The iPad-Mac hybrid we all want is now a reality – in the form of a strange Vision Pro accessory

It would seem odd, to a time traveler from 2012, that the post-PC world still hasn’t materialized and Apple continues to sell traditional laptops. Not only did the iPad fail to replace the MacBook, it was not even combined with it as a hybrid device, despite vehement customer interest in such a product.

Indeed, one Apple fan became so frustrated with the continued non-existence of an iPad-MacBook hybrid that he took matters into his own hands. Federico Viticci, the tech writer and podcaster who founded MacStories, announced Monday that he has completed work on what he describes as the “MacPad,” a bizarre mashup of the two products. It combines the full-size keyboard of a MacBook Air with an 11-inch iPad Pro. Viticci tried a 12.9-inch Pro, which is closer in size to the 13-inch MacBook Air, but found that while it looked noticeably better, it was too heavy.

The article explaining the method and justification for this project is very lengthy and technical, and (we would guess) well outside the comfort zone of the average DIYer. It’s also extremely impressive, in the same way that eating two Colin the Caterpillar cakes would be impressive: you’d shake the guy’s hand and wonder why he thought it was a good idea.

For years, I thought an iPad-Mac hybrid wasn’t a solution, for two main reasons: touchscreen laptops are boring to use – it’s not a natural complement to a keyboard and a trackpad, and reach a screen vertically. the aligned screen is tiring – and iPads are already good enough at replacing convertible laptops that there’s no compelling argument for reinventing the wheel. But Viticci managed to find a niche use case where the MacPad just makes sense.

The key is Vision Pro and its currently unsatisfactory input support. (In our review, we explain that “if you want to type sentences, it’s best to pair a Bluetooth keyboard.” OBLIGATORY.”) Viticci says he tried using Apple’s Magic Trackpad and keyboard with the headset, among other options, but kept coming back to the conclusion that the best keyboard setup would be a real MacBook. But that this MacBook would be heavier than necessary, and less versatile because most of the time it would not use its screen. Hence the desire to saw off the screen of a MacBook and transform it into a docking station for iPad.

I can pretty much see the logic behind this in a perfectionist, hyperspecific niche. (Almost no one bought a Vision Pro headset, and almost all found that a conventional Bluetooth keyboard is more than adequate for typing.) But the MacPad project feels like something that was done to demonstrate what could be done rather than as a project. practical necessity. Viticci was so preoccupied with whether he could or not that he didn’t think about whether he should.