I’ll listen to this early next week when on the treadmill, but I already know the conclusion. iPadOS 26 is better, but they are sticking with their Macs. 
Lol. You’re probably right. Unless they got annoyed by the macOS 26 changes. Lots of poor design choices there.
In an alternate universe, Apple would make a foldable iPad that unfolds to a 17" or 21" screen as their first foldable. I would instabuy that at any price.
In the real world, I have left the iPad behind for only basic use. Sadly, when I grab something to run out the door, only my MacBook Air guarantees I can do anything I might need to do, my iPad doesn’t.
I was right. 
Considering the nature of their work and David’s appreciation for automation, there’s no way an iPad could meet their computing needs. However, I did get the impression that they might use their iPads more frequently than they have recently.
Since the majority of my computer work involves text-based tasks like writing, reading, annotating, and speech-making, along with occasional spreadsheet and photo work, and of course, the usual file maintenance associated with computers, my relationship with the iPad has changed over the past two years. The iPad has become my primary device, with the MBP serving as an auxiliary device. I’ve come to the conclusion that the utility of the iPad for most individuals depends on two factors:
- The primary nature of their work
- Their willingness to learn and adapt to a different operating system.
In the future, I suspect my setup will consist of an iPad, a Mac mini, and a Studio Display. I may even consider dropping the MBP. We’ll see how it goes.
A bit of feedback on the audio: Is it just me or is David talking lower than before? I’ve been listening for over a decade and the last few episodes it sounds like David’s voice is lower and more gravelly which is making it more difficult to hear, especially compared to Steven, whose voice hits on a higher register.
I noticed this, too. I thought it might have just been my hearing, though.
I’ve always thought that a 17" iPad (non-folding) would make a great desktop for some executives I have worked for, or with. Desktops take up too much room both on their desk and above it. Laptops with a bluetooth keyboard can take up even more of the desk top.
My first big project when I was starting out was selecting and setting up a manufacturing system for a new factory. My tech at that time was a desktop pc, a Motorola flip phone, and a Palm Pilot with a clip on modem. I think I could, probably, plan and execute that project today with my iPad Air and iPhone.
And a couple of big white boards 
That is the logical conclusion! My 12.9” iPad Pro is used for media consumption and that is it.
The M4 Macbook does all my software development, Machine Learning, productivity, file management, media processing, etc tasks like a champ!
This is the first MPU episode I’ve listened to in 9 months and while I enjoyed it it was exactly what I think many of us would expect. And it’s very much what I expected would happen if Apple did something like iPadOS26 with full mac style windowing and/or if they finally added the other much requested features: Most long-term mac users would keep using their Macs anyway.
LOL. It was so predictable. A small subset might end up on the iPad and who knows in the future. But at the end of the day, it’s still iPadOS with many of the same essential lockdowns.
I think this post at MacStories that links to a recent YouTube on the remaining iPad limitations is helpful.
I’ve loved the modular form factor of the iPad for 15 years and until earlier this year I was sure it would be my forever computer. I can do everything I need on an iPad but I won’t buy another because I’ve decided I can’t be locked into a hardware platform that limit’s my choice of OS. It’s not really my hardware because at the end of the day I can’t actually do what I want with it. Apple decides when it’s no longer eligible for new OS updates, Apple decides what apps I can install.
Having used Linux on a 13 year old Mac and found it not only capable but a delight to use I won’t buy any Apple hardware again if I’m not free to use it as I wish. It’s that simple.
I didn’t see these restrictions as a problem before, now I do. If I buy a computer I expect it to be fully my computer to do whatever I want with it.
In principle, I agree, @Denny. Linux is, in a way, the OS equivalent of Markdown: open source and portable. However, speaking for people like me, few have the technical expertise (or the time to acquire it) to switch to Linux and remain productive. To a lesser extent, the same is true of using Markdown. It requires some technical proficiency to meet the needs of most computer users. This is particularly true for those who are not self-employed. Most computer users must use what their employer dictates or what “just works.” I put that in quotes because few things, including Apple products, truly “just work.”
Speaking for people “like me,” we need a “turn-key” system, one that is as flexible as possible but standardized and dependably simple. This is somewhat paradoxical, but it is one reason I prefer the iPad. Insofar as maintaining the “system” goes, the iPad is less fiddly than the Mac. Generally speaking, it “just works.'” The paradox, or big caveat, is that it “just works” only if your computing needs are not especially complex. For example, as I stated above, the vast majority of my work is text-based. The iPad is, in many ways, ideal for a text-based workflow (though even then, there are a few complications for things like complex book publication).
I am convinced there are many who could easily use the iPad for their work if the option were available to them; they just do not realize what a modern iPad with iPadOS 26.x is capable of, or they have no time or desire to learn.
Agreed with all of your post! What I really wish is that Apple would offer the option to install another OS and other apps. Leave it in the safe, locked-down mode for those that prefer that. Many in my family have been using iPads for years and it’s perfect for them because it’s safe and easy. I appreciate that for them.
We know that Apple could, if it chose, allow for alternative app stores and a more open installation process for those that prefer it. That’s not a technical problem by now. It’s Apple not letting me use MY device that I paid for as I wish to use it.
But also, surely there is a way that Apple could allow for a process whereby the iPad could be fully unlocked from their OS to allow for installation of others.
We can have both a locked down iPad for you and a more open iPad for me. 
You’re an animal! 
I also noticed his. David’s ad reads were perfectl audible; to hear him during the chat about iPad OS I had to turn up the volume.
Maybe he’s under the weather. If so, I hope he feels better soon.
As Jason Snell, and probably others, has pointed out Apple already has a tried and true way to do that. Use the same rules for the iPad as used on the Mac.
Let me buy apps from the App Store AND apps that have been signed by the developer “using an Apple-issued Developer ID certificate (combined with a private key) and notarized by Apple to run under the default Gatekeeper settings.” But that’s probably not going to happen because it would cause Apple to lose money.
So the other solution, which is what I’ve chosen, is to adopt Steve Jobs original vision for the iPhone. According to Walter Isaacson, who wrote the authorized biography of Steve Jobs, Steve " didn’t want outsiders to create applications for the iPhone that could mess it up, infect it with viruses, or pollute its integrity."
There is a world of web based software for me to choose from today. And tomorrow, the way AI is developing, there is probably going to be a lot more.
I confess, I spit out my drink on my screen when I read this. I get what you’re saying about use-cases. I love my iPad Pro and I’m on it right now. But I can’t think of any computing experience I would describe as more “fiddly“ then getting real work done (including anything involving window or file management) on an iPad.
This is true and I’ve actually deleted many apps in favor of the web. That said, when you get down to it, Apple, for its benefit and protection of its profit stream, is limiting what I should be able to do on the device I purchased. I’m not leasing it from Apple and yet, their user hostile policy prohibits me from using the device as I wish.
As much as I love the iPad this will be my last. Hopefully another tablet will emerge that allows for installation of GNU/Linux. The next best option would be Apple being forced to open up the options for Apps. I’m not hopeful. But my eyes are open now to what my future choices are.
My rule of thumb is that ideally (1) The Hardware belongs to me; (2) The OS belongs to the Vendor. Apple should be able to design its software however it sees fit for their users. But there should be a way for me to port another OS on it.
Had he survived, Steve Jobs would be a few months older than my younger brother. So my choices for a tablet will probably be limited to those that run iPadOS. Or maybe, Aluminum OS?