> But, in Microsoft's case, it's sort of different.
Microsoft has a long history of trying to make both work, but I think the reality of it is actually not that far away:
Windows 10/11 is a very poor tablet OS, a ton of stuff will be clunky with touch as it's currently just a very thin layer of adjustments on top of the OS, and expecting to get access to all the potential of the machine without a keyboard and trackpad will be a recipe for disappointment.
So, if the iPad had to rival the Surface Pro, it could probably do it tomorrow by just sticking macos on it with the accessibility options (virtual keyboard, mouse etc) and call it a day.
Where Microsoft is truely different is that they still shipped the Surface Pro and let users deal with it. The UI in tablet mode is almost the same, with just the taskbar a bit bigger. Sometimes you'll absolutely need a mouse, so if you don't have one you pull the virtual mouse, solve your situation and go back to what you were doing. Sometimes the entry field is from an obscure API and doesn't pop the keyboard, so you pop it manually and deal with it. Or you absolutely need a shortcut, so again you pop the keyboard in the middle of nowhere, hit the shortcut, and make the keyboard go away.
This is the clunkiness Microsoft has fully embraced, and it makes their tablets actually "just work" as you're given all the tools to straightly do what you want to do. That's where Apple is backing out, and chose to build a DisneyLand OS instead of a gritty, dirty and clunky, but fully functional city like environment.
I get why people want a more polished and elegant experience, but if the goal is to get things done, it's probably the most realistic way forward.
Microsoft has a long history of trying to make both work, but I think the reality of it is actually not that far away:
Windows 10/11 is a very poor tablet OS, a ton of stuff will be clunky with touch as it's currently just a very thin layer of adjustments on top of the OS, and expecting to get access to all the potential of the machine without a keyboard and trackpad will be a recipe for disappointment.
So, if the iPad had to rival the Surface Pro, it could probably do it tomorrow by just sticking macos on it with the accessibility options (virtual keyboard, mouse etc) and call it a day.
Where Microsoft is truely different is that they still shipped the Surface Pro and let users deal with it. The UI in tablet mode is almost the same, with just the taskbar a bit bigger. Sometimes you'll absolutely need a mouse, so if you don't have one you pull the virtual mouse, solve your situation and go back to what you were doing. Sometimes the entry field is from an obscure API and doesn't pop the keyboard, so you pop it manually and deal with it. Or you absolutely need a shortcut, so again you pop the keyboard in the middle of nowhere, hit the shortcut, and make the keyboard go away.
This is the clunkiness Microsoft has fully embraced, and it makes their tablets actually "just work" as you're given all the tools to straightly do what you want to do. That's where Apple is backing out, and chose to build a DisneyLand OS instead of a gritty, dirty and clunky, but fully functional city like environment.
I get why people want a more polished and elegant experience, but if the goal is to get things done, it's probably the most realistic way forward.