There is an ongoing debate about the future of iPad and Mac as separate platforms. In a new column for Macworld, Jason Snell perfectly describes the current state of the two platforms, suggesting that the iPad and the Mac are “on a collision course and something has to change”.
“Apple’s PC and tablet are on a collision course, and something has to change”
Snell explains how Apple focused on slowly making the iPad more like a Mac, but stopped before it reached the “promised land.” On the other hand, the Mac “failed to pick up many features from the iPad”. Keeping product lines separate, he suggests, begins to “damage the future of both products.”
The solution? He writes:
I want to see what will happen when the walls come down. Today’s iPad Pro is powered by the same chip found in the MacBook Air. Would it be such a cataclysm if I could just restart this iPad in macOS or run macOS in a virtual machine?
Likewise, what if the Mac had a touchscreen and Apple Pencil support and came in forms that weren’t the traditional laptop? What if the Mac started offering the ergonomic flexibility that iPadOS is so good at? What if I ripped the keyboard off a MacBook and had the option to switch to a touch mode that was basically iPadOS?
I’m not entirely saying that macOS and iPadOS should merge. But I’m starting to wonder if users would be better served if the iPad Pro looked more like a Mac and the MacBook looked more like an iPad Pro. (Of course, in this scenario, there would still be mainstream laptops running macOS and low-end iPads running iPadOS).
I couldn’t agree more with what Snell suggests in this column. In a world where the Mac is better than ever thanks to Apple Silicon, and the iPad Pro is about to cross the so-called “promised land”, it’s time for the walls to come down.
“Until the Mac and iPad are allowed to use each other’s strengths, I fear neither will become the best version of themselves,” Snell says.
The full column is well worth a read and is available on the Macworld site. You can hear Jason discuss this column in more detail on the latest episode of the Upgrade podcast on Relay FM.
Source : TwitterInstagram et Mastodon
Relax, discover the evolution of the number of smartphones sold by brand over time in the video below:
