Apple KILLED the iPad!
In 2020, Apple silicon Macs killed the iPad. Well, more like cut off its legs. For years, Apple let the iPad run ahead with amazing hardware and steadily improving software, and when the iPad finally hit peak design, the Mac struck back.
All in on iPad
After the 2018 iPad Pro came out, I went all in on the iPad as my main computer: web surfing, my day job’s office apps, remote access to servers, games and movies. I even switched to a full iPhone and iPad workflow for my videos.
There were always annoyances: finding the right apps for exactly what I needed, managing files, touch-only input at the time, and limited multitasking and background processes. It took work, and for a while it was fun finding new ways to do things.
And the iPad had benefits no other portable computer had:
- Battery life that really got you through a whole workday.
- The A12X, which ran cool and was faster than most of Apple’s laptops in single- and multi-core tests.
- A super thin, light, fanless design, nothing like the Intel laptops of the time.
iPadOS kept improving with Split View and Slide Over, giving us some illusion of multitasking and windows. When Apple released the Magic Keyboard for iPad in spring 2020, with trackpad and mouse support, it felt like Apple was ready for the iPad to be the computer of the future. It seemed like it could, maybe should, replace laptops, annoyances and all.
Then the M1 Macs
Then Apple announced Apple silicon, and a few months later the M1 MacBooks. Holy cow: Macs now had many of the iPad’s hardware advantages.
- The M1 was as fast and efficient as the iPad Pro’s chip, so the MacBook Air had no fan and ran incredibly fast without burning a hole in your desk or legs. The MacBook Pro’s fan stayed off most of the time.
- The iPad’s battery life has been about 10 hours since the original 2010 model. The M1 MacBook Air got up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing, and the M1 MacBook Pro up to 17. A game changer for remote and on-the-go work.
The M1 MacBook Pro instantly became my everyday computer.
What the Mac does better
macOS has always been better at what iPadOS struggles with:
- Real, user-driven window management, without which multitasking is hamstrung.
- No real restrictions on background apps and processes.
- Installing third-party apps Apple doesn’t necessarily approve.
- Looking at logs to troubleshoot when things go wrong.
- Safari as a real, full browser that doesn’t get hung up like mobile browsers, so I don’t have to run to another machine when a Shopify checkout form won’t accept my input.
- Coding for other systems, virtualizing other operating systems, and much more.
What the iPad still does better
Apple keeps improving the iPad with top-tier hardware like the M4 iPad Pro and software for multitasking, external devices and pro apps. iPads are still great, even better than the Mac, for drawing, note-taking, reading, watching downloaded video, and games, and as educational tools for kids and adults. Sometimes touch is simply the best way to use an app.
But since Apple silicon Macs, the momentum behind the iPad replacing your computer slowed, or at least the idea of it. It’s almost like Apple decided the strengths of macOS and Apple silicon remove the need to make the iPad more Mac-like.
Where that leaves me
I’ve struggled to bring the iPad back into my workflow. I want to use this amazing hardware, but my Mac does almost all of it, mostly better, except offline video. (Why are there no Netflix, Hulu and other streaming apps for Mac?)
iPadOS still has far too many restrictions for most people to give up a desktop OS, so for most, the iPad stays a companion to the Mac, a sidekick that does some things better. Maybe that’s okay, if we stop forcing it to do more than it’s built for. That’s like using your microwave for cold food storage.
The Mac and iPad can do more together than either alone. My iPad is there when I need it, to watch a movie on a flight, take notes in a meeting, or make little animations in Final Cut Pro for iPad. But my Mac will be my main workhorse for the foreseeable future, not because the iPad isn’t great, but because the Mac is simply better for my needs.
CalDigit sponsored this video, with its TS4 Thunderbolt dock, my most-used desktop accessory.
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