Instead of the iPad becoming more like a MacBook, it’s the opposite! An iPad power user's thoughts

We've had our fair share of fun with the iPad Pro – it's now become quite the powerful, portable computer, so long as you can work within its limitations. Those being, at least in my opinion, mainly its lack of desktop apps, and desktop-like multitasking even.

Some of us had hoped that iPadOS 15 would finally bring those, but that wasn't the case, so for now the best we can do is aim those hopes at the upcoming iPadOS 16.

Recently I've decided to put down my M1 iPad Pro and take a closer look at the M1 MacBook Air, just to see for myself what that experience is like.

After all, it was a big step for Apple to move away from Intel processors and the x86 architecture in general, and to make its own ARM chips, which are now found in both MacBooks and iPads.

So the iPad Pros and Apple's latest MacBooks share an architecture, and in fact, share a similar, if not the exact same processor. I could be forgiven for assuming that this meant the iPad will become more like a MacBook – finally getting full-blown Mac apps and, you know – fully utilizing its power. But as it turns out…

Instead of the iPad getting Mac apps, the M1 MacBooks are getting iPad apps

If you're a regular PhoneArena reader you'll know how excited some of us got when Samsung announced that it will bring the LumaFusion app to Android, or more precisely to its Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

That app is (still) an iPad exclusive – by far the best video editing app you can have on a tablet. It's a big deal for iPad creators.

Well, that "exclusive" iPad app can now actually run on your M1 MacBook flawlessly, among other iPad apps, whose numbers will surely grow with time.



Simply head on over to your MacBook's App Store and scroll down to find a fairly new section of apps, called "Great iPhone & iPad Apps for Mac With M1".

As the name perfectly describes, those are iPhone and iPad apps which you can run on your M1 MacBook perfectly. So I did.

My favorite iPad app now runs on my MacBook – not what I expected, but it's a big deal

Indeed, LumaFusion was without question a huge reason for why I love iPads. I run several YouTube channels, and doing the video editing for them on such a powerful tablet, with such a competent (and iPad-exclusive) app was a joy.

But now that same iPad app works on my MacBook, and to be fair – works quite perfectly there too. Again – I'm happy that at least one of those two devices began getting huge apps over from the other, but as a mobile tech enthusiast, I was really hoping it'd be the other way around – Mac apps jumping over to the iPad.

This is just going to make me use my iPad even less – since the rest of my pro apps are on the MacBook, I might as well use LumaFusion there too, right? Why flip-flop around?

I guess the bigger question is – why is Apple still not utilizing its iPad Pro models the way us iPad power users are hoping for? Is it just a matter of time, or is the iPad destined to be an accessory to a MacBook, and never its own complete thing; never a full computer replacement?

The more the MacBook gets iPad apps while the iPad gets nothing – the less desirable the iPad becomes to pro users

The iPad Pro has one major feature over the MacBook, that the latter will likely never get – a touchscreen. So it'll always be a great device for artists – get an Apple Pencil and, say, the Procreate app – and you're good to go! You can not only hand-draw with many layers, but animate your drawings too!

However, the iPad is generally going to lose its potential to be an alternative "pro" device to a MacBook as time goes on, unless it starts getting some Mac apps and perhaps better multitasking.

Just recently Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggested that the iPad should get a "pro" mode, with Mac-like multitasking, and pretty much the same features we've been wishing for since iPadOS 15 was a distant software update we knew nothing about.

So it's safe to say that the idea has spread, and a growing number of iPad fans are speaking out about it. Will Apple oblige? Only time will tell, but I remain hopeful.

In the meantime, share with us what you think about the future of the iPad – a forever entertainment device with limited "pro" features, or will it get "serious" apps and multitasking very soon? And should it, since the market of iPad creators is relatively small?