iPad today is very reminiscent of the Mac of the 90s. A bewildering array of models and SKUs, a beloved operating system with core technology issues that severely limit the future of the product line, a dearth of the real apps professionals use, and a strong emphasis on the handful of creative niches it's carved out for itself. Unlike the 90s, though, all of these problems are masked by the success of the low-end. If you split iPad Pro out into its own product category, it would be in trouble
@stroughtonsmith This is a really great observation. In the early 90's I was using Windows at work and a Mac at home (making shareware!).
The Mac had some great apps, but you really felt the lack of true multitasking, memory management, and the other advantages of Windows/Unix that we now take for granted.
There's no NeXT to save the day this time. We're metaphorically stuck setting memory limits and hoping that processes cooperate.
If Apple weren't sitting on a massive treasure hoard of iPhone cash, if they actually had to fight to survive without the Mac to fall back on, iPadOS would have been on the chopping block long ago, much like classic Mac OS
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