I don’t understand. If you can’t run the workloads you want why in the world would you buy one?
“But it could! It has enough power! All they would need to do is overhaul the OS, open the file system, and… Well ok it would probably be easier to add touch to MacOS, how hard could it be? Well ok, to do that properly would take a lot of work but I’ve got it all figured out and Apple is stupid for not….”
Every time people complain about how “crippled” the ipad is they inevitably point out some task that is perfectly suited to a laptop. On top of that, the laptops are less expensive and now have longer batteries. Apple has made the ipad very good at touch and pen computing with a very safe, simple OS. If they stick to that paradigm that will preclude running IDEs, servers, databases, and running arbitrary code. Most of the complaints boil down to MacOS not having touch which I don’t understand either but I wish people would just give the crippled ipad narrative a rest.
Sure, doing stuff like compiling code is perfectly suited to a laptop, but taking notes in math class or drawing a diagram is not. A tablet with a keyboard and pen can do it all, the iPad with its limitations can not. Now you need 2 devices when really one could do.
Personally I don't like MacOS, I'd rather iPadOS just dropped the limiters.
There are workloads that do use that power though. Various drawing, graphics, and photography programs make heavy use of AI. What other processor should Apple use for iPads that need that kind of processing? People that complain about power in the ipad have it backwards. Apple puts in the least powerful processor in the ipad it can and still be able to handle the AI demands, screen responsiveness, storage, and other high end processing needs used by creative people.
“What could you possibly need that much power for on an iPad?” Well, Apple put the M1 in it and now it can run Davinci Resolve, handle many more layers in Procreate, handle more tracks/virtual instruments/effects in audio programs, do incredibly fast ML adjustments in Photoshop/Affinity/Pixelmator etc. Who knows what will be coming out next because of the power available?
Apple takes advantage of economies of scale to put a more powerful processor in the ipad and people actually complain about it. In the meantime app developers make better products and people find new workflows that have opened up.
You can also do a lot with audio. The touch interface is much better for playing/performing instruments, sequencers, etc. As the processors get more powerful the apps get better.
