The recent release of the iPad Pro has highlighted Apple’s approach to mobile computing, and the push to offer the tablet as a viable alternative to laptops – at least at the consumer level – has become clear. What benefits does Apple see in the iPad Pro?
New MacBook Pro laptops on display (Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)
The obvious difference is in the chipset. Apple introduced its first M-series chips in the MacBook Air in 2020, moving away from Intel-based devices for more than a decade. ARM-based chipsets offer higher performance at lower operating temperatures and use less battery power to achieve similar results.
This gave Apple an advantage in consumer and professional laptops and desktops second only to its Windows-based competition.
However, the latest generation of this technology, the M4 chipset, debuts in the new iPad Pro. This means that Apple’s tablets achieve significant performance improvements over other tablets and laptops. If you want Apple to make a statement about the platform it wants to promote and move forward, the decision to launch the iPad Pro underscores Apple’s potential response.
This year is the year of the tablet, not the year of the Mac.
The M4 chipset isn’t the only important feature Apple is adding to the iPad Pro while keeping it off the MacBook platform. iPad Pro features an advanced OLED display that delivers brighter, more vibrant colors and deeper blacks while using less power. It’s a technology widely used in Windows laptops, but the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 2024 models have stuck with locked mini-LED displays with 60Hz refresh rates in the past.
The MacBook Pro’s screen already looked tired and dated compared to the overwhelming number of OLED-equipped Windows laptops. There are gaps in the data sheet over the years. However, Apple first offered the technology on the iPad, apparently demonstrating its fondness for tablets.
Finally, explore the world of apps around macOS and iPadOS. Apple has bundled a lot of apps and games that run on iPadOS. They are all available through the App Store and are specifically marked by Apple as suitable for the iPad This gives consumers confidence in compatibility, but means they have to hand over control of their tablets to Apple.
Because of the closed nature of the system, Apple has complete control over what third-party developers can do with the iPad platform. Apple takes a thirty percent markup on every app sale, and a similar discount on in-game purchases is just a bonus.
That’s the business model that made the iPhone a financial powerhouse. While you can try transferring it to a Mac, it’s much easier to continue creating on an iPad
Apple has introduced its latest hardware in the iPad; I let the MacBook fall behind rival Windows laptops because it brings OLED to the iPad instead of the Mac; He maintains control over every piece of software that runs on the iPad so that the company continues its vision of mobile computing.
Through its actions, Apple has shown that it wants to represent the next generation of mobile consumer technology… and it’s not the Mac.
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