Apple put their MacBook chip in the new iPad Pros to make it super fast — all that power and hardly anything to use it on.
This year’s iPad Pro refresh added Apple’s M1 SoC (system on a chip), a chip first used in Apple’s MacBook Air and13 inch MacBook Pro. It’s a chip that has punched well above its weight in terms of processing power relative to its energy efficiency. It’s this very reason that makes the iPad Pro all the more disappointing.
Most of the rumors that surrounded the iPad Pro speculated the release of macOS on the iPad, or something very similar. And you would be forgiven for thinking that was a possibility given they share the same brains.
Instead, Apple is doubling down on making the iPad more “iPad” and keeping macOS locked on the Mac — and never the twain shall meet.
Every year iPad Pro has gotten faster and faster, yet seemingly held back by its software. If only there were apps we could use to take advantage its speed. So what happened?
Did Apple plan to put macOS on the 2021 iPad Pros, or will they always keep iPad neutered by its software? Allow me to propose three ideas which may help appease both sides of team iPad and team Mac.
MacOS is an app — Just like any other app in your dock, you can seamlessly switch between iPadOS and macOS. This way on the go you can enjoy the comfort of touch via iPadOS, and when it’s time to work you can jump into your desktop and access the apps you need, like a desktop version of Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, for instance.
MacOS when docked — When docked to the Magic Keyboard or a Thunderbolt monitor, iPad Pro will intelligently switch from iPadOS to macOS, allowing you to work as you would on any other MacBook or iMac.
iPad is a Mac — Or maybe Apple could just make macOS compatible with touch, and have it run by default on iPad Pro.
Either way, until we have software and apps that can take advantage of iPad Pro’s latest and greatest hardware, it will be a hard sell to actual pros who need to get work done to either buy one or upgrade from a previous generation.
Of course there are changes like the new mini-LED display found in the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro which benefit both pros and casuals, but on the whole the usual SoC upgrades mean very little in terms of day to day use. That’s for most people. What can a pro really do on the iPad Pro this year that they couldn’t have done last year? Could they draw that much better, multitask that much easier, and game that much faster? I don’t think so.