Thanks, adib! Re: not designed to run lengthy background tasks... put that one on the pile of yet another reason why claiming that the iPad can be a total substitute for a laptop running MacOS is an unrealistic dream, like trying to square a circle. Never happen. These devices and OSes are distinct and there are tons and tons of scenarios where they’re simply not substitutes, full stop.
I guess it’s like Steve Jobs said - there are trucks and then there are passenger cars. There will always be scenarios where a passenger car cannot substitute for a truck, although I guess plenty of people can live their lives never needing a truck.
Ever since I lost my iMac, a few weeks ago, I’ve been conducting an experiment to see if I can live just on the iPad Air 3 (on which I’m typing right now). Sadly, there have been many occasions when I am forced to use the M1 MBP (that I supposedly bought for my wife
).
I always knew that I’ll eventually buy a new iMac, but I’m waiting for Apple Silicon new iMacs; meanwhile I thought “let’s see if I can survive on just the iPad”. So far it’s been rough going.
My conclusion - at this point at least - is, that the iPad cannot be my only computing device. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be for someone else with different needs and use scenarios. Also, there are probably workarounds on the iPad that I’m just not hip to as yet, and in time I could do more things on the iPad with more knowledge of how to use it. After all, I’ve been using computers for decades, so I have a fairly intimate knowledge of how to do things on those systems, whereas I still feel like I’m a novice on the iPad platform (with iOS and the iPhone I’ve never tried to have it substitute for a laptop, although I know many people do - especially the younger generation seems to need ONLY the iPhone and that’s good enough for all their computing needs!).