Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Archived Post

It’s time to ditch iPadOS and have the iPad Pro run macOS

In a recent Daring Fireball column, John Gruber said the iPad hasn’t come close to living up its potential. He’s right.

He says the hardware is great; it’s the software where Apple has gotten “lost.” In regards to multitasking, John says: “iPadOS’s ‘multitasking’ model is far more capable than the iPhone’s, yes, but somehow Apple has painted it into a corner in which it is far less consistent and coherent than the Mac’s, while also being far less capable. iPad multitasking: more complex, less powerful. That’s quite a combination.”

Pundits have offered various fixes to this problem, as well as other suggestions to improve the iPad such as a better file system and “true” mouse/trackpad support. However, I have another idea: ditch iPadOS, keep iOS on the iPhone, and move the iPad (at least the Pro models) to macOS.

I know, I know: Apple says it’s not going to make a hybrid tablet/laptop, but, as I’ve said before, it’s time for the tech giant to reconsider. If an iPad (or Mac) offered support for touch input and a mouse/trackpad, users could choose between the input that works best for them. And choice is a good thing

Would an iPad running macOS cannibalize Mac sales? I think it would certain ding MacBook Air and perhaps 13-inch MacBook Pro sales, but probably not sales of the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Besides, as Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, once said: Apple doesn’t mind one Apple product cannibalizing the sales of another Apple product.

And, yes, I know the company has repeatedly said it had no interest in a touchscreen Mac. However, a macOS iPad (Mac Pad?) would have the same form factor as an iPad, which has great hardware, but would run a more vibrant operating system.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.