I can not consider after 16 years the iPad nonetheless has at the present time 1 downside

In lots of respects, I like iPads. The primary one I ever purchased was the much-maligned third-gen model, however I appreciated it sufficient to put money into the first- and second-gen iPad Airs. My day by day driver in the mean time is the 2020 11-inch iPad Professional, which is maintaining with iPadOS 26 surprisingly properly regardless of being the last-ever Professional to characteristic an A-series processor.

It is beginning to present its age, nevertheless, and I spotted that for the primary time in over a decade, I am critically contemplating ditching iPads fully. Apple is not making an amazing use case for individuals like me, or possibly even the general public at giant, and it could even have undermined its argument additional by introducing the MacBook Neo. Complaints about Apple’s aimlessness are not educational — it might manifest in actual gross sales numbers.

Seeing the forest for the timber

What Apple is getting unsuitable (in the mean time)

On a {hardware} degree, iPads are undeniably spectacular throughout the boundaries Apple units for itself. Any mannequin you decide up may have a vivid and colourful display screen, typically beating many laptops on the market. iPadOS’s contact interface is so intuitive that toddlers can decide it up. Efficiency-wise, Apple is knocking it out of the park — the M-series chips within the Air and Professional are so highly effective that 4K video modifying and lightweight 3D gaming are nearly trivial. Heck, even the A16 processor within the entry-level iPad is greater than the typical individual wants.

The primary downside is that there simply aren’t that many apps that make the most of the Air or Professional, at the least not when in comparison with what’s accessible for Macs and Home windows PCs. If it’s essential get one thing productive finished, it is all too simple to run right into a state of affairs the place there are just one or two apps — if any — which are legitimately price utilizing. And do not get me began on gaming. Whereas there are some absolute classics accessible on the iPad, similar to Balatro and Stardew Valley, Apple appears to have given up on attracting builders with blockbuster 3D video games that are not stay service titles, filled with microtransactions, like Genshin Affect.

On the root of this iPadOS. Being based mostly on iOS for the iPhone, it is closely sandboxed, that means that apps typically cannot discuss to one another with out particular frameworks, a lot much less modify the OS. That limits the scope of apps, even after years of Apple step by step addressing deficiencies. Home windows and macOS are far more liberal with what they permit — which does pose safety dangers, but in addition signifies that in the event you’re an influence consumer, an iPad is not for you.

Usually, once you do discover an iPad app you need, it might probably really feel like a lesser expertise subsequent to its desktop options. I would use the iPad variations of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom in a pinch — if I returned to professional images, nevertheless, I might nonetheless insist on a desktop laptop to get critical processing finished. Related issues might be mentioned in regards to the Microsoft 365 suite, and even Apple’s personal Remaining Lower Professional.

A few of this stems from the restrictions of the shape issue. Though iPads have supported mice, keyboards, and trackpads for years at this level, builders cannot assume that customers may have any of them, since Apple does not bundle a Magic Keyboard and even an Apple Pencil. All the pieces is designed to work together with your big fingers, which limits what number of controls can match onscreen. Selecting an 11-inch iPad as a substitute of a 13-inch one makes issues worse, particularly if you wish to try multitasking.

Talking of which, Apple remains to be struggling to get multitasking the place it must be. iPadOS 26 was an enormous step ahead in some areas, as an illustration permitting extra home windows with higher management over positioning and sizing — however it’s nonetheless awkward subsequent to a Mac or PC. There are conspicuous flaws too, like sizing buttons overlapping with different controls, and apps failing to scale correctly. Some customers have been so upset when Apple eliminated Slide Over home windows that it was persuaded to cobble collectively an impromptu alternative.

The online results of all the things is a product that struggles to justify its existence. It does excel at some duties, like illustration and notetaking — however it sits in an odd middleground, neither as transportable as an iPhone nor as versatile as a Mac. It is solely price shopping for as an leisure system, or in case your workflow occurs to align with accessible apps and the vagaries of iPadOS.

The MacBook Neo dilemma

Apple stumbles into what individuals actually need

Credit score: Apple

On one degree, the Neo should not be a giant deal. Spec-wise, it is caught with an A18 Professional chip — the identical one in my iPhone 16 Pro — in addition to 8GB of RAM and USB 3.0. Even an older MacBook Air can blow it out of the water.

The actual hype surrounds its $599 value level. That is solely $50 greater than the bottom iPad Air, and but you get such luxuries as a keyboard, a trackpad, and a very powerful one among all, macOS. Which means entry to all of the apps you may want, with no arbitrary restrictions on what they’ll do. You will run into efficiency limits, actually, however reviewers have demonstrated that the Neo can deal with 4K video modifying with out a lot hassle.

It is such a great deal that it is promoting out. As of mid-April 2026, in the event you order one from Apple’s US on-line retailer, you will not get yours till someday in Could. DigiTimes claims that the product has been so wildly profitable that Apple is now aiming to ship 10 million items this 12 months, up from 5 to six million.

I am tempted to affix the group if my funds permits. It merely does not make sense to decide on an iPad Air or Professional in case your use case entails any form of critical productiveness and not using a stylus. The truth is, that is been my best criticism about my present iPad — even when I upgraded to a 13-inch mannequin with a Magic Keyboard, I would nonetheless be lacking some apps, and interface quirks would sluggish me down. Conversely, all I would must do with a Neo is re-acclimate to utilizing Macs daily as a substitute of sometimes.

The last word query, then, is whether or not Apple will acknowledge the Neo’s success for what it’s: a signpost. Many patrons simply need an inexpensive laptop that may deal with all of the necessities — and but till lately, Apple has been unwilling to both unleash iPadOS or make a less expensive laptop computer. It is even repeatedly mentioned that it refuses to fuse the Mac and iPad. Now, its hand could have been pressured. It is both going to must make a greater case for its dearer iPads, or danger cannibalizing their gross sales. I suppose we’ll get a glimpse of which approach issues are headed when Apple broadcasts its second-quarter gross sales numbers on April 30.