I’ve been looking into using my iPad Pro instead of a desktop or laptop and I’ve run into one basic problem: what about apps that only run on MacOS and not iPadOS?
Computers purchases should always START with requirements based on the software that you need to run on the computer. If the iPad doesn’t run an app that you need to run, but a Mac does … that’s a very easy decision - buy the Mac.
The choice between buying an iPad or buying a Mac only comes into play when the software you need runs on both platforms. That’s when the pros and cons of each platform can be weighed. But the decision process should always start with the software, not the hardware. Hardware without software is just an expensive lap warmer.
Frankly, I don’t understand the consternation that some folks are having about iPad (Pro) vs Mac. If you’re buying an iPad in hopes of the software that you need to run will eventually come to the iPad, perhaps because the latest iPad Pro has the same SoC as the latest MacBooks, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and have nobody to blame other than yourself. You can complain all you want that Apple hasn’t lived up to your hopes and dreams, but until Apple commits to delivering something and announces it, your complaints are not going to get you anywhere, at least not any time soon. Maybe 3-5 years from now Apple will get around to what you wish they would deliver today.
I said it before and I’ll say it again - buying any computer, including and iPad (Pro), should always start with the software. Depending on your needs you may not even have a choice, e.g., certain games, high end sw dev platforms, legacy apps, etc. The only reason I still have a full-up Windows machine is because I have to run certain very specific legacy apps that are not available on macOS or Linux, or do not run adequately on VMs. Speaking of VMs, as much as I’d love to have an M1 Mac for all of my needs, the fact that M1 is not supported by VMWare Fusion makes it a non starter as a do-it-all machine. I’m not going to buy an M1 Mac and sit around hoping for full Intel VM compatibility or complain about it not being there. I can either stick with an Intel Mac or buy a Windows machine. I’ve chosen the latter.
When buying a new machine your hopes, dreams, and potentialities are quaint, but when it comes to laying down the cold hard cash - it always starts with the software.
This isn’t just a knock on buyers either, because a lot of the “appeal” that Apple is selling in their ads like the one above is based on the iPad’s hardware, form factor, and touch virtues, not really the software. So Apple is doing its part to get potential buyers all geeked up about escaping the clap trap of traditional desktop computers without telling you that some of the apps you really depend on aren’t available on the iPad. Apple is selling a vision and potentialities that they cannot deliver, not without the software to make it real. So as a buyer you have to look beyond the hype and determine for yourself whether an iPad fills your needs.
Check out Parallel Desktop. It supports the M1 chip.
Microsoft does not officially support Visual Studio on Windows 10 ARM, but it will install and run under x86 emulation - slowly. Adding another layer of virtualization probably will not speed things up. Has anyone tried this experiment within an experiment?
I’m sure newer Apple Silicon SoCs will only get better and faster. I’m sure Microsoft will improve its ARM performance. When all the pieces are ready for prime time I’m sure VMWare will step up and offer zero compromise Apple Silicon support.
I’ve been looking into using my iPad Pro instead of a desktop or laptop and I’ve run into one basic problem: what about apps that only run on MacOS and not iPadOS?
Computers purchases should always START with requirements based on the software that you need to run on the computer. If the iPad doesn’t run an app that you need to run, but a Mac does … that’s a very easy decision - buy the Mac.
The choice between buying an iPad or buying a Mac only comes into play when the software you need runs on both platforms. That’s when the pros and cons of each platform can be weighed. But the decision process should always start with the software, not the hardware. Hardware without software is just an expensive lap warmer.
Frankly, I don’t understand the consternation that some folks are having about iPad (Pro) vs Mac. If you’re buying an iPad in hopes of the software that you need to run will eventually come to the iPad, perhaps because the latest iPad Pro has the same SoC as the latest MacBooks, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and have nobody to blame other than yourself. You can complain all you want that Apple hasn’t lived up to your hopes and dreams, but until Apple commits to delivering something and announces it, your complaints are not going to get you anywhere, at least not any time soon. Maybe 3-5 years from now Apple will get around to what you wish they would deliver today.
I said it before and I’ll say it again - buying any computer, including and iPad (Pro), should always start with the software. Depending on your needs you may not even have a choice, e.g., certain games, high end sw dev platforms, legacy apps, etc. The only reason I still have a full-up Windows machine is because I have to run certain very specific legacy apps that are not available on macOS or Linux, or do not run adequately on VMs. Speaking of VMs, as much as I’d love to have an M1 Mac for all of my needs, the fact that M1 is not supported by VMWare Fusion makes it a non starter as a do-it-all machine. I’m not going to buy an M1 Mac and sit around hoping for full Intel VM compatibility or complain about it not being there. I can either stick with an Intel Mac or buy a Windows machine. I’ve chosen the latter.
When buying a new machine your hopes, dreams, and potentialities are quaint, but when it comes to laying down the cold hard cash - it always starts with the software.
This isn’t just a knock on buyers either, because a lot of the “appeal” that Apple is selling in their ads like the one above is based on the iPad’s hardware, form factor, and touch virtues, not really the software. So Apple is doing its part to get potential buyers all geeked up about escaping the clap trap of traditional desktop computers without telling you that some of the apps you really depend on aren’t available on the iPad. Apple is selling a vision and potentialities that they cannot deliver, not without the software to make it real. So as a buyer you have to look beyond the hype and determine for yourself whether an iPad fills your needs.
This is very helpful. Thanks. I think I’ve been duped by the cool factor of using an iPad instead of a laptop, as well as the convenience of being able to take the iPad with me when I need to. But of course that’s not the right way to approach this. I need to make a list of the software I use and see if it’s available for iPad OS.
I’ve been looking into using my iPad Pro instead of a desktop or laptop and I’ve run into one basic problem: what about apps that only run on MacOS and not iPadOS?
Computers purchases should always START with requirements based on the software that you need to run on the computer. If the iPad doesn’t run an app that you need to run, but a Mac does … that’s a very easy decision - buy the Mac.
The choice between buying an iPad or buying a Mac only comes into play when the software you need runs on both platforms. That’s when the pros and cons of each platform can be weighed. But the decision process should always start with the software, not the hardware. Hardware without software is just an expensive lap warmer.
Frankly, I don’t understand the consternation that some folks are having about iPad (Pro) vs Mac. If you’re buying an iPad in hopes of the software that you need to run will eventually come to the iPad, perhaps because the latest iPad Pro has the same SoC as the latest MacBooks, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and have nobody to blame other than yourself. You can complain all you want that Apple hasn’t lived up to your hopes and dreams, but until Apple commits to delivering something and announces it, your complaints are not going to get you anywhere, at least not any time soon. Maybe 3-5 years from now Apple will get around to what you wish they would deliver today.
I said it before and I’ll say it again - buying any computer, including and iPad (Pro), should always start with the software. Depending on your needs you may not even have a choice, e.g., certain games, high end sw dev platforms, legacy apps, etc. The only reason I still have a full-up Windows machine is because I have to run certain very specific legacy apps that are not available on macOS or Linux, or do not run adequately on VMs. Speaking of VMs, as much as I’d love to have an M1 Mac for all of my needs, the fact that M1 is not supported by VMWare Fusion makes it a non starter as a do-it-all machine. I’m not going to buy an M1 Mac and sit around hoping for full Intel VM compatibility or complain about it not being there. I can either stick with an Intel Mac or buy a Windows machine. I’ve chosen the latter.
When buying a new machine your hopes, dreams, and potentialities are quaint, but when it comes to laying down the cold hard cash - it always starts with the software.
This isn’t just a knock on buyers either, because a lot of the “appeal” that Apple is selling in their ads like the one above is based on the iPad’s hardware, form factor, and touch virtues, not really the software. So Apple is doing its part to get potential buyers all geeked up about escaping the clap trap of traditional desktop computers without telling you that some of the apps you really depend on aren’t available on the iPad. Apple is selling a vision and potentialities that they cannot deliver, not without the software to make it real. So as a buyer you have to look beyond the hype and determine for yourself whether an iPad fills your needs.
This is very helpful. Thanks. I think I’ve been duped by the cool factor of using an iPad instead of a laptop, as well as the convenience of being able to take the iPad with me when I need to. But of course that’s not the right way to approach this. I need to make a list of the software I use and see if it’s available for iPad OS.
Yes, that's a good start. But, in this case there's more to it: It's not just what it does but how it does it.
You can use an iPad to, say, look up information while you type a paper on it. You can do that on the iPad -- especially if you add an external keyboard and mouse. But, compared to a laptop, it's very slow and cumbersome -- not because of the hardware but because the software is not well tuned for that type of work.
It gets better and more capable each year, but it's not quite there yet. It's a combination of a number of factors rather than any single deficiency.
If you consider one, I would suggest going to an Apple store and actually trying a real life scenario on it before buying.
I’ve been looking into using my iPad Pro instead of a desktop or laptop and I’ve run into one basic problem: what about apps that only run on MacOS and not iPadOS?
Computers purchases should always START with requirements based on the software that you need to run on the computer. If the iPad doesn’t run an app that you need to run, but a Mac does … that’s a very easy decision - buy the Mac.
The choice between buying an iPad or buying a Mac only comes into play when the software you need runs on both platforms. That’s when the pros and cons of each platform can be weighed. But the decision process should always start with the software, not the hardware. Hardware without software is just an expensive lap warmer.
Frankly, I don’t understand the consternation that some folks are having about iPad (Pro) vs Mac. If you’re buying an iPad in hopes of the software that you need to run will eventually come to the iPad, perhaps because the latest iPad Pro has the same SoC as the latest MacBooks, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and have nobody to blame other than yourself. You can complain all you want that Apple hasn’t lived up to your hopes and dreams, but until Apple commits to delivering something and announces it, your complaints are not going to get you anywhere, at least not any time soon. Maybe 3-5 years from now Apple will get around to what you wish they would deliver today.
I said it before and I’ll say it again - buying any computer, including and iPad (Pro), should always start with the software. Depending on your needs you may not even have a choice, e.g., certain games, high end sw dev platforms, legacy apps, etc. The only reason I still have a full-up Windows machine is because I have to run certain very specific legacy apps that are not available on macOS or Linux, or do not run adequately on VMs. Speaking of VMs, as much as I’d love to have an M1 Mac for all of my needs, the fact that M1 is not supported by VMWare Fusion makes it a non starter as a do-it-all machine. I’m not going to buy an M1 Mac and sit around hoping for full Intel VM compatibility or complain about it not being there. I can either stick with an Intel Mac or buy a Windows machine. I’ve chosen the latter.
When buying a new machine your hopes, dreams, and potentialities are quaint, but when it comes to laying down the cold hard cash - it always starts with the software.
This isn’t just a knock on buyers either, because a lot of the “appeal” that Apple is selling in their ads like the one above is based on the iPad’s hardware, form factor, and touch virtues, not really the software. So Apple is doing its part to get potential buyers all geeked up about escaping the clap trap of traditional desktop computers without telling you that some of the apps you really depend on aren’t available on the iPad. Apple is selling a vision and potentialities that they cannot deliver, not without the software to make it real. So as a buyer you have to look beyond the hype and determine for yourself whether an iPad fills your needs.
This is very helpful. Thanks. I think I’ve been duped by the cool factor of using an iPad instead of a laptop, as well as the convenience of being able to take the iPad with me when I need to. But of course that’s not the right way to approach this. I need to make a list of the software I use and see if it’s available for iPad OS.
Yes, that's a good start. But, in this case there's more to it: It's not just what it does but how it does it.
You can use an iPad to, say, look up information while you type a paper on it. You can do that on the iPad -- especially if you add an external keyboard and mouse. But, compared to a laptop, it's very slow and cumbersome -- not because of the hardware but because the software is not well tuned for that type of work.
It gets better and more capable each year, but it's not quite there yet. It's a combination of a number of factors rather than any single deficiency.
If you consider one, I would suggest going to an Apple store and actually trying a real life scenario on it before buying.
Thanks again. I have an iPad Pro (2018) but I can see the value of trying these things out on it before I buy a compatible mouse and monitor (I have an Apple keyboard too). Another issue is storage. I’ll need some way to store my 120GB+ of music!
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I’m sure newer Apple Silicon SoCs will only get better and faster. I’m sure Microsoft will improve its ARM performance. When all the pieces are ready for prime time I’m sure VMWare will step up and offer zero compromise Apple Silicon support.
The first was some sort of photo app I’m not familiar with. Next I think was Keynote, then FaceTime. What was the drawing app at the end?