Apple made a big splash during its WWDC 2024 keynote earlier this week, the highlight beingApple Intelligence– the company’s long-awaited spearhead into the world of generative AI. Assuming it works as promised, it could be a big leap forward for Apple platforms, the iPad included. Certainly students will get a lot out of AI features like writing assistance, live audio transcription for lectures, and thenew Calculator app’s Math Notes tool for graphs and equations. That alone might’ve been a game-changer for me in high school.
When you peek behind those AI additions, however,iPadOS 18starts to feel anemic. Yes, it’s nice to get more homescreen and Control Center customization, not to mention all the small enhancements Apple makes every year for a refined experience. But the company has once again disappointed many iPad owners wanting to get the most out of their devices – namely those of us who really do want to use it as a laptop replacement, not just a notetaking aid or a media consumption machine.
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It’s time for Apple to break down the walls
The fundamental problem is that beneath the surface, iPadOS 18 still treats iPads like oversized iPhones. Over the years, additions like Stage Manager, the dock, and mouse/trackpad support have gone a long way toward boosting convenience and productivity, yet the platform is still heavily sandboxed. Apps are limited to narrow, Apple-sanctioned frameworks for interacting with each other, so things Mac and Windows users take for granted can be difficult or impossible on an iPad. Even something as basic as a dynamic wallpaper switcher is unavailable, never mind software that might tweak hardware settings or overhaul native app interfaces.
It’s the barriers behind the scenes that Apple needs to demolish.
To Apple’s credit, it has managed to pave the way for pro-level apps like Final Cut, Logic, Procreate, LumaFusion, and Microsoft Office, which prove both the power of recent iPads and that you’re able to get serious work done. Even those apps are sometimes limited next to their desktop equivalents – I don’t just mean available features. If you want to export video from an iPad editing suite, you’ll probably need to leave that app open, cutting off access to other apps until the rendering is complete.
It seems basic that a work computer should be able to perform tasks in the background – especially when it has a processor on par with the MacBook Pro, as with the latestiPad Pros. Mac owners would be rightfully angry if they spent over $2,000 on a machine that occasionally brings their workflow to a screeching halt. That is, by the way, an amount you can easily spend on a 13-inch iPad Pro.
Contrary to what some have argued, I don’t necessarily think the iPad needs to switch to macOS, or even support Mac apps. Those options would be nice, but there’s plenty possible within the design language of iPadOS. It’s the barriers behind the scenes that Apple needs to demolish.
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Method to the madness
I should say that I understand some of Apple’s reasoning. While a lot of veteran Mac and Windows users know how to be safe and organized while squeezing every last drop out of their systems, newcomers and casual users sometimes need guardrails. Sandboxing eliminates a lot of privacy and security threats, and limiting customization means you can’t, say, accidentally clutter your homescreen with duplicate app shortcuts, or modify fonts and icons in a way that makes them indecipherable. Apple’s philosophy keeps things in check to the extent that even my mother rarely encounters problems on her iPad.
Speaking of which, we journalists sometimes appreciate the simplicity of the technology, too. It’s nice to have a product that “just works,” to quote the Apple cliché, whether I’m watching movies on a flight or writing an article in Google Docs. My iPad Pro is both a backup and a second screen for my laptop, and I’m never worried about it failing, even if I wish it were capable of more.
iPadOS 18’s wasted potential
In the run-up to WWDC, it really did feel like Apple might open up iPadOS and expose more of its power. Clearly, some of this was wishful thinking based on years of pent-up demand, but it also seemed conspicuous that the new iPad Pro jumped from the M2 processors straight to the M4 – a chip that has yet to appear in a Mac. It was above and beyond what would be needed for Apple Intelligence, so it was plausible that Apple was finally ready to put iPads on par with any other computer.
It’s that potential that makes the situation so frustrating. It’s not difficult to envision a world in which an iPad is your only system – something fully competent at work, gaming, and media. It’s already good enough for a select cadre of professionals (such as illustrators), and the tightly integrated nature of Apple Silicon gives the platform a performance advantage. But for one more year, at least, we’re stuck in a world where you may’t even sync your iPhone with an iPad unless you count cloud services like iCloud Drive andApple Music.
Apple’s motivations and the endgame
So why is Apple clinging to the status quo? No doubt a part of it is the work involved. Opening up iPadOS would require fundamental architecture changes, and split the platform even further from iOS. That might make it tougher to share new features between iPhones and iPads, not to mention create headaches for app developers trying to support as many devices as possible. The company could ease some of that with new tools and APIs, but only after a pretty significant investment of time and resources.
You should never limit the technology of one product line because it might render another obsolete.
There’s also the conspiracy theory that Apple is terrified of iPads cannibalizing Mac sales. It’s not even much of a theory. Executives have previously admitted that the company wants to keep Macs and iPads separate. If they’re still holding to that position, though, they’re short-sighted. You should never limit the technology of one product line because it might render another obsolete. Protecting the iPod would’ve prevented the iPhone, and regardless, Apple’s competitors aren’t about to hold still – there are plenty of touchscreen laptops in 2024, and some tablets with desktop-level graphics.
It’s time is going to force Apple’s hand, in other words. We might not see an overhaul in iPadOS 19, or even iPadOS 20, but the company will eventually have to make iPads more compelling if it wants to keep the upgrade cycle going. As things are, I have no particular reason to upgrade from my four-year-old Pro, even with Apple Intelligence out there.
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