The real question you should be asking, is why you iPad enthusiasts are so excited about not being able to use the market-leading hardware that sits inside your iPads?
Why are you excited about a $999+ fully fledged computer that only has a single(Thunderbolt) I/O port?
Why don't you run apps that benefit from or need more than 16GBs of RAM?
Why do you want a computer that has enough power to run the desktop version of Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro, but forces you to get a subscription-only versions of these, that won't even bounce/export/run in the background if you multitask and switch to another app window?
Why don't you want to run all the plugins for Final Cut and Logic that you bought for your Mac on your iPad?
Why don't you need a computer that lets you use the full suite of Adobe CC apps but limits you to much less capable iPad versions?
Why don't you need better file management than what iPadOS offers?
Why don't you need to run Xcode?
Why don't you need full, app-specific key commands, but are fine with the limited or completely absent ones found in most iPad apps?
Why don't you need to run any and every kind of third-party app but are fine with the limited selection of apps found on the iPad App Store?
The answer is that your needs in a computer are very limited and fit exactly into the box that Apple has put iPad in and won't let take out of.
I'm not pointing fingers at you. None of us can or should tell each other what we should want or need.
But this goes the other way too -You all know very well of the myriads of apps, plugins, hardware, use cases, etc. that are not possible on iPad and shouldn't argue that we can all swap our desktops and laptops for an iPad Pro.
It does not matter what exact words or verbal definitions we use for iPads and Macs, respectively. Discussing what the word "computer" means is semantics and futile.
TLDR:
The fact that I can install and run anything I want on a Mac but not on an iPad is inarguable and also precisely where the key difference between the two lies.
It's not about the meta-level of iPad vs. Mac, the semantics of the word "computer" compared to "tablet". From that perspective, they are equally capable, both Apple Silicon computers.
It's about the exact specifics of all the big and small things that Apple blocks the user from doing on iPadOS while not providing a valid alternative that's optimized for iPad and equally capable to the Mac version. All while the same restrictions and limitations are nowhere to be found in macOS.
You getting your needs met in an iPad doesn't mean that others don't need a whole lot more, like a Mac.
*Don't @ me about how desktop/laptop apps aren't optimized for touch or Pencil and thus would suck or break the UI design dogma of iPadOS. That's obviously true.
But you don't get the same features and functionalities on iPad versions of "pro" desktop apps, if you even get any version of the app at all.
And on that note, I bet we wouldn't even been having this discussion if it weren't for Apple's many, all too expensive App Store fees, as every third party dev would happily make great iPad versions of their best apps, with no compromises.
