I believe the biggest barrier here is the background processes (and true inter-app communication that'd come with it).
Many pro apps have either plugins and/or interoperability with other apps/extensions on the desktop.
In iPad, even if you have the app (e.g. Logic, Resolve, FCP) it's very hard to create a "real" experience like the desktop with file/plugin interoperability or a true ecosystem. In addition, this is why we don't have any developer tools that'd actually be anything of a daily driver (rather a proof of concept).
If we get true multitasking/background tasks, then I believe many other pro apps will jump onboard.
The hardware is absolutely fantastic, the SoC is more than capable. We just need the software support.
Apple already has processes in place for background process execution on iPhones and iPads [1], including a way for the app to request additional background processing time [2]. The issue is that this system needs to be expanded to cover the use cases that people are describing. It really is hard to understand why Apple has not done so nor given any indication that they will.
> Apps don’t normally receive any extra execution time after they enter the background. However, UIKit does grant execution time to apps that support any of the following time-sensitive capabilities:
* Audio communication using AirPlay, or Picture in Picture video.
* Location-sensitive services for users.
* Voice over IP.
* Communication with an external accessory.
* Communication with Bluetooth LE accessories, or conversion of the device into a Bluetooth LE accessory.
* Regular updates from a server.
* Support for Apple Push Notification service (APNs).
> Enable the Background Modes capability in Xcode if your app supports background features.
Keeping an SSH session alive is barely outside of the existing use cases. Long-running export jobs and things like that would need a new use case defined, perhaps with QoS definitions.
Yup those existed for a long time, though I think we need some entitlement for "app-to-app" or "arbitrary extension" kind of background processing/serving.
The existing ones, while welcome, are not enough for many pro cases. The closest is inter-app audio, which was a good addition but perhaps not extensive enough.
That's probably the reason, and has obvious sandboxing/stability benefits.
Though for iPad to be truly "Pro", there needs to be adjustments made, perhaps through entitlements or some shared storage between apps (user-chosen apps, not necessarily from the same developer as that already exists) or something similar.
Many pro apps have either plugins and/or interoperability with other apps/extensions on the desktop.
In iPad, even if you have the app (e.g. Logic, Resolve, FCP) it's very hard to create a "real" experience like the desktop with file/plugin interoperability or a true ecosystem. In addition, this is why we don't have any developer tools that'd actually be anything of a daily driver (rather a proof of concept).
If we get true multitasking/background tasks, then I believe many other pro apps will jump onboard.
The hardware is absolutely fantastic, the SoC is more than capable. We just need the software support.