Could be, but at what point will they stop, i.e. how long before the iPad becomes the Macbook Air? In any case: if they don't stop then I'd think one of those would have to go, makes little sense keeping 2 product lines which are like almost the same?

I suspect that will happen eventually.

My M2 air is as thick as my iPad ...

Having said that it is also MUCH heavier (relative to what I'd like an iPad to be) and has a noticeably bigger screen.

Not sure how fast those gaps get closed.

When the iPad Pro is as expensive or more than the Air, and they feel they have the software down pat.

iPad Pro already costs more than Air in many configurations.

> if they don't stop then I'd think one of those would have to go, makes little sense keeping 2 product lines which are like almost the same?

I feel like this is exactly what they want. My only question is how much i'll be able to modify my laptop long term. Ie i run Nixpkgs (ie the package system from NixOS) on my laptop. The day i can't modify my Mac OS to my liking is the day i stop buying their laptops.

I do think there's a market for people who want laptops that have the lockdown of phones. Where less things can go wrong because you can't change a lot.

> The day i can't modify my Mac OS to my liking is the day i stop buying their laptops.

That was my mentality too. For me, the cutoff came when Catalina dropped (and I couldn't run 32-bit libraries, even after modding MacOS). Nix was the last thing keeping my sanity together when I last used MacOS. When they pull the plug on that, it's going to be a sad day...

> I do think there's a market for people who want laptops that have the lockdown of phones. Where less things can go wrong because you can't change a lot.

I agree. That's a software problem though, not a hardware problem. Much like the situation on iPhone, Apple could easily offer a "pro mode" or "developer mode" that offers extended functionality while disabling certain high-security features.

A long time.

If MacBook Air is a browser machine, then it's already happened. If it's a creative work machine, then well, it's close, but you still probably have a some kind of PC nearby.

If it's a developer machine, then the best iPad can do is being a ssh terminal or VSCode browser. A superb terminal, I use it every day to work because I don't have personal laptop.

The iPad doesn't become the Macbook Air until it can run XCode and you can develop, compile, and test iPad apps on the iPad itself.