iPad Pro iPad will never run macOS (and it shouldn’t)

[AlexESP]

This is going to be long, but I think it’s necessary given that so many people ask for something that, if you know Apple’s philosophy and the history of the iPad, is clearly not going to happen.

First of all, many people forget that the iPad was born against the classic tablet PC concept, which was never a hit because it wasn’t a real tablet. Many people thought by that time that Apple was going to release a mac tablet, but they didn’t. Because a tablet is a device that does certain functions of phones and computers much better. It’s designed with a finger’s precision as base input, you can properly do everything with your finger (that’s important when people argue that the magic keyboard or the pencil prove anything), in a particular form factor.

When some comparisons are made between a MacBook Air and an iPad Pro at the same price level, they usually forget that browsing is a pleasure and provides much more direct UX on the iPad compared to the Mac. As with Photos, Books, Notes, etc. This is not only a checklist competition, some of us wouldn’t consider a MacBook because it doesn’t provide the experience of an iPad. The iPad can also do (besides doing many stuff better) things the MacBook can’t, like live analysis of the posture of a player or provide the best experience in drawing.

And macOS wouldn’t provide that great experience, because it’s an OS based on windows with small buttons, a bar on the top and an interface based on indirect manipulation designed for the mouse. Sorry for the Apple marketing language, but if you’ve tried Windows with touch, you can clearly feel the lack of the tablet magic. You also cannot switch to macOS depending on whether the MK is connected. First, that’s not instantaneous. But most importantly: what happens when you’re in a macOS app and detach the iPad? You can’t continue if there’s no equivalent in iPadOS? How is it handled if it exists? Do we disable touch support in macOS mode? That’s strange. Apart from that: partitions, API (camera works on iPad, not on other Macs?), duplicated versions... It just feels wrong to have two operating systems in one devices, sending the message that you don’t have a clear propuse in mind.

Another point is that Apple wants to sell you two devices instead of one. They probably want, but they would even prefer to sell one killer device that the competence couldn’t match. Apple is known to cannibalize many of its products. But, contrary to what you think, I don’t think Apple would sell tons of them — in fact, it would be just a slightly better device than the current tabletPCs that would sell slightly better (worse than the current iPad).

Then “at least give me the option”. Many other companies do, they throw every possible option they can. And that’s fine, but Apple isn’t like that, and something is only worth it if it provides a great experience. You know: installing a toggle, even if you hide it, is in the end allowing the option, it means you’re fine with that happening in one of your devices.

So what’s the solution? iPad is evolving in two ways: first, (underestimated here) creating new profesional use cases not possible with a traditional computer, like mentioned above. And the second, yes, bringing features and apps from macOS. And that’s the reason of Catalyst, SwiftUI... but making porting apps and adapting for touch easier is a totally different approach than throwing macOS. There are also some really difficult points, like multitasking. What do you exactly propose to improve multitasking in a touch environment. I can’t think how the current one could be improved. Maybe just things will never be optimal on an iPad (CAD?, Logic?)...

...that’s fine: a Mac is a better device for that. Let iPad be iPad and evolve in the iPad way.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't need my iPad to run MacOS. However, it would be nice if iPadOS had a real file system and was able to readily connect, read, format and delete files on external drives.

 

[AlexESP]

I don't need my iPad to run MacOS. However, it would be nice if iPadOS had a real file system and was able to readily connect, read, format and delete files on external drives.

That’s fine, making the iPad more capable isn’t correlated to making the iPad more macOS-like.

 

[sub150]

An iPad Pro can have 2TB of storage. That is plenty to have both iPadOS and MacOS installed.

I agree, MacOS is certainly not optimized for a touch interface, and shouldn't ever be. But that doesn't mean an iPad device with an 11 or 13" screen and a TB4 port can't become essentially a "mini iMac", with a keyboard and mouse controlling the screen 95% of the time.

The file system would need to get worked out, but with Apple's resources I think they could figure it out.

 

[dukebound85]

An iPad Pro can have 2TB of storage. That is plenty to have both iPadOS and MacOS installed.

I agree, MacOS is certainly not optimized for a touch interface, and shouldn't ever be. But that doesn't mean an iPad device with an 11 or 13" screen and a TB4 port can't become essentially a "mini iMac", with a keyboard and mouse controlling the screen 95% of the time.

The file system would need to get worked out, but with Apple's resources I think they could figure it out.

Exactly. Let the end user make the decision. I would love this

 

[loybond]

Exactly. Let the end user make the decision. I would love this

It hasn't been Apple's MO to let users decide anything. This is the company famous for the walled garden after all.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I don't need MacOS, but I need an iPad with this type of power to be able to do the things that MacOS does to justify it.

Why can't I import and export music and video files to/from an external hdd? Why can't I edit metadata for music? Why can't I have true multitasking or the ability to have 3 or 4 apps on screen at once? It seems like Apple is hesitant to truly untether the iPad from the Mac because they know as soon as they take off the handcuffs that people will start buying an iPad OR a Mac instead of needing both right now.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I don't need my iPad to run MacOS. However, it would be nice if iPadOS had a real file system and was able to readily connect, read, format and delete files on external drives.

Yes, this. I just need my iPad to do these sorts of really, really simple things. That's all. I don't need MacOS on an iPad, I just need my iPad to not feel gimped. Why bother putting such great hardware in it if the software functionality is gimped?

 

[Runs For Fun]

I think we’re going to see some big overhauls to iPadOS 15 that will take more advantage of the new iPad Pros.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I think we’re going to see some big overhauls to iPadOS 15 that will take more advantage of the new iPad Pros.

Yes, like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.

 

[KittyKatta]

I think we’re going to see some big overhauls to iPadOS 15 that will take more advantage of the new iPad Pros.

We’ve been saying that ever since they announced “iPadOS”.

At the time we felt that all this power felt squandered on such a limited device. But in retrospect I think its very clear that Apple was just using the iPad as a test platform to build up to the M1 chip. And now that we’re here then maybe(?) we are finally at the point where Apple will give the iPad the long overdue attention it deserves.... or it will continue to ignore us. With Apple nowadays then you never know.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I love my iPad Pro 11” it’s literally gotten me through the Pandemic. A touch tablet interface is magical.

 

[007p]

The only reason I want macOS on the iPad Pro is because iOS/iPadOS isn’t showing much progress. It takes two years to add a single feature, and just by this thread alone, you can see there’s a long list of things that need doing. I don’t want it to take another decade just to be able to change the extension of a file in the files app. Potentially all we get in June is focus on external display support. Which is great, but...two years to wait for something else mentioned here then?

I always find it a bit funny how when macOS is brought up for iPad, everyone assumes that it has to either support touch or be the primary operating system. It doesn’t. You say Apple isn’t about options, and that is true. But it’s only true for iOS based devices. Isn’t the iPad Pro suppose to be a computer alternative now? I can install Linux or windows arm on a Mac if I want to. Sure the experience might suck, but I can do it. Why does the iPad Pro have to be different, especially now? I highly doubt the walled garden for iPad Pro specifically is very profitable, that comes from the iPhone and base level iPads that will never have access to these ‘features’.

If Apple come out on June 7th with their first party ‘pro’ apps, including Xcode and add the hypervisor framework for M1 on iPadOS then I’d be very happy. No need for macOS. But I’ve been waiting for them to do this kind of thing for 6-7 years. Which is how long I’ve been using the Citrix mouse for.

 

[Abazigal]

Isn’t the iPad Pro suppose to be a computer alternative now?

It's like you said. The iPad Pro is intended to be a computer alternative, not a computer replacement. It's there for people who want to perform tasks they may not be able to do as readily on a conventional laptop or desktop form factor.

But that doesn't mean an iPad device with an 11 or 13" screen and a TB4 port can't become essentially a "mini iMac", with a keyboard and mouse controlling the screen 95% of the time.

Do we even know how many people are using magic keyboards with iPads as some sort of laptop hybrid?

They feel more the exception than the norm, and that's precisely the point. A keyboard and mouse is supposed to augment the iPad experience, not supplant it altogether.

How is this even supposed to work, software-wise? Is Apple supposed to release some sort of pro-ipadOS just for M1 iPads, while the normal iPads receive standard iPadOS updates?

 

[Feyl]

I don't care what OS iPad will have, but if Apple wants me to buy an iPad again, it needs to have a real file system and desktop like windows management. Otherwise it's still just a bigger iPhone. With the M1 I hope we'll get there soon.

 

[Precursor]

I personally don't mind having the capability to run MacOS on it.

 

[007p]

How is this even supposed to work, software-wise? Is Apple supposed to release some sort of pro-ipadOS just for M1 iPads, while the normal iPads receive standard iPadOS updates?

Yes, until they do this the iPad Pro will forever be held back.

They will do it at some point I expect, whether it’s something a user is aware of or not I guess depends. We have already had multitasking (number of apps available) dependant on model. I expect same will happen even more now. Hopefully for entire features.

 

[007p]

It's there for people who want to perform tasks they may not be able to do as readily on a conventional laptop or desktop form factor.

I’m struggling very hard to come up with examples of this. Everything is both easier and readily available on a conventional laptop or desktop.

Unless you throw the pencil into the mix, but I’m guessing not as it’s an additional accessory and would destroy the magic keyboard argument.

If we throw in touch based laptops too, it’s even less of a clear cut.

The majority of iPad owners use it for media consumption based on the form factor. The pro is suppose to go beyond that, but people seem to insist on holding back as it can’t have anything that the media consumption user might take offence to or have as an option to ignore.

This to me just adds to the ‘allow a developer or advance user’ to install macOS if they want to. Doesn’t get in the way of anything, just allows an advance user to use the product in a new way. If you don’t have the ability or knowledge to install it, then you should be looking at a proper Mac. Simple as that really. Sure it’s an incredible niche thing, but that shouldn’t stop people asking for it. Doubt it would take very long now to allow it.

Again, I’d be very happy if they would just allow VMs on iPad Pro. Opens up so much whilst still keeping the walled garden intact for the average user.

 

[Abazigal]

I’m struggling very hard to come up with examples of this. Everything is both easier and readily available on a conventional laptop or desktop.

Unless you throw the pencil into the mix, but I’m guessing not as it’s an additional accessory and would destroy the magic keyboard argument.

If we throw in touch based laptops too, it’s even less of a clear cut.

The majority of iPad owners use it for media consumption based on the form factor. The pro is suppose to go beyond that, but people seem to insist on holding back as it can’t have anything that the media consumption user might take offence to or have as an option to ignore.

This to me just adds to the ‘allow a developer or advance user’ to install macOS if they want to. Doesn’t get in the way of anything, just allows an advance user to use the product in a new way. If you don’t have the ability or knowledge to install it, then you should be looking at a proper Mac. Simple as that really. Sure it’s an incredible niche thing, but that shouldn’t stop people asking for it. Doubt it would take very long now to allow it.

Again, I’d be very happy if they would just allow VMs on iPad Pro. Opens up so much whilst still keeping the walled garden intact for the average user.

Just yesterday, I used my iPad (on a tablet stand) to record a quick video tutorial of myself drawing angles, then uploaded it to YouTube via Lumafusion. The process would have been a lot more cumbersome using a phone and laptop combination.

Here's my use case (I may sound like a broken record to some here and it's not the first time I am sharing on how I have been using my iPad in my job as a teacher).

I got my first iPad in 2012, and since then, I have been experimenting with ways to use it in the classroom, in part due to frustration with the work laptop issued by my school. The first model was a normal windows laptop with a touchscreen and a stylus. It was bad, being bulky, heavy, had short battery life, windows 7 wasn't optimised for touch, and admin limitations meant I couldn't get any third party apps on it.

Then came my iPad to the rescue. Alongside a blog called Macstories, I gradually refined my workflows. The adage "there's an app for that" may sound hackneyed, but it's true enough for me. Files were stored in dropbox and synced to my iPad via Documents. Teaching material were stored in Notability. A typical day in class has me annotating on pdf documents while my iPad is mirrored to the projector via an Apple TV. I have spent more money trialing apps than I care to remember.

The iPad was everything my school laptop was not.

We have since updated to a HP Elitex2 laptop (which resembles a surface pro). It's more portable (being thinner and lighter), the USB-C port lets me connect to my monitor and power with just one cable, but it still has subpar battery life, and apps still aren't optimised for touch. The screen starts to fail due to excessive heat from zooming too much. Because we still can't get apps on it, I am reduced to opening pdf documents in Microsoft Edge if I want to write on them. It's clunky, it's better than nothing for my colleagues, but it's still a massive step behind for someone who has been writing with an Apple Pencil since 2016.

So even before the iPad gained a file system, split-screen, drag and drop, Apple Pencil support or a usb-c port, I was already working around those limitations because for me, the core experience of a thin and light tablet optimised for touch, with long battery life and 4g capabilities more than made up for every other drawback combined. And those things remain just as true for me today as it was 9 years ago. Because it seems that nothing, and nobody, is able or willing to take the iPad head on and try offering a better tablet experience than what the iPad is capable of.

There are many things I can't do on my iPad. But there are also many things I am doing on my iPad that I either can't, or prefer not to do on my Macbook or iMac. I have purchased and subsequently returned the iPad magic keyboard, opting to stick with my current Smart Keyboard because of its ability to fold back and let me use my iPad as a tablet. I will never say no to more functionality for my iPad, but I draw the line at trying to make the iPad more like a Mac (or porting macOS to it) because to me, what I value is that it's a great tablet optimised for touch first and foremost.

And if it means Apple takes longer to bring newer features to it because they need to reimagine it to make sense on the iPad first, then so be it.

 

[sracer]

We’ve been saying that ever since they announced “iPadOS”.

At the time we felt that all this power felt squandered on such a limited device. But in retrospect I think its very clear that Apple was just using the iPad as a test platform to build up to the M1 chip. And now that we’re here then maybe(?) we are finally at the point where Apple will give the iPad the long overdue attention it deserves.... or it will continue to ignore us. With Apple nowadays then you never know.

The businessman and cynic in me says that Apple's increment and glacially slow advancements in the iPad space have everything to do turning the crank on the money printing machine.

Apple could have produced the ultimate iPad (capable of running both mobile and desktop apps) back when it introduced the 12.9 Pro. But then what? This way, each generation offers an increment improvement (despite Apple's marketing hyperbole that every release is revolutionary) and with each improvement, people sell/trade their current model and buy the latest.

I don't blame them. It's a smart move.

There will definitely come a time when Apple will offer an iPad that is capable of running both mobile and desktop apps. What that'll end up looking like is difficult to say considering that the fundamental limitations of iPadOS will prevent it from offering a desktop-like workflow experience.

I own a few alternative converged devices (Lenovo Yoga Book-Android, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Google Pixelbook, Microsoft Surface... even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6+keyboard+DeX). They work surprisingly well... But when Apple produces their version of a converged device, I'll be there... with a wheelbarrow of cash ready, because that's what'll cost. ??

 

[loybond]

Here's what I think. After Jobs, Tim Cook came in and said we need a higher end version of everything called Pro, so *obvs* we make more money/gotta satisfy the shareholders. So they took the iPad, which at that point was $500 and an in-between devices as Jobs envisioned it at the time, gave it 4 speakers and a pencil and called it the iPad Pro. With the higher price tag of course.

From that point people started asking more of a device that costs more (I think Apple might have missed this concept when they first made the iPad Pro). So very slowly, they started adding things the iPad never had. And in order to keep increasing price, they kept coming up with hardware, because that's a lot easier than software, or inventing a new type of product. Every year they add random things, knowing that they don't want to combine iPadOS and Mac (having clearly said so), but every year, leaving people wanting more and more, because they genuinely don't know where to take iPadOS. There is no visionary there to guide them.

And so even though we're all excited for the 1:1 Mac hardware in the new iPad, we should remember that even with a thoroughly reimaged iPad Pro (2018) with USB-C, that didn't mean anything. iPadOS barely changed. The Files app with all its issues didn't get upgrades over the last couple of years. Safari while slightly better with desktop mode is still not the equal of a browser on Mac.

Every year has been like that. This one is no different. All we're gonna get is pro apps (Final Cut, Logic and XCode) and this https://9to5mac.com/2021/04/22/bloo...-ipad-home-screen-new-notifications-features/

 

[loybond]

accidental post

 

[rui no onna]

Apple could have produced the ultimate iPad (capable of running both mobile and desktop apps) back when it introduced the 12.9 Pro. But then what? This way, each generation offers an increment improvement (despite Apple's marketing hyperbole that every release is revolutionary) and with each improvement, people sell/trade their current model and buy the latest.

I own a few alternative converged devices (Lenovo Yoga Book-Android, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Google Pixelbook, Microsoft Surface... even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6+keyboard+DeX). They work surprisingly well... But when Apple produces their version of a converged device, I'll be there... with a wheelbarrow of cash ready, because that's what'll cost. ??

I've used converged devices as well. I think Apple's slow approach in getting both hardware and software ready before throwing everything together makes for a better user experience.

And honestly, I don't think A9X+4GB RAM plus the state of software (x86) at the time would've made for a good experience.

Apple needed to get rid of legacy support first. Also, M1 is 3x the speed of A9X in single-core and around 7x in multi-core. Storage did switch to PCI Express but random write performance was still at mechanical HDD level. The generational improvements from then to now are pretty crucial in making the switch from x86 to ARM attractive instead of feeling like a lateral transfer or even a downgrade.

 

[Mt44]

I agree.

It's a pointless discussion. MacOS is never coming to the iPad.

 

[oneMadRssn]

iPad doesn't need all of macOS, but iPadOS desperately needs some features that have long been available on macOS (indeed, have been available since the early days of OS X or even OS 9).

- Multi-user support and Fast user switching
- True file-system access
- Proper multitasking
- Background services