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The iPad software has been lagging behind its hardware for so long now. My iPad and laptop both have an M1; the laptop has more RAM but they are effectively eq

The iPad software has been lagging behind its hardware for so long now. My iPad and laptop both have an M1; the laptop has more RAM but they are effectively equally capable on paper. And yet, due to a series of entirely artificial restrictions, my iPad is useless for entire categories of applications. That power sits unavailable for me to ever utilise. I’m sure the iPad Pro can live up to its name if you’re an artist or designer or maybe even something that involves 3D modelling, but outside of that absolutely not. It’s a terrible shame because I think there really is value in a computer that fills the space between a phone and a “real” computer. Especially given its modularity (though the obscenely high pricing of Apple’s keyboard cases is another problem). At this point the thing most holding the iPad back is Apple itself. Anything to do with software development is impossible or involves remotely interfacing with a second computer. The things it does support are tedious and frustrating, like file management (Files.app is hopeless) and multitasking (Stage Manager is a convoluted mess). What the hell was even the point in splitting iPadOS out if it’s just gonna have the exact same limitations as iOS. I got a good deal on a used iPad Pro but when it comes time to upgrade this thing I’ll just go back to the middle of the road model for a nice, but ultimately unnecessary consumption device.

zarzavat 3y ago
The problem is an organizational cultural problem at Apple itself: they are control freaks obsessed with putting the user first, but as with all extremists they take it too far, trying to obtain some “perfect” user experience, even when that hurts the user’s own interests! Apple sees developers and third party software as threats to the user, the only safe thing to do is to lock it all down. Apple also got addicted to App Store money. Letting you install unapproved software means Apple doesn’t get their cut of not only the sale of the software but also the sale of anything through the software. And Apple wants their rent. Apple is organizationally incapable of building a good iPad OS. The culture prohibits it and the incentives are misaligned.
- leptons 3y ago
  Those are all the main reasons I don't choose Apple devices.
  - saiya-jin 3y ago
    Same here, they are not even luxury anymore as it was viewed in many parts of the world in the past, my current phone was more expensive than highest iphone at the same time. I can do what the fuck I want with it. Its full fledged computer with tremendous power for most real tasks, and I don't need to hack it to fully use it. I admire the sheer time and resources poured in perfecting the Apple experience, it has been its trademark since original ipods. But the way they set up relation between customer and provider is so unequal and outright disrespectful, I'll never buy their product. Don't treat me like an incompetent idiot and we can start talking.
avidiax 3y ago
> It’s a terrible shame because I think there really is value in a computer that fills the space between a phone and a “real” computer. Apple has the technical capability to make a Macbook that is separable. The screen comes off and makes an iPad. It also has the technical capability to make a bi-modal OS. OSX with a HW toggle switch that allows OSX/iPadOS modes. The switch could be nearly seamless. The unlimited freedom OSX mode is an overlay FS on the iPadOS mode. Change anything you want, run anything you want and when you flip the switch, the OSX apps are frozen to disk, the overlayfs unmounted, and you still have any iPadOS apps running. Flip it back, and the OSX world resumes as it was. But you can't have this product, because the marketers at Apple know that you would never buy an iPad again if you had this.
- Shawnj2 3y ago
  To be fair Microsoft has their own version of an iPad that converts into a laptop and it doesn’t work that well from what I heard.
  - yznlp 3y ago
    It's been about 10 years since I used my surface pro at uni. The main problems that I remember were 1) top heavy, because all the hardware is on the screen portion, so it's difficult to balance and use it on your lap 2) lack of processing power due to the form factor and thermal limitations 3) lack of touch friendly windows apps that can make it truly useful as a tablet 1 probably can't be helped, but 2 and 3 should definitely be better now especially since Apple silicon and iOS exist, if they choose to make something like this...
    - skydhash 3y ago
      Not really for 2. I have a MBA and it heats up when I do an OCR of a scanned book. And I don’t want touch friendly app on MacOs, I actually like the dense UI found in IDEs and graphic softwares because, they’re very efficient with the mouse. 13-14 inch is the perfect screen size for me (16 if I wanted to work on the go). But it would be unwieldy as a tablet.
    - 3y ago
hajile 3y ago
I do wonder where they are headed with the iPad. If you have an M-series iPad, you won't need another for years because the user interface and processing power are sufficient. The only way to change that is introducing more powerful capabilities to the iPad that require faster hardware. On the flip side, Apple seems to be leaning in hard on subscription services so they can have recurring revenue when you don't get new hardware.
clarents 3y ago
I'm in the market for a tablet upgrade because my Galaxy S3 Tab is feeling quite laggy and is years out of support. I was excited to give the iPad Air a shot as I've heard so many good things about about the M1 chip. But the locked down nature of iOS made it impossible to recreate my workflows and seemingly failed to really take advantage of the M1, so I returned the Air and am currently looking into the S9 Tab.

zarzavat 3y ago

The problem is an organizational cultural problem at Apple itself: they are control freaks obsessed with putting the user first, but as with all extremists they take it too far, trying to obtain some “perfect” user experience, even when that hurts the user’s own interests! Apple sees developers and third party software as threats to the user, the only safe thing to do is to lock it all down. Apple also got addicted to App Store money. Letting you install unapproved software means Apple doesn’t get their cut of not only the sale of the software but also the sale of anything through the software. And Apple wants their rent. Apple is organizationally incapable of building a good iPad OS. The culture prohibits it and the incentives are misaligned.

leptons 3y ago
Those are all the main reasons I don't choose Apple devices.
- saiya-jin 3y ago
  Same here, they are not even luxury anymore as it was viewed in many parts of the world in the past, my current phone was more expensive than highest iphone at the same time. I can do what the fuck I want with it. Its full fledged computer with tremendous power for most real tasks, and I don't need to hack it to fully use it. I admire the sheer time and resources poured in perfecting the Apple experience, it has been its trademark since original ipods. But the way they set up relation between customer and provider is so unequal and outright disrespectful, I'll never buy their product. Don't treat me like an incompetent idiot and we can start talking.

avidiax 3y ago

> It’s a terrible shame because I think there really is value in a computer that fills the space between a phone and a “real” computer. Apple has the technical capability to make a Macbook that is separable. The screen comes off and makes an iPad. It also has the technical capability to make a bi-modal OS. OSX with a HW toggle switch that allows OSX/iPadOS modes. The switch could be nearly seamless. The unlimited freedom OSX mode is an overlay FS on the iPadOS mode. Change anything you want, run anything you want and when you flip the switch, the OSX apps are frozen to disk, the overlayfs unmounted, and you still have any iPadOS apps running. Flip it back, and the OSX world resumes as it was. But you can't have this product, because the marketers at Apple know that you would never buy an iPad again if you had this.

Shawnj2 3y ago
To be fair Microsoft has their own version of an iPad that converts into a laptop and it doesn’t work that well from what I heard.
- yznlp 3y ago
  It's been about 10 years since I used my surface pro at uni. The main problems that I remember were 1) top heavy, because all the hardware is on the screen portion, so it's difficult to balance and use it on your lap 2) lack of processing power due to the form factor and thermal limitations 3) lack of touch friendly windows apps that can make it truly useful as a tablet 1 probably can't be helped, but 2 and 3 should definitely be better now especially since Apple silicon and iOS exist, if they choose to make something like this...
  - skydhash 3y ago
    Not really for 2. I have a MBA and it heats up when I do an OCR of a scanned book. And I don’t want touch friendly app on MacOs, I actually like the dense UI found in IDEs and graphic softwares because, they’re very efficient with the mouse. 13-14 inch is the perfect screen size for me (16 if I wanted to work on the go). But it would be unwieldy as a tablet.
  - 3y ago

hajile 3y ago

I do wonder where they are headed with the iPad. If you have an M-series iPad, you won't need another for years because the user interface and processing power are sufficient. The only way to change that is introducing more powerful capabilities to the iPad that require faster hardware. On the flip side, Apple seems to be leaning in hard on subscription services so they can have recurring revenue when you don't get new hardware.

clarents 3y ago

I'm in the market for a tablet upgrade because my Galaxy S3 Tab is feeling quite laggy and is years out of support. I was excited to give the iPad Air a shot as I've heard so many good things about about the M1 chip. But the locked down nature of iOS made it impossible to recreate my workflows and seemingly failed to really take advantage of the M1, so I returned the Air and am currently looking into the S9 Tab.