iPad and Mac don't compete against each other, so buy both says Apple exec

AppleInsider

Following reviews saying that iPadOS limitations mean the new iPad Pro can't easily replace a MacBook Pro, Apple insists the two devices are complementary.

The new iPad Pro superimposed on a MacBook Pro screen

In other words, buy both. The issue of iPadOS seemingly not being as capable as the hardware in the iPad Air and iPad Pro, was brought up by all reviews of the new version.

However, Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal got to press an Apple executive about how hampered the iPad Pro feels with iPadOS. And how even though in certain circumstances the new iPad Pro can actually out-perform a MacBook Pro, she says it can't be someone's sole computing device.

"We don't see them as competing devices. We see them as complementary devices," Tom Boger, Apple's vice president of iPad and Mac product marketing, told her.

Specifically, Boger says that in Apple's mind, the iPad "has always been a touch-first device." By contrast, the Mac in all its forms is for what he described as "indirect manipulation," that is working using accessories like a keyboard and trackpad.

Stern pressed Boger about whether Apple will ever change its mind about a touch-screen Mac in some form.

"Oh, I can't say we never change our mind," he replied. There have been rumors about a touchscreen Mac for years.

Boger won't be drawn further and wasn't pressed on a 2022 rumor -- more likely wishful thinking -- that Apple intended to put macOS onto iPads running the M2 processor.



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wallym

Agreed.  Computers and Tablets are definitely two different use cases.  I use my ipad for somethings and I use my mac for other things.  I find touch screens on a computer don't work for me from a workflow standpoint.  Moving my arm from the keyboard to the screen and back just doesn't work for me.  The tablet and the computer do not compete in the world that I live in and the work that I do.  They could compete in other areas, but not mine.

AceRanchero

I haven’t used a laptop in years. When the iPadPro updated the USB connection to Thunderbolt two years ago I had everything I needed for a fast light mobile photo lab. My complementary machines are a Mac Studio + Studio Display and whatever the current Pro version of a phone is out worth the automattic upgrade program. 

tht

It's frustrating when the question is when the Mac will get a touchscreen, or when the iPad can run macOS. I'd prefer to ask when iPadOS will get better multitasking, a better audio subsystem, a Terminal app, a VM app, a better filesystem app, a better virtual keyboard, a virtual trackpad, better text selection, etc. So, a touch first OS with more functionality.

mikethemartian

Why buy one when you can buy two at twice the price?

foregoneconclusion

The iPad wasn't created to replace laptops or smartphones. It was created to do certain types of tasks better than either of those platforms. 

avon b7

Right from day one, people were adding keyboards to tablets to make them more 'laptop-like' even though they were far more passive devices, for consumption, than active production devices. 

As time has gone by, all aspects of tablets, from size, power, storage, memory etc have moved forward. 

To the point that both kinds of devices can overlap perfectly well. At least on paper. 

It's nonsense that a 13" tablet can't be a perfect substitute for a laptop. If keyboards can be added to tablets, touchscreens can be added to Macs. The lame, 'but your arms will get tired' doesn't hold water when plenty of PC laptops have shipped with touchscreens for years without issue and an iPad with a keyboard is using touch. If a 13" tablet plus keyboard works fine for touch, so could a Mac laptop.

That leaves the operating systems as the crunch points. iPadOS needs far better multitasking and file management options. macOS needs touch support so that moving between the two is more seamless. Most people, after prolonged tablet usage will instinctively touch their laptop screens. 

With more power, memory and storage on tablets, apps should have the goal of becoming uniform in capacity and not limited to watered down options. 

Convergence is the way to go. 

[email protected]

Buy both or buy neither.
I have a Robo & Kala 2-in-1 with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 on Windows on Arm. The M4 iPad Pros are 2-3x faster for raw performance, but my comparably cheap tablet is far more flexible for casual computing and my use cases as a professional software developer.

I understand iPads are great for many users, but for me Apple's insistence on imposing artificial software restrictions makes it easy to ignore Apple most of the time ... only occasionally hearing about the hardware advancements and thinking "imagine if we could actually make use of that".

Iermode

Hoping at least Xcode should be added to ipad. 

danox

[email protected] said:

Buy both or buy neither.
I have a Robo & Kala 2-in-1 with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 on Windows on Arm. The M4 iPad Pros are 2-3x faster for raw performance, but my comparably cheap tablet is far more flexible for casual computing and my use cases as a professional software developer.

I understand iPads are great for many users, but for me Apple's insistence on imposing artificial software restrictions make it easy to ignore Apple most of the time ... only occasionally hearing about the hardware advancements and thinking "imagine if we could actually make use of that".

Why are you here? If your golf cart computer is as good as you say it is then you Microsoft/Qualcomm will win out but suspect that won't be the case, Microsoft has found the AI hype train and all of their attention will be directed in that direction or in the direction of the Blizzard 69 billion dollars train.

And no Apple putting Mac OS on the iPad is a move that was attempted by Microsoft with the ill-conceived Surface/Hybrid line of computers it didn't work and Apple doesn't need to go down that road of computer misery......

grandact73

Apple exec says to buy 2 Apple products? Wow, you don't say.

[email protected]

I'm here because I'm a tech nerd. The M4 iPad Pro Geekbench scores caught my attention, so I did a Google search and got caught up in the "but iPadOS" feedback that has swept over the internet. Is that ok with you?

To each their own. If an iPad Pro does everything someone wants/needs, I'm happy for them. I was simply pointing out that there are "golf cart computers" available which are more affordable and more functional for many use cases, so consumers aren't forced to accept Apple's artificial software restrictions intended to force us to buy separate devices.

canukstorm

tht said:

It's frustrating when the question is when the Mac will get a touchscreen, or when the iPad can run macOS. I'd prefer to ask when iPadOS will get better multitasking, a better audio subsystem, a Terminal app, a VM app, a better filesystem app, a better virtual keyboard, a virtual trackpad, better text selection, etc. So, a touch first OS with more functionality.

Exactly. Well said.

netrox

Why is that people want iPad to be a Mac??? 

It's not a Mac. It's an iOS device and it's optimized for touchscreen UX. It makes a huge difference. Ever tried Windows on Surface? It's awkward. It's unnatural. It's clumsy. It's not intuitive and smooth.  

Heck, I rarely mulitask on iPadOS even though they do that. I love focusing on a full screen with writing or watching or reading. I create content on a Mac and sometimes my iPad for "wacom" use. 

iPadOS is becoming more and more featured but it won't become a MacOS. Never will. 

macsince1988

The “reviews saying that iPadOS limitations mean the new iPad Pro can't easily replace a MacBook Pro” feel like they are recycled, repeating something that appears in the reviews every time a new iPad is released.  The iPad was never meant to be a laptop, and it’s a great device when it meets your needs.

macplusplus

tht said:

It's frustrating when the question is when the Mac will get a touchscreen, or when the iPad can run macOS. I'd prefer to ask when iPadOS will get better multitasking, a better audio subsystem, a Terminal app, a VM app, a better filesystem app, a better virtual keyboard, a virtual trackpad, better text selection, etc. So, a touch first OS with more functionality.

The trackpad is better than the  touchscreen for heavy or speedy workloads. Put a touchscreen on a Macbook no one will use it, because it is always faster with the trackpad because of its small area and relatively higher pointing speed.

canukstorm

macplusplus said:

tht said:

It's frustrating when the question is when the Mac will get a touchscreen, or when the iPad can run macOS. I'd prefer to ask when iPadOS will get better multitasking, a better audio subsystem, a Terminal app, a VM app, a better filesystem app, a better virtual keyboard, a virtual trackpad, better text selection, etc. So, a touch first OS with more functionality.

The trackpad is better than the  touchscreen for heavy or speedy workloads. Put a touchscreen on a Macbook no one will use it, because it is always faster with the trackpad because of its small area and relatively higher pointing speed.

" Put a touchscreen on a Macbook no one will use it" => If Mark Gurman is right, touch screens are coming to Macbooks in 2 years.

lesterkrimbaugh

They would compete even less if Apple would allow iOS devices to support multiple user accounts.

macplusplus

canukstorm said:

macplusplus said:

tht said:

It's frustrating when the question is when the Mac will get a touchscreen, or when the iPad can run macOS. I'd prefer to ask when iPadOS will get better multitasking, a better audio subsystem, a Terminal app, a VM app, a better filesystem app, a better virtual keyboard, a virtual trackpad, better text selection, etc. So, a touch first OS with more functionality.

The trackpad is better than the  touchscreen for heavy or speedy workloads. Put a touchscreen on a Macbook no one will use it, because it is always faster with the trackpad because of its small area and relatively higher pointing speed.

" Put a touchscreen on a Macbook no one will use it" => If Mark Gurman is right, touch screens are coming to Macbooks in 2 years.

Well, no one will use them. A touch screen without a detachable display doesn't make sense. Those exist already, buy a Windows "convertible" if you absolutely believe that you need a touch screen on a laptop. Touch Bar anyone?...

jdw

WHY???

Look, I love Apple, but I must ask that question in response to what they said.

When you have a 16" M1 Max MBP like I do, why in THE world do I need an iPad?  I ask this as someone who has purchased more than one iPad in the past.

I am not an artist who needs to draw.  I don't need Apple pencil.  Therefore, why do I need an iPad which has a smaller screen than my 16" MBP and does less?

I already have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, so it's not like I don't use iOS.  And while iPadOS is more capable, macOS is more capable still.

Just as the Apple Watch is really for people who (a) don't mind a thing on their wrist and (b) love to work out, iPad is especially suited for drawing with Apple Pencil, and I've already said I don't do that.  And it isn't the best consumption device because as I just said, my 16" MBP has a larger screen.  Plus, my MBP has better speakers too.

So this raises the important question of why any 16" MBP owner needs an iPad when they don't draw or otherwise use Apple Pencil.

Apple, give people like me a good reason why I need to also buy an iPad.  I just don't see the reason now.

Marvin

jdw said:

When you have a 16" M1 Max MBP like I do, why in THE world do I need an iPad?  I ask this as someone who has purchased more than one iPad in the past.

I am not an artist who needs to draw.  I don't need Apple pencil.  Therefore, why do I need an iPad which has a smaller screen than my 16" MBP and does less?

It works better for some scenarios like reading news in the bathroom, watching movies on a plane, for taking on vacation, for swiping through photo albums, it works better when relaxing on a sofa, Facetiming family or work meetings.

One aspect that rarely gets mentioned in reviews is kids. It's the ideal first computer for kids and they use them all the time for games like Minecraft and Roblox. It's rare these days to hear about kids screaming on a plane and it's because of the iPad. The highest ranked apps in the store are entertainment and kids' games:

https://www.similarweb.com/top-apps/apple/ipad/

If someone doesn't draw, doesn't have young kids, doesn't read news in the bathroom, doesn't go on vacation, doesn't Facetime family or coworkers then the iPad has limited use for them but there are tens of millions of people it is useful for.

Apple sells 2-3x more iPads than Macs so quite a few people are finding a use for them:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/299632/tablet-shipments-apple/