So, what is it about iPad hardware running the Mac's M1 chip that prevents or limits it from running MacOS?
What component does it lack?
Absolutely nothing. There is no reason why Apple wouldn't be able (with some effort) to get macOS running on an iPad. The same has been true since iPad came out, and isn't significantly more true now.
But Apple don't want to do that. Why would they?
Until recently -- when Apple ported MacOS to the M1 chip then replaced the A series chip in the iPad with an M1 -- it may have been theoretically possible but not really feasible because MacOS would not run on an ARM based processor. Now that both Macs and the M1 iPad run the same processor it becomes much more feasible and practical.
Apple did not take 10 years to port macOS to the ARM instruction set. They could have done it at any time. They didn't, because they didn't want macOS on the iPad. I doubt very much that anything has changed in that regard. It's always been feasible, and practicality has nothing to with it. Apple's willingness is the only thing that matters, and they have shown zero.
You're saying that Apple held back converting the Mac to an ARM style processor because they didn't want to port MacOS to the iPad?
I don't get your logic.
The idea of dual booting either MacOS or iPadOS on the iPad comes from: 1) Like a dog, "they do it because (now) they can"
2) iPadOS is so weak once you expand out of basic tablet mode.
The logic seems pretty self evident to me, so not sure what you don't get.
In answer to your "idea"
When has Apple ever done something "because it could"
No it isn't. It is exactly what Apple wants it to be. If you don't like that, Apple's message is buy something else, like a Mac.
I still can't find the logic (or accuracy) in any of that. Sorry.
This is why you will find Apple continuing not to do what you want them to do. Seriously, they sell a lot of iPads to a lot of people who report back high levels of customer satisfaction. The thing you think is a problem isn’t. Because it’s not a problem, there’s no need to fix it.
If the iPad doesn’t do the things you want, buy a device that does. There’s a nice array of Macs that will, or if you’re all about the tablet/notebook combo thing, buy a Surface. Telling strangers on an online forum that Apple should make you a combo device is not going to get you one.
The majority of iPads that are sold are the entry-level iPad and iPad Air. Most of the people buying iPads aren't doing anything hardcore so for them iPadOS fits the bill. Buyers of iPad Pro are of a different breed.
I would disagree.
Not that the majority of iPads aren't the base iPad and IPad Air -- that's true. But that those users don't need both the tablet function and the laptop function. My 8th Grade grandson in cyberschool uses both every day. He could really use a device that could do both -- and in fact, he has one: his school handed out Dell 3190 2 in 1's. But, with Celeron processors they're pretty crappy to work on so he uses his MacBook and iPad with his Apple Pencil as needed. But, when he goes back to in-person, he'll have to use the school equipment.
A couple years ago Apple made a serious push to open up education to use the iPad (it's where the base iPad (Gen6) came from). But, students are hobbled with just an iPad, they need a laptop too. So, an M1 iPad (once it hits the base layer and the price comes down) that can fully switch hit as needed would suit their needs well.
Right now he can use his iPad in laptop mode -- it has an external keyboard and trackpad -- but it sucks more than the Celeron powered Dell because of the shitty OS. It gets used that way when the assignment requires switching back and forth between hand written stuff (like math) and typing essay questions.
I'm surprised Apple missed the boat on that one. But, back when they released the iPad Gen 6 nobody was thinking about kids using a computer for all their school work.
Apple didn’t miss any boat. How would macOS running on an iPad make a significant difference to a child’s ability to write essays compared with an iPad and magic keyboard?
And you do realize that a hybrid device will be a lot more expensive than just an iPad, right? For one, MacOS isn’t free. It’s built into the cost of every Mac. Put it on an already expensive iPad — assuming we’re talking about the M1 iPad Pro) and it hikes the iPad price a whole lot more (unless you think they should just give it away in which case we’re just talking unreasonable fantasy land). Not to mention the extra relative hardware resources it needs if you want to run both OS’s at once. And if you’re not running both at once how is switching OS’s on one device better than switching devices?
That said, I do note you mentioned we could be talking about M1 in a future iPad when it’s trickled down to the lower end, but then how is that any different to say putting macOS on today’s student-level iPad? It’s the same architecture. The M1 is just an evolution of the A-chips in all the iOS devices before it (as evidenced by the M1 going in an iPad now and the ASi Mac SDK driven by an A12 derivative). So by the time the M1 trickles down to the cheaper models it’ll be no practical difference to what the cheaper models have now, and then the idea that “we should be able to put macOS on an iPad now because it has a Mac chip in it” is moot. It’s already essentially had that for years. Apple most certainly had macOS running on ASi for years in their labs before they announced it last year.
I think your use case example (your son’s schoolwork) doesn’t really cut it as an argument for macOS on an iPad.
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And you do realize that a hybrid device will be a lot more expensive than just an iPad, right? For one, MacOS isn’t free. It’s built into the cost of every Mac. Put it on an already expensive iPad — assuming we’re talking about the M1 iPad Pro) and it hikes the iPad price a whole lot more (unless you think they should just give it away in which case we’re just talking unreasonable fantasy land). Not to mention the extra relative hardware resources it needs if you want to run both OS’s at once. And if you’re not running both at once how is switching OS’s on one device better than switching devices?
That said, I do note you mentioned we could be talking about M1 in a future iPad when it’s trickled down to the lower end, but then how is that any different to say putting macOS on today’s student-level iPad? It’s the same architecture. The M1 is just an evolution of the A-chips in all the iOS devices before it (as evidenced by the M1 going in an iPad now and the ASi Mac SDK driven by an A12 derivative). So by the time the M1 trickles down to the cheaper models it’ll be no practical difference to what the cheaper models have now, and then the idea that “we should be able to put macOS on an iPad now because it has a Mac chip in it” is moot. It’s already essentially had that for years. Apple most certainly had macOS running on ASi for years in their labs before they announced it last year.