I love my iPad and I’m always baffled by the complaints around it. Is it perfect? Of course not, but they keep improving it every year. If you accept it for what it is, it is an amazing device.
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The trouble is that we shouldn’t have to accept:
- lack of background processing
- lack of terminal access
- lack of a real browser engine
- …
The complainers (of which I am probably one of the loudest on this forum at this point) believe it is an amazing device being hamstrung by odd design decisions and profit-centered business decisions.
I recently heard a great example of the latter on the Vergecast: why does Apple not allow e.g., Chromium browsers? It’s not battery optimization or some other technicality — it’s because then web apps could run in full and Apple wouldn’t be able to look for 30% off of the apps that have to run through the App Store as it currently stands.
No one is saying everyone should throw out their iPads! Everyone complaining just wants a device that doesn’t have all these odd workflow breakpoints.
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Apple may be trying to hold back the tide. But it looks like the present App Store model will have to change.
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Screen size too small, huh? I’ve never said to myself, “If only my iPhone or iPad was a lot bigger, I wouldn’t need my MacBook Air any more.”
I have no idea what you are talking about with this claim. I must have missed a turn somewhere along the way. I can use the Files app on my iPhone and iPad if I have to, but I hate it.
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You missed the context. Both of these points were made in reply to comments above. In regards to the point about screen size, my point there was in reference to users who are specifically making an effort to not use a Mac. In those cases when those folks are trying to use the iPad as a Mac replacement the smaller screen size, especially the 11" if it is replacing a 14" or larger Mac screen would likely cause frustration and a sense of not being able to do as much as they would on a larger screen device.
As to the Files/Finder point, that was a reference to a comment by someone else above. In both of these you’ve lost the context of my comments.
Terminal as in a Unix command line?
I’m curious (genuinely, not sarcastically) by what you mean here as there are some good terminal apps available for the iPad
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Admittedly I am not a real dev and can’t actually comment. I am probably misunderstanding what developer tools are missing outside of Xcode.
I hope that errant example doesn’t detract from my broader point.
Exactly this.
I think the iPad is great. Can iPadOS be better? Yes. Can macOS be better? Yes. Do I want the iPad to get macOS? No.
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How do you like iPad only so far?
Things are going well. I’m keeping a “journal” of my experience. I will summarize my experience and conclusions on the 23rd, the 30th day of my experiment. I believe providing a summary at the end of my experiment rather than piecemeal updates will be more helpful. 
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Do those give the same level of access to the unix system underlying iPadOS as the terminal does on macOS, and are all the same commands and tools available? I’m genuinely curious as well.
There are so many of us waiting for your update - we should put up a countdown banner!
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That made me laugh! I sure hope I don’t disappoint!
I guess I’m just “holding it wrong.”
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The iPad terminal apps I know of allow you to login to a remote server and run commands on the server, not on the iPad itself.
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Thanks. I had read @ryanjamurphy’s comment to mean “lack of terminal access to the local device’s OS and file system” rather than to a remote server.
In other words, the kind of terminal access you’d get on macOS or Linux. If so, he was right that the iPad lacks that.
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The iPad terminal apps I know of have some limitations that would make me uncomfortable relying on them day to day. There are some niceties with unix access and RSH keys and SSH keys and yadda yadda that are very easy with full access to the file system. Plus, most of the good iPad apps require an annual sub (which is fair), but Terminal is free as in beer on macOS.
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So does every device, except the Mac, introduced since 2001. 
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