For her review of the new M4 iPad Pro, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern spoke with Tom Boger, Apple's vice president of iPad and Mac marketing. Stern focused on comparing the iPad Pro to a MacBook, and asked some targeted questions about the way Apple views the two devices.
According to Boger, Apple sees the iPad Pro and Mac as devices that are meant to be used alongside one another. "We don't see them as competing devices," he said. "We see them as complementary devices." While the iPad is a "touch-first device," the Mac is designed for "indirect manipulation," with a mouse or keyboard, which is a point that Apple has reiterated several times over the years.
"macOS is for a very different paradigm of computing," he went on to explain after Stern asked about the possibility of running Mac apps on the iPad or a Mac with a touch screen. Boger said that many Apple customers have both devices, and use the iPad to "extend" Mac work with Continuity.
When asked if Apple would ever change its mind on a touch screen Mac, he didn't say no. "Oh, I can't say we never change our mind," he told Stern.
Stern traded her MacBook for an iPad for her review, and said that the iPad was better for portability, touch, and 5G connectivity, a feature not available on the Mac. The Mac offered superior port options (it has more than one), better software and multitasking, longer battery life, and better multi-display support.
Stern's full review and interview with Boger can be read over at The Wall Street Journal.
