All iPads The iPad will never be a Mac, and the Mac will never be an iPad

[pdoherty]

MacOS does not use many resources on its own, it's quite CPU and memory efficient. It utilizes like <15% of the CPU when idle or doing light tasks.

There's literally no physical limitation for the iPad to run macOS just fine. The passive cooling design of the MB Air is not 1000% more efficent than that of an iPad, it's more in the ballpark of 20% better. Especially the new M4 iPads.

Yeah the iPad would struggle a bit more in heavier workloads that are sustained for longer periods, but for most typical usage it'd be fine.

The same people arguing that an iPad would be unsuitable for any usage running MacOS apps, are likely the same people who were arguing in those other threads that 8GB was more than sufficient for MacBook Pros.

 

[bcortens]

Are you able to say that for the new iPad Pros that have a heatsink built into them that terminates in copper on the back logo?

They don’t seem to connect the heat sink to the actual M4 though
It seems like the M4 faces the screen which means that the heat isn’t going to be pushed out the back where it would have better thermal performance.

 

[fw85]

Yep. And I’ve seen iPad Pros only last 2.5 hours on battery running pro Apps. Imagine unleashing MacOS that will just eat up all its RAM straight up with nothing running and allow the user to run multiple pro Apps at once and do a zillion things at once. It will overheat, grind to a halt, and be unusable.

I'm starting to think your combined knowledge of h/w and s/w with how they interact together certainly has.. some room for improvement..
This reads a bit like a layman trying to sound like they're more familiar with concepts than they are in reality.

The entry level Mac literally has the same amount of available RAM as the entry level iPad Pro, so that bit about "macOS eating up all the RAM straight up with nothing running" is rather nonsensical..

 

[pdoherty]

They don’t seem to connect the heat sink to the actual M4 though
It seems like the M4 faces the screen which means that the heat isn’t going to be pushed out the back where it would have better thermal performance.

And the end of that video he calls the copper heatsink and overall heat transfer 'genius' which seems to contradict your opinion that the heatsink is going to be ineffective. I didn't watch the whole video, but is it possible that the graphite tape/strap is being used to transmit the heat from the SOC package to the copper heatsink?

 

[pdoherty]

I'm starting to think your combined knowledge of h/w and s/w with how they interact together certainly has.. some room for improvement..
This reads a bit like a layman trying to sound like they're more familiar with concepts than they are in reality.

The entry level Mac literally has the same amount of available RAM as the entry level iPad, so that bit about "macOS eating up all the RAM straight up with nothing running" is rather nonsensical..

And the iPad Pros can be had with 16GB of RAM, too...

 

[fw85]

They don’t seem to connect the heat sink to the actual M4 though
It seems like the M4 faces the screen which means that the heat isn’t going to be pushed out the back where it would have better thermal performance.

I thought it's a pretty good design actually, the graphene sheet pressed against the heat sink to distribute heat away evenly at the back.
And the M4 chip sitting dead center where the Apple logo is, with the logo itself transferring heat away from this hotspot.

 

[bcortens]

And the end of that video he calls the copper heatsink and overall heat transfer 'genius' which seems to contradict your opinion that the heatsink is going to be ineffective. I didn't watch the whole video, but is it possible that the graphite tape/strap is being used to transmit the heat from the SOC package to the copper heatsink?

I didn’t say it wasn’t going to be effective, I said the thermal performance would be better if it was connected directly to the external shell.

However, I suspect there would be concern about surface temperatures exceeding those comfortable for skin contact if they had actually connected the heat sink right to the external shell, which is why we also don’t see the external shell directly connected to the M3 on the MBA.

This solution might be the best solution given the dimensions of the iPP, I don’t know, however the iPP is always going to be thermally constrained compared to a MBA or MBP which just have more physical mass with which to dissipate heat.

 

[bcortens]

I thought it's a pretty good design actually, the graphene sheet pressed against the heat sink to distribute heat away evenly at the back.
And the M4 chip sitting dead center where the Apple logo is, with the logo itself transferring heat away from this hotspot.

Except the m4 is facing the wrong way, my point is that they pointed the M4 at the screen, the majority of the copper heat strip that connects directly to the M4 is spread out vertically between the screen and the logic board. Yes the M4 backing onto the copper Apple logo probably helps more than in older designs but it doesn’t mean this isn’t going to be amazing. As I said in a previous post, this might be the best that can be done in an iPP design If pointing the M4 at the Apple Logo caused the case to get too hot.

 

[Kahnforever]

I'm starting to think your combined knowledge of h/w and s/w with how they interact together certainly has.. some room for improvement..
This reads a bit like a layman trying to sound like they're more familiar with concepts than they are in reality.

The entry level Mac literally has the same amount of available RAM as the entry level iPad Pro, so that bit about "macOS eating up all the RAM straight up with nothing running" is rather nonsensical..

What a jerk comment. Clearly your understanding has room for… improvement. It is well known and a fact that MacOS will utilize more RAM as a baseline the more you put into it. Because an OS needs RAM for various functions. RAM is dynamic, storing data that the system anticipates is needed. And Macs, unlike iPhones and iPads running iOS, have swap memory so they can handle large volumes of instructions and requests simultaneously without worrying about running out of physical RAM. The more RAM available, the less it should have to swap. iOS relentlessly kills things in RAM because its virtual memory is limited and for energy constraints. That’s why even today, people complain about iOS with things like tabs in Safari having to reload, applications end up being terminated, etc.

You can take any Mac, like a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, look at Activity Monitor for RAM usage, then install more RAM and then boot up and look at Activity Monitor in the same state and it will almost 100% certainly show more RAM usage by MacOS.

 

[rui no onna]

It is well known and a fact that MacOS will utilize more RAM as a baseline the more you put into it. Because an OS needs RAM for various functions. RAM is dynamic, storing data that the system anticipates is needed. And Macs, unlike iPhones and iPads running iOS, have swap memory so they can handle large volumes of instructions and requests simultaneously without worrying about running out of physical RAM. The more RAM available, the less it should have to swap. iOS relentlessly kills things in RAM because its virtual memory is limited and for energy constraints. That’s why even today, people complain about iOS with things like tabs in Safari having to reload, applications end up being terminated, etc.

Sure, but if by some miracle Apple allows dual boot of MacOS on the iPad, I don’t see how MacOS would be infinitely worse on the iPad Pros compared to the fanless MacBook Airs.

I’d expect a bit more thermal throttling and a reduction in battery life but I don’t think it’ll be a night and day difference.

Granted, the impact will probably be worse on the smaller iPad Pro 11 with 29Wh battery than on the iPad Pro 13 with 40Wh battery.

 

[Digitalguy]

Yes there is evidence to the contrary. You can research thermal tests of MacBooks and iPad Pros using M-Class chips and see how the iPad runs sometimes 2-3 degrees C hotter.

Furthermore, if thermals were not an issue, then why does Apple put fans in its MacBook Pros and desktops…

This isn’t an argument, these are facts. But you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing.

Given your attitude, you'll always try to defend your arguments even faced with the most clear evidence.
The way you reply to others, not just me, shows it.
As usual in these situations, people reading will make their own opinion, based on all the comments, so while our comments are wasted for you, at least they are useful to others.

 

[fw85]

What a jerk comment. Clearly your understanding has room for… improvement. It is well known and a fact that MacOS will utilize more RAM as a baseline the more you put into it. Because an OS needs RAM for various functions. RAM is dynamic, storing data that the system anticipates is needed. And Macs, unlike iPhones and iPads running iOS, have swap memory so they can handle large volumes of instructions and requests simultaneously without worrying about running out of physical RAM. The more RAM available, the less it should have to swap. iOS relentlessly kills things in RAM because its virtual memory is limited and for energy constraints. That’s why even today, people complain about iOS with things like tabs in Safari having to reload, applications end up being terminated, etc.

You can take any Mac, like a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, look at Activity Monitor for RAM usage, then install more RAM and then boot up and look at Activity Monitor in the same state and it will almost 100% certainly show more RAM usage by MacOS.

Thank you for the simplified explanation, though I do know how memory management works, I'm a software engineer by trade.
But anyway.. since you seem to get offended by the suggestion that you may not know as much as you think yet, the only logical step for me is to assume you know everything already.

Which means you couldn't have possibly missed the fact that we're talking about iPadOS here, which does make use of swap memory (up to 16gb) since version 16.

And no doubt you also realize that if you actually get to a point where you need to rely on swap memory to help you out, it's already bad news - as you know, swap memory is an awful lot slower than RAM (hundreds of times slower), even on modern NVMe drives, and using it is a last resort that comes with a heavy performance penalty.
It is true that more available RAM will allow the OS to utilize the overhead for additional caching that makes things smoother. But these caches are the first to go when memory pressure builds up, as resorting to swap is definitely not something a system wants to run into if it can avoid it. Which you knew, so.. just rehearsing.

But this discussion isn't going anywhere interesting anymore I think, so I leave you to ponder on without me here.

 

[kard32]

I think the other thing people here fail to grasp (and it’s a generational thing, raised on a classic PC) is that younger kids today come from a SaaS world of iPads and chromebooks. They use google documents to write their papers, not word. There is no file system or system of organizing locally. It’s all cloud based for them, tap and send a link and collaborate.

they‘re not editing in FCP, they’re using CapCut. ipads, pro or not, likely tap into how the younger generation computes. Tacking on a classic file system or multitasking interface will basically make it the system they are not using anymore.

This is an obtuse way of looking at younger gens. If a kid wants to enter a movie into Sundance, he most definitely is looking at FCP or better tools.

 

[Kahnforever]

Thank you for the simplified explanation, though I do know how memory management works, I'm a software engineer by trade.
But anyway.. since you seem to get offended by the suggestion that you may not know as much as you think yet, the only logical step for me is to assume you know everything already.

Which means you couldn't have possibly missed the fact that we're talking about iPadOS here, which does make use of swap memory (up to 16gb) since version 16.

And no doubt you also realize that if you actually get to a point where you need to rely on swap memory to help you out, it's already bad news - as you know, swap memory is an awful lot slower than RAM (hundreds of times slower), even on modern NVMe drives, and using it is a last resort that comes with a heavy performance penalty.
It is true that more available RAM will allow the OS to utilize the overhead for additional caching that makes things smoother. But these caches are the first to go when memory pressure builds up, as resorting to swap is definitely not something a system wants to run into if it can avoid it. Which you knew, so.. just rehearsing.

But this discussion isn't going anywhere interesting anymore I think, so I leave you to ponder on without me here.

macOS is designed to take advantage of additional RAM to improve performance through caching and other optimizations. However, this does not negate the fundamental differences between the architectures and capabilities of macOS and iPadOS/iOS devices.

Thermal Constraints and Processing Power: One of the primary reasons iPads and iPhones are constrained compared to Macs is their thermal design. Mobile devices like iPads and iPhones have much smaller thermal envelopes, meaning they cannot dissipate heat as effectively as larger devices like MacBooks and desktops. This is inescapable. This limits the sustained performance and the types of processors that can be used. Macs, with their larger form factors, can handle more powerful processors and higher sustained workloads without as much throttling due to overheating.

RAM Management Differences: iPadOS has virtual memory as I pointed out, but it is not as robust and effective as macOS, including having a GB limit on it, unlike the Mac. Yes, it is true that relying on swap memory is far from ideal because, as it is slower than physical RAM. This performance penalty can impact the UX, particularly in demanding applications. macOS, with more available RAM and better thermal management, can avoid these pitfalls more effectively.

"Swap" memory in iPadOS is more like a last resort thing under high load conditions and comes with a significant performance penalty because storage (even fast Flash storage in iPads) is much slower than physical RAM and slower than SSD storage in MacBooks. Using swap can lead to noticeable slowdowns, especially in high-performance scenarios like gaming or professional software usage. The reliance on swap memory can impact battery life, as accessing storage is more power-intensive than accessing RAM. As iPadOS devices have stricter thermal and power constraints compared to macOS devices, these constraints influence how aggressively "swap" memory is used, balancing performance with thermal and power efficiency. iPads are designed for mobile use, prioritizing battery life and heat management, which means swap usage is tightly controlled to avoid excessive power drain and overheating.

Even with iPadOS 17, people were reporting that applications were still being regularly killed and Safari was not using it much so tabs were needing to be reloaded.

Advanced Memory Management: macOS has a more sophisticated memory management system due to its use on more powerful hardware with higher RAM capacities, better cooling systems, faster and more efficient storage, and a more robust/more unlimited framework. macOS can also leverage larger amounts of RAM and more efficient cooling to reduce reliance on swap memory, but it still uses swap as a backup when RAM is exhausted. And power consumption is less of a concern on Macs compared to iPads, allowing for more aggressive use of swap memory without as significant an impact on battery life or performance.

System Design Philosophy: The design philosophy behind iPadOS/iOS and macOS differs. iOS and iPadOS are designed for efficiency and battery life, often prioritizing these aspects over raw performance. This is why applications on these platforms may aggressively manage background processes and reload content more frequently. macOS, on the other hand, is built for versatility and power, making it more suitable for demanding tasks and multitasking.

 

[Nikhil72]

This is an obtuse way of looking at younger gens. If a kid wants to enter a movie into Sundance, he most definitely is looking at FCP or better tools.

If a kid wants to enter a movie into Sundance, he or she can use a Mac and FCP. It seems obtuse to assume that everyone needs the iPad to be their one and only? And for every kid hoping to enter Sundance with a debut film, there are 10,000x kids of that age making rapid cut TikToks that will most certainly not get Sundance entry.

Not everyone is cutting a major film. I work in healthcare as a physician; my EMR is iPad-first, built from scratch for a touch interface. I have countless photos that enter the records; videos that are brief but trimmed and edited and exported. I value the ability of an iPad Pro to transform. I’ve been using an iPad in some form since medical school nearly 14 years ago to study, take notes, get work done. Guess what? these tasks don’t need the complexity of Mac! When I do use my MBP, I usually full screen a single app to max the screen utilty, or split screen the app with an app like Magnet. This is effectively akin to an iPad for me. The iPad now weighs almost a pound less than my 14” MBP, plus I am currently sitting in a park in the sun with my 5G connection with the ipad just in hand reading a very long New Yorker article. My Pro uses several hours later getting a ton of charting done is now in the past and the device is a wonder to use for leisure.

 

[fw85]

macOS is designed to take advantage of additional RAM to improve performance through caching and other optimizations. However, this does not negate the fundamental differences between the architectures and capabilities of macOS and iPadOS/iOS devices.

Thermal Constraints and Processing Power: One of the primary reasons iPads and iPhones are constrained compared to Macs is their thermal design. Mobile devices like iPads and iPhones have much smaller thermal envelopes, meaning they cannot dissipate heat as effectively as larger devices like MacBooks and desktops. This is inescapable. This limits the sustained performance and the types of processors that can be used. Macs, with their larger form factors, can handle more powerful processors and higher sustained workloads without as much throttling due to overheating.

RAM Management Differences: iPadOS has virtual memory as I pointed out, but it is not as robust and effective as macOS, including having a GB limit on it, unlike the Mac. Yes, it is true that relying on swap memory is far from ideal because, as it is slower than physical RAM. This performance penalty can impact the UX, particularly in demanding applications. macOS, with more available RAM and better thermal management, can avoid these pitfalls more effectively.

"Swap" memory in iPadOS is more like a last resort thing under high load conditions and comes with a significant performance penalty because storage (even fast Flash storage in iPads) is much slower than physical RAM and slower than SSD storage in MacBooks. Using swap can lead to noticeable slowdowns, especially in high-performance scenarios like gaming or professional software usage. The reliance on swap memory can impact battery life, as accessing storage is more power-intensive than accessing RAM. As iPadOS devices have stricter thermal and power constraints compared to macOS devices, these constraints influence how aggressively "swap" memory is used, balancing performance with thermal and power efficiency. iPads are designed for mobile use, prioritizing battery life and heat management, which means swap usage is tightly controlled to avoid excessive power drain and overheating.

Even with iPadOS 17, people were reporting that applications were still being regularly killed and Safari was not using it much so tabs were needing to be reloaded.

Advanced Memory Management: macOS has a more sophisticated memory management system due to its use on more powerful hardware with higher RAM capacities, better cooling systems, faster and more efficient storage, and a more robust/more unlimited framework. macOS can also leverage larger amounts of RAM and more efficient cooling to reduce reliance on swap memory, but it still uses swap as a backup when RAM is exhausted. And power consumption is less of a concern on Macs compared to iPads, allowing for more aggressive use of swap memory without as significant an impact on battery life or performance.

System Design Philosophy: The design philosophy behind iPadOS/iOS and macOS differs. iOS and iPadOS are designed for efficiency and battery life, often prioritizing these aspects over raw performance. This is why applications on these platforms may aggressively manage background processes and reload content more frequently. macOS, on the other hand, is built for versatility and power, making it more suitable for demanding tasks and multitasking.

Hello ChatGPT and welcome to Macrumors!

lol

 

[Kahnforever]

If a kid wants to enter a movie into Sundance, he or she can use a Mac and FCP. It seems obtuse to assume that everyone needs the iPad to be their one and only? And for every kid hoping to enter Sundance with a debut film, there are 10,000x kids of that age making rapid cut TikToks that will most certainly not get Sundance entry.

Not everyone is cutting a major film. I work in healthcare as a physician; my EMR is iPad-first, built from scratch for a touch interface. I have countless photos that enter the records; videos that are brief but trimmed and edited and exported. I value the ability of an iPad Pro to transform. I’ve been using an iPad in some form since medical school nearly 14 years ago to study, take notes, get work done. Guess what? these tasks don’t need the complexity of Mac! When I do use my MBP, I usually full screen a single app to max the screen utilty, or split screen the app with an app like Magnet. This is effectively akin to an iPad for me. The iPad now weighs almost a pound less than my 14” MBP, plus I am currently sitting in a park in the sun with my 5G connection with the ipad just in hand reading a very long New Yorker article. My Pro uses several hours later getting a ton of charting done is now in the past and the device is a wonder to use for leisure.

A Physician?

I'll derail my own thread: Any thoughts on the meaning of life?

 

[Kahnforever]

Hello ChatGPT and welcome to Macrumors!

lol

I wrote it. I used multiple sources including Reddit, Stack Overflow, Apple's own Developer documentation, etc.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

This post is misguided. People just want a more powerful iPadOS.

Like — give me a full-desktop Safari that doesn’t bump me to a stupid app whenever I go to docs.google.com. This can’t possible require 10 years of R&D.

Right now I can do 99% of my work on a $150 Chromebook because it has a real web browser. I can’t say the same for an iPad. It’s a shame.

I disagree with almost everything people want to change about iPad, but getting rid of mobile Safari is one that should happen. It infuriates me that Apple even changed the user agent so that iPad Safari and Mac Safari are indistinguishable to web developers (from user agent alone), and yet they are not even remotely the same browser.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

That continues to be less and less of an issue as they have iOS-ified macOS more and more.

We are really far removed from the original original aspirations and design ideals of Mac OS X

It's not though. It is exactly as much of an issue as OP has stated.

 

[rui no onna]

Thermal Constraints and Processing Power: One of the primary reasons iPads and iPhones are constrained compared to Macs is their thermal design. Mobile devices like iPads and iPhones have much smaller thermal envelopes, meaning they cannot dissipate heat as effectively as larger devices like MacBooks and desktops. This is inescapable. This limits the sustained performance and the types of processors that can be used. Macs, with their larger form factors, can handle more powerful processors and higher sustained workloads without as much throttling due to overheating.

Sure, but obviously, the iPad Pros can handle the M1-M4. We’ve seen these iPads running games, LumaFusion and the like. These give us an idea what performance is like under heavy load.

Using macOS, the thermal limits of the iPad will remain the same. The iPad will likely just see throttling sooner but I doubt it’s as bad you seem to be expecting. If it were that bad, then performance on demanding iPadOS apps would be worse.

RAM Management Differences: iPadOS has virtual memory as I pointed out, but it is not as robust and effective as macOS, including having a GB limit on it, unlike the Mac. Yes, it is true that relying on swap memory is far from ideal because, as it is slower than physical RAM. This performance penalty can impact the UX, particularly in demanding applications. macOS, with more available RAM and better thermal management, can avoid these pitfalls more effectively.

"Swap" memory in iPadOS is more like a last resort thing under high load conditions and comes with a significant performance penalty because storage (even fast Flash storage in iPads) is much slower than physical RAM and slower than SSD storage in MacBooks. Using swap can lead to noticeable slowdowns, especially in high-performance scenarios like gaming or professional software usage. The reliance on swap memory can impact battery life, as accessing storage is more power-intensive than accessing RAM. As iPadOS devices have stricter thermal and power constraints compared to macOS devices, these constraints influence how aggressively "swap" memory is used, balancing performance with thermal and power efficiency. iPads are designed for mobile use, prioritizing battery life and heat management, which means swap usage is tightly controlled to avoid excessive power drain and overheating.

Even with iPadOS 17, people were reporting that applications were still being regularly killed and Safari was not using it much so tabs were needing to be reloaded.

Advanced Memory Management: macOS has a more sophisticated memory management system due to its use on more powerful hardware with higher RAM capacities, better cooling systems, faster and more efficient storage, and a more robust/more unlimited framework. macOS can also leverage larger amounts of RAM and more efficient cooling to reduce reliance on swap memory, but it still uses swap as a backup when RAM is exhausted. And power consumption is less of a concern on Macs compared to iPads, allowing for more aggressive use of swap memory without as significant an impact on battery life or performance.

These points are moot for dual boot.

If Apple by some twist of fate allows dual booting, then macOS will be running on bare metal hardware. It won’t be subject to iPadOS memory management. It will be using macOS memory management while booted to macOS. That includes swap behavior.

I also question the veracity of the claim the iPad “SSD” is slower than MacBook “SSD”. The storage controller is just part of the M-series chipset so on the controller level, performance should be the same given the same chipset. I’m betting Apple just orders their NAND flash in bulk from multiple vendors. I doubt they’re specifically putting better NAND flash chips on the MacBook Air than on the iPad Pro.

System Design Philosophy: The design philosophy behind iPadOS/iOS and macOS differs. iOS and iPadOS are designed for efficiency and battery life, often prioritizing these aspects over raw performance. This is why applications on these platforms may aggressively manage background processes and reload content more frequently. macOS, on the other hand, is built for versatility and power, making it more suitable for demanding tasks and multitasking.

iPadOS/iOS does lean more towards power savings. However, we’ve already seen how macOS performs on Apple silicon. Perhaps the impact on the 11” Pro (~60% battery capacity of MBA) would be pretty heavy but it shouldn’t be as bad on the 13” Pro (~80% battery capacity of MBA).

Also, there are plenty of folks who use the iPad while docked/plugged in. Concerns about battery life are a non-issue then.

P.S.
I very much prefer to use iPadOS versus macOS on the iPad precisely for the touch-optimized UI/UX and apps. With that said, I can see the value in allowing macOS on the iPad as a second operating system that a user is allowed to install themselves. I certainly don’t want macOS installed by default (either dual boot or virtualized) as it would eat up precious internal storage for many users who won’t use it. Of course, I doubt Apple would do it since that would jeopardize their Services revenue. Heck, if they can get away with it, I’m sure they’d like to implement a closed model similar to iPads on Macs.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I’ve owned many iPads over the years, starting with the first one when it launched in 2010. Steve Jobs’ keynote introducing the iPad was a masterclass in product vision, clearly articulating why the iPad existed: it has to excel at tasks over and above the Mac or iPhone, like web browsing and reading books. Jobs also spoke of the need for trucks... even though mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad were appealing, he talked about the need for what he effectively was referring to as the Mac, the equivalent of a truck vs. more efficient cars like the iPhone and iPad.

Over the years, there’s been endless debate about whether the iPad should become more like a Mac with a Mac-like OS or if the Mac should adopt touchscreen capabilities like an iPad. The iPad will never be a Mac, and the Mac will never be an iPad. Each device is designed for a distinct purpose, and these design philosophies are fundamentally different for several reasons:

1. Form Factor and Screen Size: The iPad’s smaller screen is a consequence of its tablet form factor, meant to be handheld. This inherently limits its productivity compared to larger laptop or desktop screens that can display more information simultaneously.
2. Input Methods: The iPad is designed around multi-touch input directly on the screen, which is intuitive for certain tasks but lacks the precision of a mouse and keyboard setup: mouse arrows are precise to 1 pixel. Professional tasks often require this level of precision, which is why the Mac’s keyboard and trackpad, with their pixel-level accuracy, remain superior for those needs.
3. Performance Constraints: The iPad’s CPU and GPU capabilities are constrained by its design as a fanless, battery-operated device. This results in a limited thermal envelope, preventing sustained high performance. In contrast, Macs, especially when plugged in, can utilize more power and better cooling systems, making them capable of handling more demanding professional applications over extended periods. For tasks requiring consistent, high-level performance, such as video editing or software development, the Mac’s design advantages are clear where the iPad will suffer more thermal throttling.
4. External Display Support: The iPad lacks the ability to drive multiple high-resolution monitors, a feature crucial for many professional workflows. Macs, particularly the MacBook Pro and desktop models, excel in this area, providing significant productivity gains through extensive multi-monitor support. This capability is essential for tasks such as coding, graphic design, and financial trading, where multiple displays enhance efficiency and workflow management.
5. Mac’s Trackpad vs. Touchscreen: The Mac already incorporates multi-touch through its trackpad, which is more ergonomic and efficient for desktop use than a touchscreen. It's as if people forget about this. Lifting your arms to touch a screen repeatedly is impractical and slower compared to using a trackpad. Additionally, macOS is optimized for precise input, not the broad gestures suited for touchscreens. The mixed success of Windows 8, which attempted to bridge touch and mouse inputs, underscores the challenges of such an approach. Even Steven Sinofsky, the former President of Windows, has acknowledged that this convergence doesn’t work well.
6. Software Ecosystem and User Experience: The software ecosystems for iPadOS and macOS are tailored to their respective hardware. iPadOS is optimized for touch interactions and mobile apps, excelling in areas like media consumption and lightweight productivity tasks. In contrast, macOS supports a vast array of professional software, offering a desktop-class experience for complex tasks. Attempts to merge these ecosystems risk diluting the strengths of each platform, leading to a compromised user experience.
7. Ergonomics and Usability: The iPad’s design prioritizes portability and ease of use for casual and on-the-go tasks. It is perfect for scenarios where holding the device in hand or using it in various orientations is beneficial. The Mac, designed for desk use, focuses on ergonomics suitable for prolonged use with peripherals like external keyboards and mice, providing a more comfortable experience for extended work sessions.

In summary, the iPad and Mac are designed for different use cases, and their respective strengths highlight why each device remains distinct. The iPad excels as a portable, touch-based device for casual use and specific professional scenarios, while the Mac remains unparalleled in environments requiring sustained performance, precise input, and extensive multitasking capabilities.

With AI, I think the iPad will become even more appealing to more people, as AI has the power to automate a lot of what we do, even in a professional setting, making manual input less needed. But regardless, we will still need the "trucks", as Jobs said, so Macs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. But a truck is not a car, it isn't trying to be, and it will never be.

While I completely agree with everything you say, these iPads are now powerful enough to offer greater control than what iPadOS offers.

For the record, I do NOT think macOS belongs anywhere near an iPad.

But with M1, M2, and now M4 based iPads out there, the fact that iPadOS doesn't give me control over the file system with a true file manager, nor a Terminal, nor the ability to format external disks, nor true multi-user support (outside of something requiring an MDM solution and either Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager), among several other desktop-class computing capabilities is absurd.

You can have a touch-first operating system and still have all of those features and then some without the end result being macOS on an iPad. The only "Pro" level strengths that the iPad Air and iPad Pro enjoy, if any, are entirely dependent on the app being used. The operating system itself is basically iOS with increasingly kludgy multi-tasking.

And, as an iPad mini owner, I have absolutely no problem with that.

But as an iPad Pro and iPad Air owner, I do wonder what it is that I'm supposedly buying a full-sized iPad (over a proper Mac or PC) for, other than things entailing the use of an Apple Pencil.

 

[hovscorpion12]

I know 90% of the users hate when I mention this, but gaming performance on iPadOS is vastly different. The M1 MacBook Air can run Death Stranding between ~30fps and 40fps. The M4 iPad seems to struggle. That’s just GPU performance. Not to mention Game Devs would have give apple the middle finger since they now how to try and optimize their game for the 13” iPad screen and general performance.

I stand by statement that

1. Files app needs an overhaul
2. Stage-Manager needs to be opened further. CMD+tab with 2 Safari Tabs should allow to switch between the two.
4. Better there dot app settings. [similar to MacOS]
5. Full clamshell mode
6 Better mouse cursor. The circle is nice, but need to be updated.

 

[Melbourne Park]

Firstly it would be easy to add a battery to an Apple keyboard for the battery issues. If the battery was at the back, an iPad would also be better balanced for on the knees typing. But I digress ...

There is another option though for running macOS on an iPad. Keep the iPad IOS, but allow a macOS App to run exactly the same way it seems to in macOS. So I might have a license for Office, but on an iPad, I might choose to run macOS Word rather than IOS Word. I'd get a table of contents and index. And the menus I know. And that way, I'd get a virtual disk drive for all my filing setup. A shared cloud drive too. Apple makes more money again from that.

Windows works virtually in macOS. Why not get macOS apps to be able to run as virtual apps under IOS? Along with macOS file systems. I'd pay a fee for doing that. Apple would make more money. And I'd buy a more fully configured iPad - bigger drive and all the bells and whistles. Apple would make even more money.

And Oh - a comment was made about being able to have duel sound inputs in IOS. And how to put that option in the menu system. But I'd like to be able to say to IOS - I want to hear that apps sound while at the same time watching this youtube video. When I tell someone that I'd like to be able to do something and the Apple won't do that - I'd like the OS to just do it for me.

 

[Melbourne Park]

I looked at Quora, and its said:
According to [1], in 2021, 277 million laptops are forecast to be shipped, with nearly 160 million tablet units shipped in the same year too. This suggests that laptops and tablets are both in demand, but laptops may have a slightly higher market share. However, it's important to note that these are just projections and actual sales numbers may vary.