AUGUST 2021 MACWORLD 53different at all. Sure, if you squint, the new
Home Screen is a bit more Mac-like. The
new multiwindow shelf makes you more
productive by bringing systemwide
multitasking. And keyboard navigation and
expanded shortcuts give the Magic
Keyboard a bit more purpose.
But at its core, it’s still an iPad, whether
you spend $329 or $3,029. Nothing about
the iPad Pro’s M1 processor or 16GB of RAM
will make iPadOS 15 any better. Of course,
you can make the same argument about
the Mac. MacOS 12 Monterey includes a
bunch of cool features for pros, such as
Universal Control and Shortcuts that will
help users work smarter and faster, but it’ll
all work the same way whether you have a
MacBook Air or a Mac Pro.
However, there’s a reason why people
spend thousands on a MacBook Pro or
Mac Pro—performance. When you spend
more on a Mac, you’re getting more power
and more speed, which is why we’re still
waiting for the high-end Apple silicon
machines to launch. They’re rumored to
bring much more processing and graphics
power that will absolutely benefit the Mac
users willing to spend thousands on
high-end machines.
The iPad is different. While the iPad Pro
is certainly faster than the entry-level iPad
and the iPad Air in benchmarks, it doesn’t
feel all that faster when using it. I’ve been
testing the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and
compared to the 2020 model or the iPad
Air with an A14, it doesn’t feel all that much
faster. Maybe apps open quicker if you use
a stopwatch, but iPadOS has never felt
slow unless you’re using extremely old
hardware (and maybe not even then).
So while iPadOS 15 rights some of the
wrongs with multitasking and the Home
Screen, it doesn’t do anything to elevate
the iPad Pro beyond being a slightly faster
iPad Air with a nicer screen. And I’m not
sure Apple’s iPadOS updates ever will.NOTHING FOR POWER USERS
While there’s nothing about macOS that’s
specifically built for pro users, the system
is versatile enough to feel like it is. That
macOS is easy to use if you’re an amateur
and powerful enough for pros is thanks to
a wide range of features and flexibility built
into the user interface.
That’s not really the case with iPadOS.
While some power users manipulate
Shortcuts in inventive ways and take full
advantage of the gestures and keyboard
shortcuts, there isn’t really a benefit to
buying a higher-end machine when it
comes to the user experience. Things like
5G and Thunderbolt are nice to have, but
they don’t really elevate the experience all
that much.
If anything, iPadOS 15 is a step
backward for pros. The new multitasking
features don’t really change the way the