Yes, Apple is doing an amazing job maximizing their income. For sure. And I get that the cannibalization of potential Mac sales by making the iPad a device that could do everything a MacBook can may be an issue. So, if I see it that way: they are doing everything 100% right. They should not change anything.
If I see it from my user standpoint: There is no device for my software. 
There is nothing better than my iPad when reading and managing sheet music, there is nothing better when surfing the web and ā¦ And there is a lot of other stuff where a Mac is necessary or at least way more effective. There has been a past when iPads were limited by their hardware. As of today the iPad is capable of everything regarding its hardware. To be honest, the M4 iPad Pro it is even more capable than any Mac out there: it has a touch screen and a pencil and a CPU that is not available in a Mac as of today. An iPad with a Mac like mode when attached to a keyboard and an iPad mode when used with the pencil would be possible and it would be a killer device that really would be the device for my software. There is no device like that in Appleās ecosystem. There is one in the PC ecosystem with the Surface Pro (but it is a PC which lacks the app ecosystem we all love).
The iPad Pro of 2024 is a weird device: it is an expensive gadget and way too much for what iPadOS has to offer and it is much less than most of its buyers could use at the same time. Those critics have a point: Apple is limiting the iPad with iPadOS. Whether intentionally or notā¦
EDIT:
@WayneG, you are absolutely right with your prediction: the iPad wonāt change anytime soon.
Regarding the other way round (a Mac with touch-screen):
Stern pressed Boger about whether Apple will ever change its mind about a touch-screen Mac in some form. āOh, I canāt say we never change our mind,ā he replied. There have been rumors about a touchscreen Mac for years.