured a $2K iPad Pro with 1TB storage (plus separate Windows desktop/laptop) is a better fit for me than a Surface Pro or similar at the same price.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,920
13,269
90 votes, out of millions of iPad owners. Not exactly a quorum.

The thing is I doubt majority of those millions of iPad owners bought an iPad (likely entry level) because they wanted a desktop OS. Much simpler to just buy a laptop or MacBook if that’s what they actually want/need.

My nieces have older iPads (Air and Air 2) and when asked if they wanted an iPad upgrade or laptops, they requested iPads.
 

iPadified

macrumors 68020
Apr 25, 2017
2,014
2,257
An iPad Pro has better hardware than a MBA and a 13“ MacBook Pro.
A that, I suspect, is he main complaint driver for iPP2021 being to powerful and iPadOS too limited. I really long for the new MPB to arrive to we can get MacOS people out of the iPad threads!
 

iPadified

macrumors 68020
Apr 25, 2017
2,014
2,257
The thing is I doubt majority of those millions of iPad owners bought an iPad (likely entry level) because they wanted a desktop OS. Much simpler to just buy a laptop or MacBook if that’s what they actually want/need.

My nieces have older iPads (Air and Air 2) and when asked if they wanted an iPad upgrade or laptops, they requested iPads.
My daughter are the same, they prefer iPad because they are raised with iPads. As my oldest said a about a tutor: "He is a little bit old fashioned, he uses a Mac". I do as well to be honest.
 

iPadified

macrumors 68020
Apr 25, 2017
2,014
2,257
Did you seriously use a program? Just as an experiment - please bare with me here- let’s say you remotely connect and start Blender… sculpt something… rig and animate it… and after that you seriously call this “fine”?
I don’t even bother to to suggest trying to do that with just an iPad… without the peripherals… ???
Blender on an 11 inch screen, yeah right. When the iPad comes in >=24 inch, modelling software might be useful. Remote with a slight delay and 3D sculpturing seem like an impossible combination.
 

secretk

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2018
1,494
1,229
I have not owned a Mac so I have no idea about MacOS and as a result I cannot choose MacOS over iPadOs. I am not sure that I need MacOS or Windows on an iPad to be honest.

The problem for me lies somewhere else. I use my laptop a lot - like my computing needs are such that I use a device 10 hours a day (this is on weekend, during work I have 9-10 hours only related to work and then another 5-6 hours personal use). I use my laptop as a TV, audio system, for browsing, texting with friends, all of it. This is done with having external monitors, good speaker system hooked up to the laptop and mouse that I like/enjoy.

This is the thing with the iPad - I cannot imagine myself ever using it like that. Ergonomics wise I get neck and back pain by using the iPad for more than few hours a day. With its own port, I cannot hook up so many things to an iPad. And let's not forget the lack of proper external monitor support. And iPadOS with mouse is doable but not enjoyable experience. It is clear as day that this is accessibility feature and not something to be meant as general usage.

So naturally I know that I have my laptop for all those tasks and the iPad is to be used as a digital notebook with the pencil or for media consumption in bed. Now why I would need Windows or MarcOS for such usage? iPadOS for me works fine for that kind of workflow. I agree that it does not work if you have more demanding needs, but if we talk about this than iPad is restricted both hardware and software wise.
 

yabeweb

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2021
823
1,740
I agree that it does not work if you have more demanding needs, but if we talk about this than iPad is restricted both hardware and software wise.
I guess it depends on what you call demanding, there are some very capable apps, from video (i.e. Luma Fusion) to Graphic Design (Affinity Designer) and from Photo editing (Affinity Photo / Pixelmator) to productivity (Excel / Word and such).

Then there is the ammount of productive work that can be done sketching (Procreate and similar) to note taking.

There are some capable 3d modeling app, but I do not do 3d modeling so I don't know how good those are, but the point is, I guess "Demanding needs" whatever that means, it's more up to what your job is than the device itself.

Sure you cannot code on an iPad (well yet), does that mean the iPad is not a work machine and only a consumption device? I guess if all you do is coding.

I do 100% of my business on an iPad, I consider my needs "demanding" and never had to pick up a computer in the last 3 years ("hey what's a computer?"), so there's that.

It's definetly NOT the perfect machine for everyone, but what machine is?
 
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secretk

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2018
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I guess it depends on what you call demanding, there are some very capable apps, from video (i.e. Luma Fusion) to Graphic Design (Affinity Designer) and from Photo editing (Affinity Photo / Pixelmator) to productivity (Excel / Word and such).
By demanding tasks I meant the tasks that people think that would be able to do on the iPad by having MacOs. Or my case which is more than 10 hours a day on a computer and this is something I just do not enjoy on the smaller screen of the iPad.
Then there is the ammount of productive work that can be done sketching (Procreate and similar) to note taking.
Definitely! I am not creative so I can't be productive with Procreate, but I do most of my brainstorming stuff for work in Notability.
There are some capable 3d modeling app, but I do not do 3d modeling so I don't know how good those are, but the point is, I guess "Demanding needs" whatever that means, it's more up to what your job is than the device itself.
In terms of 3D modeling apps it is also about adoption. I had computer graphics as subject one semester in university and we had to use specific software (3D max studio). I also had to do some scripting for some of the models (OpenGL which is similar to C and is basic programming or similar to that). Anyway my point is that if you do the sort of 3D modeling that requires working with others real time than you are restricted by the software you can use.
Sure you cannot code on an iPad (well yet), does that mean the iPad is not a work machine and only a consumption device? I guess if all you do is coding.
For me it is mostly media consumption device because I do not enjoy interaction with the device for long periods of time with mouse and on a desk.
I do 100% of my business on an iPad, I consider my needs "demanding" and never had to pick up a computer in the last 3 years ("hey what's a computer?"), so there's that.

It's definetly NOT the perfect machine for everyone, but what machine is?
I agree. Nothing is perfect. My idea is that maybe the people that want MacOS on an iPad, actually want a Macbook or Mac. I guess I failed explaining it properly.
 
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AnonMac50

macrumors 68000
Mar 24, 2010
1,580
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In my case, I guess it would depend on what I'd use it for. But I imagine I'd more likely use it in macOS mode. Especially since Big Sur and Monterey seem like they're much more optimised for touch than Catalina ever was.
 
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