The iPad could soon be ready to replace the MacBook (AAPL)

Technology | 07/04/2017 | 7:00 AM
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Apple is continuing its push towards positioning its tablet as a laptop replacement with the launch of the new iPad Pro models.

There has been a long-running debate over whether tablets can replace laptops, but consumers haven't responded particularly positively.

People are used to the clamshell shape, but most think of laptops as devices with "full" operating systems (OS); machines they can get "real work" done on, and that feature a keyboard and mouse/trackpad.

Apple's mobile OS hasn't been particularly well-positioned to replace a traditional laptop so far. But iOS 11, the new version of iOS, includes a number of iPad-specific features that may switch things up.

Business Insider's Ben Gilbert recently weighed in with his opinion of the iPad Pro, which he called "a lackluster MacBook." He pointed out that many of the features iOS 11 brings to the iPad are just catch-up moves that the mobile-first OS is making to feel more like a traditional system.

Things like using multiple apps at once, having a dock, browsing files, and drag-and-drop have been core elements of desktop operating systems for ages, but iOS 11's implementation is still not up there even with Apple's own macOS.

But making the iPad a primary machine for the masses goes beyond simply matching laptops in terms of features. That's because there are some inherent advantages that the iPad and iOS enjoy which will not make their way to macOS and the Macs.

Think price, portability, and even the fact that iPads have a touchscreen. Take drag-and-drop, for instance: It has so much potential on the iPad that it might actually end up being better than it is on macOS.

On macOS (or even Windows), when you select one or multiple items, you can drag them around as you want, but you can't do anything else until you drop all of your files to a target point.

On iOS 11, selecting an item does not prevent you from interacting with the rest of the system. That is powerful in and of itself, but — as Paul Miller first pointed out on The Verge — it's Apple's API that could truly bring iOS' drag and drop to the next level.

He mentions Adobe, which has already jumped on board with three iOS 11-optimised apps that work well with each other. Reports Miller:

This is just one example, but it's immensely powerful and shows that developer support can go a long way into making a platform more capable and productive.

It's important to keep in mind that iOS is the most thriving platform on the planet, with over 2 million apps that populate its digital store which have collectively crossed 130 billion app downloads.

And, more importantly, a whopping $70 billion (£54 billion) has been paid to developers. It's huge — much bigger than the Mac App Store is, in fact, and things are not likely to change any time soon.

The App Store's size and popularity mean that the developer community is much more active than it is on macOS. Apple puts much more emphasis on its mobile platform because there are just many more iPhones and iPads than there are Macs.

Take augmented reality (AR) as an example: Apple just released its new ARKit framework to developers, which will allow them to create augmented reality-based apps using the cameras of iOS devices. The iPhone will ultimately benefit more from it, but the iPad is equipped with a great camera, too, which means iPad users will able to take advantage of whatever evolution AR is poised to bring to iOS.

The hardware is first-class, but still needs something more

iPads don't just have good cameras, of course. Both iPad Pro models have stereo speakers, a last-generation retina display, a fingerprint scanner, a battery that comfortably outlasts the majority of laptops, and much more.

They are also powerful: Inside them is Apple's custom A10X chip, which can comfortably go head to head with Intel's most recent version of the laptop-class Core i5 CPU — and b