Why iPad + Trackpad Does Not = Touchscreen Mac

It is almost a sure thing that the iPad is going to get a major i/o overhaul in the next version of iPadOS. As rumors and leaks go, this one’s a lock. I love it. I also love the excessive consternation and hand-wringing over what that means for both the iPad and Mac laptops. Does such a development bring the two devices too close together? Does it blur lines that should remain sharp and clear?

Part of what is unspoken in those questions is the fear of or hope for the touchscreen Mac. Some people seem to have an almost religious devotion to the idea that a touchscreen laptop is bad and is the type of shortsighted nonsense one would only find on the Windows PC side of things. Others can’t wait to break out of Steve Job’s shadow and blaze a new trail into a future where Apple is not afraid of trying new things faster and breaking old taboos.

Both sides have a legitimate claim to the iPad. Steve Jobs is not here to settle the dispute. His opinions from a decade ago should not be the deciding factor anyway. The iPad and the Mac belong to a new Apple and a new generation of users and fans. We decide what the product is and what it should be. Whatever your hopes and dreams are for the iPad, it will take more than pointer support will turn it into a Mac. Here’s why:

Different Keyboard Paradigms

Right now, my favorite productivity devices is my 2019 13” MacBook Pro with two USB-C ports. I happen to really like typing on the butterfly keys. That keyboard will go down as my all-time favorite keyboard. RIP butterfly keyboard. The iPad Pro keyboard is perfectly serviceable. That said, it is also profoundly different from a keyboard made for a Mac. Those differences provide a clue to the overall platform differences.

You will notice there is no function key or function row of keys on the iPad keyboard. Considering that the most used function keys on any device are those that control volume and brightness, it is a mystery why Apple thinks such keys are unnecessary on the iPad. There is room on the iPad keyboard. It is just that Apple has drawn an artificial and unnecessary line in the sand that they are unwilling to cross at this time. Nothing prohibits a person from using a Mac keyboard on the iPad. But first-party iPad keyboards are limited.

Different UI/UX Paradigm

Ulysses is my main writing app and has been for several years. One of the features that attracted me to it early was the availability of apps for both Mac and iOS. Both have similar features sets with a few differences. This is true for almost all applications that have both a Mac and iOS version. Knowing how to use one does not guarantee a smooth transition to the other.

One reason for this difference is the UI?UX paradigm. IOS is fundamentally different from the Mac despite the underpinnings being similar. Catalyst apps have shown us that you can’t just port an iPad app to the Mac and end up with a product that belongs on the Mac. In the same way, Mac apps do not translate well to the iPad.

One app is designed for a small touchscreen. Another is designed for a capacious standard screen with precise pointer control. They cannot be the same. Adding pointer control to the iPad does not change that equation in the slightest. The iPad is a touch-first device. The apps have to be designed to be used without the aid of a keyboard or pointer. That single user experience concession makes a profound difference to the overall design and usage of the app. Touch apps are not the same as pointer-control apps.

Different Accessibility Features

Apple has always been ahead of the game with regard to accessibility on both the Mac and the iPad. However, there is a big difference between the functionality and feature sets.Where a feature is duplicated on both platforms, they often function quite differently. Some features from one platform to the other never make the trip. An example is Hover Text which appears in MacOS Catalina. It is a useful low-vision feature that would be much appreciated on the iPad. For some reason, it is not there.

One speculation is that all features for the iPad have to be conceived for the naked slate with no keyboard or mouse attached. That will make some accessibility features challenging. I hope that is not the reason. Just know that mastering accessibility on one platform does not guarantee proficiency on the other. The experience is not the same on both platforms.

I prefer reading mail on my iPad because the text appears according to my preference settings. I cannot get Mac Mail to work the same way. That said, the Mac mail app is a lot better overall. Every first-party app on both platforms has similar tradeoffs. When it comes to accessibility, some things are better on iOS, some are better on the Mac. I don’t foresee the differences vanishing anytime soon.

Different App Availability

I wish pointer support brought parity to applications. It won’t. I don’t pretend to know all the reasons. But it is clear that certain types of applications that thrive on the Mac are hamstrung on the iPad. You need look no further than Apple’s own GarageBand. On the Mac, it is a relatively full-featured digital audio workstation (DAW). On the iPad, it is a toy undeserving of the name. No one has more access to the hardware and more incentive to build a good media production app on the iPad. Yet the best they have been able to do after all this time is the abomination they call GarageBand for the iPad.

Note that Apple has not even bothered to attempt Logic Pro or Final Cut Pro for the iPad. That leads me to believe that it simply can’t be done. Don’t expect some third-party to crack the code until Apple shows the way to a better iPad app future.

Microsoft runs into the same problem with its office suite. I am an Office 365 subscriber. Word is the only app I use. It is not the same on the iPad. Many features don’t make the trip. The user interface is very different. And the overall experience of using Word on the iPad and Mac make it feel like two different apps from two different companies. One is a lite app for lightweight use. The other is for professionals who have real work to do.

It does Apple no good to talk about how much more powerful the iPad hardware is than traditional laptops (including theirs) when the software can’t keep up. If the technically less powerful machine can do practically more powerful tasks, that machine wins. And right now, that machine is clearly the Mac.

Conclusion: No Compromise

I’ve been using iOS 13.4 for a while. I like the pointer support a lot. It adds a whole new and much needed dimension to using the iPad. For some, this will be enough to get them to start using their iPad again after storing it in the tech drawer of shame. The iPad does not belong in that drawer. So I hope it gets a second life in homes where it is underutilized. The lack of pointer support for iPad keyboard users just seemed punitive. Thankfully, that time is over.

That said, pointer support will not cause many people to switch from a Mac to an iPad. People who use an iPad as their main device have made decisions about their preferred keyboard, UI/UX paradigm, accessibility preferences, and app styles & categories. For those people, the iPad is no more a touchscreen Mac today than it was yesterday. Pointer control is simply not the defining feature. For heavy keyboard users, it is merely table stakes.

Neither iPad nor Mac purists need be worried about the pointer in iOS. It is a good thing that does not at all change the iPad vs. Mac equation. If I had to sum up the major difference right now, I would say it is compromise. The Mac is a no compromise system that allows you to do everything you want to do without having to defer to another system for that one-off or rarely needed task. You almost never have to pick up an iPad to complete work you started on a Mac. But you often have to pick up a Mac to complete work you started on an iPad.

When that changes, we will have a real competition between the platforms. Until then, the iPad remains a compromised system. If you don’t see the compromises, then it is perfect for you. Your needs align with what the iPad provides. For me, as much as I love the iPad, I find it too compromised to use as my primary mobile system. I need a computer on which i can finish and not just start work. I need a system that doesn’t force me to make compromises at critical moments. It will be some time before that system is the iPad.

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal. I look forward to the next major release of iPadOS. There is a lot Apple could do to seriously blur the line between the two platforms. For the sake of iPad users and wannabe iPad users, I sincerely hope they do.

David Johnson