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Origin: Think Tank from Techpinions – iPad’s Evolving Vision and Unintended Consequences

I think Steve Jobs’s framing of the iPad that it is more intimate than a notebook and more capable of a smartphone remains one of the most brilliant positioning statements of a device I’ve ever heard. 

The potential pivot comes in the way of a mouse. Even as I write this, it pains me to even think about mouse/trackpad support on iPad. … And if Apple is building full support for mouse/trackpad, then I do feel it is a pivot away from the iPad’s original vision.

…Touch and pen-based computing bring more to the table than just mouse and keyboard, but those experiences have not become mainstream in everyone’s daily workflows. Perhaps they never will. … my thesis on behavioral debt may be at play again. Most people don’t seem willing to change or learn new habits…

…the more I become comfortable with my new workflows on Windows the more I like the Surface Pro X tablet functions as a companion to the laptop…using Mac and iPad together they both have two very different workflows for most of main tasks. This is why I’m not as down on the idea of Mac and iPad merging as I once was. I still believe it would be a pivot from the original vision…

…We know from our research, the vast majority of people using a touch-screen based Windows notebook rarely, if ever, touch their screens. The mouse or trackpad is still the primary and most used input…

This suggests that when a device looks and feels like a traditional notebook, people use their traditional tools, and I’d bet that stays the same for Mac users even if they had a touch-screen, Mac. This would suggest a unified OS could live in harmony on Mac and iPad, and the software to support a range of inputs could potentially thrive. 

There could, however, be unintended consequences for merging operating systems.

My personal main concern is the potential negative impact on software/apps, something like this could bring. I also worry developers aren’t willing to put the extra work in and that consumers are simply not willing to embrace change. 

…But, the common truth remains, developers are key to the success of any platform, and Apple has historically been blessed by its developers.