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 enhancements you mentioned would require Apple to integrate many features from macOS into iPadOS. However, I'm not certain they will do so, given their intention to maintain distinct environments. If this remains true, then iPadOS may always have more limitations compared to macOS.
Those features are not unique macOS. They are just your average set of operating system features since the 1990s. All the stuff is actually inside the kernel and userland since the beginning. It's just been limited by design policy. Everything below the API level is just about 99% the same code, with the aforementioned design policies. IOW, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS, all have the same operating system underpinnings: DarwinOS or Xnu, a Mach microkernel with BSD userland, capable of unlimited multitasking.
Is it as simple as just changing the value or values to implement the design policies? Probably not, but it isn't going to be something super complicated either. Unlimited background tasking is the easiest as that is just a timer right now I think. A VM app is a matter of putting the hypervisor framework back in and making it shippable. It was in betas I think a while back. The hardest part is probably making amfile, audio and video subsystem that can securely move through the sandboxes.
I agree with you. My point is that, even though iPadOS and macOS are similar (maybe the same) under the hood, Apple want to keep iPadOS and macOS for different devices. The problem Apple will have is how long they can keep iPadOS limited compared to macOS. I think we are reaching peak iPadOS, and at some point, they just will have to add macOS elements, like full multitasking, multiples user profiles and even Finder to improve it.
As today, the iPad Pro is the best tablet in the market but is a bad notebook, considering its limitations compared to macOS. Apple just made the iPad Pro the device they criticized many years ago, the "toaster / fridge" device.
Arguably, an iPad can be configured to be a fine notebook. My daughter used a 2020 iPP11 with MK and Pencil the last four years, and she loves it. She uses it for the entire gamut: handwritten notes (it's impressive), drawings, a video and messaging system (Slide Over all the time), and makes videos with it. Feels naked without it.
I would reframe the criticisms of iPadOS as a "what it means to be a good user experience" question. Apple's design choices for iPadOS are making for poor user experience on the high end of the product line. Things like app termination or memory evictions, the limited multitasking, and the lack of apps and app features make for poor user experiences. The freeze drying of apps isn't implemented well in all the apps, causing an app having to start in a brand new state instead of where the user left it is not a good user experience. Not having full background tasking is also a poor user experience as you can't leave an app running to do whatever it needs to do.
Not having equivalently featured apps make it a more unpleasant experience. MS Office on iPads has to be featured enough that you can intermix files between Windows, macOS and iPadOS. Not really there yet. At least you can blame MS there. Even Apple doesn't put a macOS feature equivalent Safari on iPadOS (this might be a Safari on iPP10.5 issue?). Sometimes there is a weird incompatibility from websites on iPadOS Safari. iWork apps also have differences in features between macOS and iPadOS. There's always a frustrating missing feature.
Apple can improve iPadOS if they wanted to. visionOS is based off iPadOS, and it's an unlimited tasking system. It does need Terminal.app just like iPadOS needs it. I digress. Apple can use visionOS' realtime frameworks on iOS to guarantee UI responsiveness. This can enable unlimited background tasking. They can limit background apps to only using the e-cores. They can control what apps are allowed to use the p-cores while in the background. They can improve iPadOS's windowing UI.
They really have to endeavor to do it all. Set up the system so that novice and proficient users can use it well.
I agree with most of your post. Question, is the iPad the only device your daughter has? For example, I have one young family member that has an iPad and a Mac Mini. And while she uses the iPad for drawing and other light tasks, most of schoolwork is done in the Mac Mini. My point is that if you only have an iPad, you will do your best to make it work for what you need, but that doesn't mean it's the best option available. Maybe if your daughter had a laptop / desktop she could find that other devices are a better option for other tasks.
Regarding MS Office / iWork app, I think the features are enough for most users, considering how iPads are being used, specifically light weight tasks. But I get your point that these lightweight apps could be something to criticize.
I don't think that iPadOS experience is bad on the high end. I think artists and creators will have a great experience with the iPad Pro. On the other hand, you have a compromised experience if try to use it as a laptop replacement. And that's what Apple is selling now in the iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard. They didn't solve the issues to make it a better option that laptop with macOS / Windows. Now you have a device with an excellent tablet experience and a bad laptop experience. They have to decide if they are going to improve the laptop experience by adding more macOS elements or leave is a compromised experience. We'll see what happens in the next few years.
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 enhancements you mentioned would require Apple to integrate many features from macOS into iPadOS. However, I'm not certain they will do so, given their intention to maintain distinct environments. If this remains true, then iPadOS may always have more limitations compared to macOS.
Those features are not unique macOS. They are just your average set of operating system features since the 1990s. All the stuff is actually inside the kernel and userland since the beginning. It's just been limited by design policy. Everything below the API level is just about 99% the same code, with the aforementioned design policies. IOW, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS, all have the same operating system underpinnings: DarwinOS or Xnu, a Mach microkernel with BSD userland, capable of unlimited multitasking.
Is it as simple as just changing the value or values to implement the design policies? Probably not, but it isn't going to be something super complicated either. Unlimited background tasking is the easiest as that is just a timer right now I think. A VM app is a matter of putting the hypervisor framework back in and making it shippable. It was in betas I think a while back. The hardest part is probably making amfile, audio and video subsystem that can securely move through the sandboxes.
I agree with you. My point is that, even though iPadOS and macOS are similar (maybe the same) under the hood, Apple want to keep iPadOS and macOS for different devices. The problem Apple will have is how long they can keep iPadOS limited compared to macOS. I think we are reaching peak iPadOS, and at some point, they just will have to add macOS elements, like full multitasking, multiples user profiles and even Finder to improve it.
As today, the iPad Pro is the best tablet in the market but is a bad notebook, considering its limitations compared to macOS. Apple just made the iPad Pro the device they criticized many years ago, the "toaster / fridge" device.
Arguably, an iPad can be configured to be a fine notebook. My daughter used a 2020 iPP11 with MK and Pencil the last four years, and she loves it. She uses it for the entire gamut: handwritten notes (it's impressive), drawings, a video and messaging system (Slide Over all the time), and makes videos with it. Feels naked without it.
I would reframe the criticisms of iPadOS as a "what it means to be a good user experience" question. Apple's design choices for iPadOS are making for poor user experience on the high end of the product line. Things like app termination or memory evictions, the limited multitasking, and the lack of apps and app features make for poor user experiences. The freeze drying of apps isn't implemented well in all the apps, causing an app having to start in a brand new state instead of where the user left it is not a good user experience. Not having full background tasking is also a poor user experience as you can't leave an app running to do whatever it needs to do.
Not having equivalently featured apps make it a more unpleasant experience. MS Office on iPads has to be featured enough that you can intermix files between Windows, macOS and iPadOS. Not really there yet. At least you can blame MS there. Even Apple doesn't put a macOS feature equivalent Safari on iPadOS (this might be a Safari on iPP10.5 issue?). Sometimes there is a weird incompatibility from websites on iPadOS Safari. iWork apps also have differences in features between macOS and iPadOS. There's always a frustrating missing feature.
Apple can improve iPadOS if they wanted to. visionOS is based off iPadOS, and it's an unlimited tasking system. It does need Terminal.app just like iPadOS needs it. I digress. Apple can use visionOS' realtime frameworks on iOS to guarantee UI responsiveness. This can enable unlimited background tasking. They can limit background apps to only using the e-cores. They can control what apps are allowed to use the p-cores while in the background. They can improve iPadOS's windowing UI.
They really have to endeavor to do it all. Set up the system so that novice and proficient users can use it well.
I agree with most of your post. Question, is the iPad the only device your daughter has? For example, I have one young family member that has an iPad and a Mac Mini. And while she uses the iPad for drawing and other light tasks, most of schoolwork is done in the Mac Mini. My point is that if you only have an iPad, you will do your best to make it work for what you need, but that doesn't mean it's the best option available. Maybe if your daughter had a laptop / desktop she could find that other devices are a better option for other tasks.
Regarding MS Office / iWork app, I think the features are enough for most users, considering how iPads are being used, specifically light weight tasks. But I get your point that these lightweight apps could be something to criticize.
I don't think that iPadOS experience is bad on the high end. I think artists and creators will have a great experience with the iPad Pro. On the other hand, you have a compromised experience if try to use it as a laptop replacement. And that's what Apple is selling now in the iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard. They didn't solve the issues to make it a better option that laptop with macOS / Windows. Now you have a device with an excellent tablet experience and a bad laptop experience. They have to decide if they are going to improve the laptop experience by adding more macOS elements or leave is a compromised experience. We'll see what happens in the next few years.
She also has a M2 MBA and uses them both about equally. The number 1 issue is always compatibility. The school system uses Office365 along with a rather frustrating web based curriculum and homework tool. The number 2 issue is 11" is too small for modern application design. So, for our school system, you need a system with MS Office using a display of 13 inches or so. Same with modern web design. 13" is basically the practical minimum for office automation type work. The web based curriculum was built by some edu publisher from 2002 or so (basically designed for 800x600 displays). It basically requires mouse, and a lot of aspirin. Like, correct or incorrect answers could be dependent on number formatting crazy.
Web-based Office is available, but it also runs into compatibility issues. When the assignment requires an embedded audio track for a powerpoint file and the web version of powerpoint doesn't support it or the iPad version of powerpoint, it's a problem! Yup, MS has a durable monopoly on Microsoft Office which it uses to inhibit all PC operating systems.
Again, I would encourage people not to think of iPads as laptop replacements. It's a touch tablet through and through. But let it compute. These features (unlimited background tasking, shell access, etc) are not some intrinsic property of a laptop and can be implemented on a touch tablet. The limitations that Apple has designed into iPadOS is not some intrinsic property of a touch tablet. The iPad is a computer. Let people compute with it.
Exactly. I have an iPhone, iPad and Mac mini. Main thing I want and use out of an iPhone is the phone part. That's why my phone is still an SE. I like that it is small, and there is no camera lens bulge. I have the iPad for casual online use. Being an older mini is fine for that. For serious work I have my mini. It's the newest device I own.
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. …
Yeah, but I’m only half-joking when I say that’s just Windows…on any machine. 😊
Comments
Regarding MS Office / iWork app, I think the features are enough for most users, considering how iPads are being used, specifically light weight tasks. But I get your point that these lightweight apps could be something to criticize.
I don't think that iPadOS experience is bad on the high end. I think artists and creators will have a great experience with the iPad Pro. On the other hand, you have a compromised experience if try to use it as a laptop replacement. And that's what Apple is selling now in the iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard. They didn't solve the issues to make it a better option that laptop with macOS / Windows. Now you have a device with an excellent tablet experience and a bad laptop experience. They have to decide if they are going to improve the laptop experience by adding more macOS elements or leave is a compromised experience. We'll see what happens in the next few years.
Web-based Office is available, but it also runs into compatibility issues. When the assignment requires an embedded audio track for a powerpoint file and the web version of powerpoint doesn't support it or the iPad version of powerpoint, it's a problem! Yup, MS has a durable monopoly on Microsoft Office which it uses to inhibit all PC operating systems.
Again, I would encourage people not to think of iPads as laptop replacements. It's a touch tablet through and through. But let it compute. These features (unlimited background tasking, shell access, etc) are not some intrinsic property of a laptop and can be implemented on a touch tablet. The limitations that Apple has designed into iPadOS is not some intrinsic property of a touch tablet. The iPad is a computer. Let people compute with it.