That discussion has been ongoing for years; it is neither novel nor insightful at this juncture to point out that the iPad is overpowered for the software it runs. Literally every single reviewer has been making that point since M1 came to the iPad, and they‘re always imploring Apple to either port macOS or “more pro apps” to the iPad to take more advantage of the hardware.
I’m sure it’s a great podcast but I’ve heard the discussion so many times now that, even though there’s truth in it, it’s a little boring.
It used to be a virtue to ship a product that is blazing fast and not technologically throttled. But somehow that’s a vice with iPad because vocal armchair product designers are upset that Apple won’t subjugate its product vision to theirs. The hubris is laughable with some even going so far as to invent the product names that Apple should use without a clue as to how ridiculous that behavior looks — yes, I’m referring to
Federico Viticci and the MacPad. 😏
If you have ever held a formal Product Management role you are accustomed to everyone having an opinion about what your product should be/do — often without doing their homework to qualify their suggestions/demands. Professionals also recognize that listening to users is a good thing so they cultivate the skill of suspending judgment in the service of learning something they don’t know from unexpected sources.
However, the expectations for professionals like Viticci are higher. Federico is a talented professional who I respect and admire deeply. He reports on Apple and Apple products for a living and has access to people who can, and I’m sure, have, provided insights into the complexity of product management role for a global product like the iPad with a specific design intent and the need to keep it aligned with other products in the Apple product portfolio. The expectation is that at a minimum professionals like Federico will be respectful of the people making these decisions and demonstrate humility when making suggestions. Other people can make lay people mistakes, but pros cannot. In this case it’s as if Federico became intoxicated with his cleverness and became convinced that his Frankenstein was not only clever, but also a thing of beauty -- so much that he actually brought the MacPad to the Apple London iPad event. Seriously, how middle school is that! 😂
I’m glad that Federico has come down to earth and instead of just making a clumsy case for MacOS on iPad Pro, he has written
an article identifying issues he sees with iPadOS. This is not only not-ego-driven, it is actually helpful and would have had way more benefit for iPad proponents than alienating the people inside Apple who are in a position to make changes vs presenting his Frankenstein as the vision of success for iPad. 🙄 But better late than never!