Just an update as someone who was previously iPad Pro only this year, I'm not 'Note 20 Ultra' only and I have to admit it's far less limiting than the iPad thanks to DeX mode. I can use it when working on a work PC as well in a window, or with a monitor / keyboard / mouse combo like I would my iPad. Windows make it much easier, and freedom over things like background ocntent, better music in the background manager etc, I have to admit it's doing a much better job. The apps in general aren't as good on android as iOS, but some work way better with keyboard and mouse. And many have more features compared to iOS as it's not limited. In particular the background app refresh thing makes a huge difference. I'm not sure I'll ever be back, sadly. But the mobile devices being the future thing I think is true. Now, if there were a folding iPhone, with a desktop mode and could fold into something like an iPad mini THEN I might be back?!
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iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
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Proper external monitor support is definitely one thing that got me thinking about going full time Mac again. On my most hectic days for work, I need my work Mac docked to my two big displays so that I can do my conference calls on one monitor and my other work on another. This is one of the few situations where the iPad just doesn't cut it for me. And sometimes I need my webcam or screenshare on without it hijacking other applications I'm running that have video and audio. The iPad falls short there too.
He believed the iPad would replace the PC for the everyday person, not completely for everyone. That’s precisely why he used the car/truck analogy. He said that cars eventually became more popular than trucks for the everyday person, but it never replaced trucks completely, which he believed illustrated what would happen with the iPad and PC. If he believed that the iPad would replace the PC completely, he would have used a different analogy, like the car vs. carriage.
I haven’t seen any indication that Apple has plans in the future to make the iPad have the same functionality as a PC. I think it’s because they see that as necessarily taking away from its unique functionality, which is ease of use and nimbleness—similar to a car. If they made the car do all the things a truck can do, it would no longer be a car and just be a different model of truck.
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To keep Mac sales going? If I could do everything that is possible with macOS on iPadOS, I would not need a Mac or another computer and could use my iPad for everything. Due to the current Apple software limitations, I have to compensate for it with more hardware, even though my iPad/MacBook use ratio is 95 to 5%, respectively. 🤷🏻♂️
To keep Mac sales going? If I could do everything that is possible with macOS on iPadOS, I would not need a Mac or another computer and could use my iPad for everything. Due to the current Apple software limitations, I have to compensate for it with more hardware, even though my iPad/MacBook use ratio is 95 to 5%, respectively.
Looking at the iPod history I see Apple has no problems letting a product be cannibalised by another.
If they had a better version of it that would knock the socks off a Mac (and therefore any other laptop or desktop on the market) it would be available - as it would also disrupt everyone else’s sales.
It's sort of kind of my use case. I have a 11" IPP, but I'm keeping my 27" Imac from 2013 still. On rare occasions I need or prefer the Imac, but rarely these days. I also have my work PC laptop that I can use if I need to.
But basically all of my personal doings are on my Ipad. I'm not using any keyboard though, I rarely text input that much, so I make do with the onscreen keyboard and the Pencil.
I can't see any major issue for you based on your use case. Enjoy the Ipad life - not without its hurdles, but so worth it for me atleast.
How would you explain the current limitations of iPadOS then? They are surely not hardware related, as modern iPads have enough RAM, storage and clock speed to easily handle the same tasks as my 2015 MBP.
We can but speculate. Failure to implement more powerful features and functionality could be due to the fact that it seems tricky to get right or maybe they just haven’t found a way to transition to a more powerful interface. In either way, if you look at the macOS, its last big change was the introduction of OS X two decades ago with only refinements ever since.
One of the things that makes an iPad so joyful to use is the simpler interface and uncomplicated application management. Using an iPad doesn’t “feel like” using a computer and this is one of the reasons people are drawn to them. By comparison, the cognitive overhead of using a traditional windowed desktop operating system on a computer is much higher, with an entire category of window and app management tasks which the user is required to navigate.
The explanation for the current limitations of iPadOS may simply be that it’s an intractable problem, or at least one which Apple have not yet managed to figure out. It may simply not be feasible to blend those two UI philosophies which are at times mutually incompatible with each other. Every step Apple take to add sufficient complexity and capability to iPadOS in order to satisfy macOS users is a step against that magical simplicity that an iPad promises.
When I’m hard at work in macOS I routinely have a dozen active windows open across a handful of apps (and, crucially, all simultaneously visible). And I’m a relatively simple single-monitor user. Is it even feasible to expect a tablet OS to both be able to sustain that sort of complex workflow while at the same time maintaining iPadOS’s tradition of melting into the background and making the application itself the primary user experience when using the device?
iPadOS has made great strides in adding multitasking support as it has matured. It’s now reasonably practical to run 2 to 2.5 concurrent applications at the same time, but the UI clearly strains under the weight of that interactive complexity. It’s easy to envision a future iPad with significantly more RAM being even better by not needing to so aggressively terminate or hibernate background apps. But I definitely struggle to see a clear path forward when it comes to UI and interactive app management that could absorb the kind of complexity that a free-form windowed UI provides on a traditional computer.
We’ve seen with Microsoft’s attempts that simply having tiling windows on a tablet or hybrid device isn’t a very satisfying or compelling solution. Touch on Windows laptops continues to be more of a novelty than a useful tool. You end up with a user experience that is a compromised tablet and a compromised computer combined. As with the analogy, too much blending and maybe you just end up with a vehicle that’s not a good truck and not a good car.
I have trouble seeing Apple moving more in that direction, not to mention the users. I’m not Apple and it’s not my job to do UI design, so maybe there’s a path that can cross that tightrope. I don’t think it’s inevitable though. It may just be the reality of these devices.
I definitely do not think that Apple are intentionally limiting iPadOS to protect their macOS sales. I think it’s just a hard problem to solve.
To a point, I agree. However, it’s instructive to see how Samsung is working with their Galaxy Fold, which is particularly interesting when seen in conjunction with DEX and the rumoured S-Pen that is said to be forthcoming on the next generation of Folds. So, I think, it is possible - to a limited extent - to push the UI envelope of iPadOS, which I don’t think Apple has yet done. But more importantly. The really crippling feature of iPadOS is the file management system.
There quite a bit Apple can still do to and with iPadOS. Maybe over time they will get to it.
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Rene Ritchie you tuber had a good video recently with a valid point that I agree with.
Apple has to keep improving their own product to be relevant for that product line. Their product continually competes against itself on other product lines. This is really a great thing for the consumer.
Apple has to keep improving their own product to be relevant for that product line. Their product continually competes against itself on other product lines. This is really a great thing for the consumer.
I'm not a fan of the Surface Pro, I'm one of those 'it's not a good laptop, it's not a good tablet' people. HOWEVER, I'm glad it exists and sells well enough to sustain its existance as a full conventional PC in a tablet form factor. I do see it as a 'niche' and I'll defend it in the sense that, just because the iPad outsells it massively, doesn't mean it's a failed concept. I think of it as niche and for real Windows enthusiasts really. The iPad on the other hand is just more universal, easy to use, dumbed down..? sure. But it has its own enthusiasts as well as casual users.
I'm glad both exist, I mean my mum is one of those people who has avoided using technology in the form of a Windows PC or Mac all her life until lately and I'm glad showing her how to use an iPad over a Windows PC every day of the week - and a Mac for that matter, just more to take in. Even though it's things we take for granted. Same with a girl my age (mid 20s) who didn't really care much for technology whatsoever but had an iPhone, way easier to show her how to get things done and literally use that one iCloud sign in to have all her stuff magically on both devices to be able to pick it up and leave it constantly and not need to sit doing any sort of planning or manual syncing... Sure, I love that stuff like a kid loves to mess with play-dough seeing all the ways I can convert, store, organise, edit and mess with my data and software, but you've got to understand that's not the everyperson. The iPad gives them enough utility and easiness to actually re-light that tiny bit of curiosity in 'maybe I can do this with a photo' via a quick search of the app store. Are thye going to join a forum and do extensive Google searches? Nah. But it's all good.
I say this, as a seasoned (now ex) Apple fanboy who has just moved to a dumbed down Note 20 with DeX as his main machine alongside a work issued PC. But my experience of it all, and being iPad only for many periods in the past decade, leads me to believe the above. I think tablets are the future, like Gates and Jobs foreseen. But forever? I think longer down the line.... maybe something like DeX is the future.
I'm glad both exist, I mean my mum is one of those people who has avoided using technology in the form of a Windows PC or Mac all her life until lately and I'm glad showing her how to use an iPad over a Windows PC every day of the week - and a Mac for that matter, just more to take in. Even though it's things we take for granted. Same with a girl my age (mid 20s) who didn't really care much for technology whatsoever but had an iPhone, way easier to show her how to get things done and literally use that one iCloud sign in to have all her stuff magically on both devices to be able to pick it up and leave it constantly and not need to sit doing any sort of planning or manual syncing... Sure, I love that stuff like a kid loves to mess with play-dough seeing all the ways I can convert, store, organise, edit and mess with my data and software, but you've got to understand that's not the everyperson. The iPad gives them enough utility and easiness to actually re-light that tiny bit of curiosity in 'maybe I can do this with a photo' via a quick search of the app store. Are thye going to join a forum and do extensive Google searches? Nah. But it's all good.
I say this, as a seasoned (now ex) Apple fanboy who has just moved to a dumbed down Note 20 with DeX as his main machine alongside a work issued PC. But my experience of it all, and being iPad only for many periods in the past decade, leads me to believe the above. I think tablets are the future, like Gates and Jobs foreseen. But forever? I think longer down the line.... maybe something like DeX is the future.
I’ve been using Surface Pro and iPad mini as my main personal computers for 4+ years now, and here’s what I think.
4 years ago there was no comparison between the two as productivity devices. Surface was just in another league. But recently Apple allowed iPad to take some steps to close the gap. File system improved, keyboards improved massively with the crucial addition of cursor and trackpad support, you can finally plug in external usb devices, etc.
Yet, there’s a lot more that needs to be done. For example Surface automatically switches from tablet to desktop mode when you attach the keyboard. I don’t see why this can’t be implemented on iPad. Obviously not full MacOS mode , but some kind of “productivity mode” with more advanced multitasking and file system optimized for keyboard and cursor input. It could also be implemented as a toggle in Settings, just like now you can switch between more and bigger icons on the home screen. Let the iPad come as a fun, easy-to-navigate device by default, but also let those who need it switch to productivity mode and get to work when they need it. What they seem to be doing instead now with iPadOS is mixing the two together, so it sometimes gets quite confusing with all the gestures.
Aslo, the kickstand! It’s so damn great and convenient. I wish Apple adopted it at least for larger iPads. No more fiddling with additional accessories, just easily prop it up with one move and let your hands rest.
To sum it up, if you have an iPad from 2015, it’s a much better and more versatile device today than when you bought it. And it’s a great thing. Still there’s a lot more to be done and I can’t help but feel that Apple is going too slow. I don’t know whether it’s because they’d rather keep selling you both a Mac and an iPad, or because they’re genuinely not yet there on figuring out the software side, or (most likely) a little bit of both.
4 years ago there was no comparison between the two as productivity devices. Surface was just in another league. But recently Apple allowed iPad to take some steps to close the gap. File system improved, keyboards improved massively with the crucial addition of cursor and trackpad support, you can finally plug in external usb devices, etc.
Yet, there’s a lot more that needs to be done. For example Surface automatically switches from tablet to desktop mode when you attach the keyboard. I don’t see why this can’t be implemented on iPad. Obviously not full MacOS mode , but some kind of “productivity mode” with more advanced multitasking and file system optimized for keyboard and cursor input. It could also be implemented as a toggle in Settings, just like now you can switch between more and bigger icons on the home screen. Let the iPad come as a fun, easy-to-navigate device by default, but also let those who need it switch to productivity mode and get to work when they need it. What they seem to be doing instead now with iPadOS is mixing the two together, so it sometimes gets quite confusing with all the gestures.
Aslo, the kickstand! It’s so damn great and convenient. I wish Apple adopted it at least for larger iPads. No more fiddling with additional accessories, just easily prop it up with one move and let your hands rest.
To sum it up, if you have an iPad from 2015, it’s a much better and more versatile device today than when you bought it. And it’s a great thing. Still there’s a lot more to be done and I can’t help but feel that Apple is going too slow. I don’t know whether it’s because they’d rather keep selling you both a Mac and an iPad, or because they’re genuinely not yet there on figuring out the software side, or (most likely) a little bit of both.
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Guys, I'm new here and I just signed up cuz I have a question... Hope you can help me.
I have a Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro 11" 2018 (with just one camera cut) and I am about to buy the new iPad Air 4. My question is: are they compatible with each other? Or I will have to buy the "new" Smart Keyboard for iPad Air 4/iPad Pro 2020?
Thank you in advance.
I have a Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro 11" 2018 (with just one camera cut) and I am about to buy the new iPad Air 4. My question is: are they compatible with each other? Or I will have to buy the "new" Smart Keyboard for iPad Air 4/iPad Pro 2020?
Thank you in advance.
IIRC, you can't do iOS development on iPad. And some content creation (like videos and web pages) will be much better off done on a laptop/desktop, assuming it's doable on an Ipad.
Should fit the iPad Air 4, but not the 2020 iPad Pro due to its larger camera bump
I think the simplicity of the interface is one of the joys of the iPad. Somehow I can concentrate better on the task at hand using my iPad Pro than I can on a Mac. I guess it is like the difference of working on a clean tidy desk, to one with piles of papers everywhere. In general I don’t want the iPad to turn into a touch screen Mac. Yes I do occasionally find a facility lacking, but over the last 5 years I have been using an iPad Pro as my main computer that has got less and less with virtually every software update.
Thank you! So, if it fits it works, right? There is no compatibility issues just because the Smart Keyboard was released 2 years before the iPad Air 4?
Great news!
the keyboard should be fully compatible, no problemThank you! So, if it fits it works, right? There is no compatibility issues just because the Smart Keyboard was released 2 years before the iPad Air 4?
Great news!
Hi! My 2 cents:
On the daily basis mostly busy with Pages, Number, Keynote. Tried to jump so called iPadPro. No offense, but it’s a still gimmick in terms of “Pro” name. Some important functions are still missing which turn you workflow in a nightmare. Yes, Apple moved forward, but still far to go.
On the daily basis mostly busy with Pages, Number, Keynote. Tried to jump so called iPadPro. No offense, but it’s a still gimmick in terms of “Pro” name. Some important functions are still missing which turn you workflow in a nightmare. Yes, Apple moved forward, but still far to go.
I have been trying to use mine as my full time machine but it has one major stumbling block for me.
File corruption when i copy some files to an external drive from the files app.
File corruption when i copy some files to an external drive from the files app.
Could you be more specific with the criticism?
The term Pro is just a marketing term for iOS devices and in reality represents something like “slightly better/nicer” as functionally most current iPads achieve the same.
I don’t usually agree with a forum post rant but, I believe your rant to be valid.