It's the same situation when people pretend like the Play App Store is better than Apple's App Stores because anyone can put anything on there without having to go through Apple first. In theory, yes, it's great that you have the freedom to do that and that Google doesn't act as the arbiter of your precious apps. In reality, though, the Play Store is a cesspool of crappy apps. When I got my Nexus 7, I tried to install the Netflix app from the Play Store. There's multiple Netflix apps (all called "Netflix") that claim to be from Netflix, Inc. I don't know if they've fixed that now, but just the fact that something like that can happen is crazy.
Everyone's so caught up on whether or not they could [do something] that they never stopped to think about whether they should [be able to].
The Microsoft solution was painful because it was based on the insane premise that all software could run on all devices - as if anyone really needs the full version of Adobe CS or Visual Studio on a mobile, or wants Candy Crush taking up all the available pixels on a 30" monitor.
Apple will do something less insane. There's already overlap between the OS X and iOS touch classes.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a future iPad sold as the next Mac keyboard/remote display a few generations from now, when the tactility is a little better.