Apple sells keyboards with trackpads for the iPad [1].

[1] https://www.apple.com/ipad-keyboards/

There is no reason apart from Apple's closed-source restrictive software policies that the device is nowhere near as useful as it could be.

If it doesn't fit you, don't buy it only to complain.

There are other vendors with more open experiences.

If those vendors actually get enough market share, maybe even Apple might adopt them.

Exactly like they did with keyboards, pen, and windows management, that came before on PC and Android tablets.

If the largest vendor of computer hardware on the planet purposely locks down its devices for no apparent consumer benefit then informed users have every right to complain to the less informed how this harms the entire market in the long run.

It is the largest vendor, exactly because only a minority cares about using a UNIX shell on their tablets.

Software freedom has nothing to do with using a Unix shell and you know it.

Agreed. The iPad, from a hardware point of view, is a close approximation to Alan Kay's Dynabook concept (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook). It's a shame that iPads are so locked down; I'd love to use an iPad with an unrestricted operating system.

I have a Microsoft Surface 7 Pro. Even though Windows is not my favorite operating system, I enjoy using the hardware. I'm also looking forward to Framework's upcoming 12" convertible tablet; I also have a Framework 13 laptop.

Pricing will be key for that Framework 12. I hope it's competitive. Like ~$600.

Why not?

https://www.youtube.com/@BringusStudios

Personally I rather buy hardware fit for purpose.

The hardware is fit for purpose. That's what makes the situation frustrating. It's a software lock.

That wasn't what it was being sold for, so no it isn't.

Interesting definition. I would have said what it's sold for doesn't matter at all when we're taking about whether it's fit for some arbitrary purpose.

I want to probe your definition a bit. Let's say a factory makes gears. All the broken ones get recycled. After all quality checks have been done, some of the passing gears are pulled off the line and redirected to the gift shop to be sold as paperweights.

1. Are unsold gears in the factory storeroom fit for purpose as gears?

2. Are unsold gears in the gift shop fit for purpose as gears?

2a. If yes, do they lose that fit at the moment of sale?

2b. If no, do they regain that fit if the factory has production issues and brings a crate back from the gift shop to sell as gears?

Comparing Apples to Oranges.

One is a device sold with a specific purpose that the buyers knowingly paid for, the other is a piece of isolated pieces pluggable hardware.

Apple's actual marketing postures the iPad as a general computing device

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S5BLs51yDQ

“with iPad Pro + iOS 11, a post-PC world may be closer than you think.”

https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/16/ipad-pro-whats-a-computer-ad/

There is no specific purpose for an iPad.

Please explain exactly what an iPad Pro is supposed to be used for. List out every possible use case of an iPad Pro.

I think you'll find that you will quickly exhaust the max character limit...

Here there you go, https://www.apple.com/ipad/

> Over a million other ways to use it [...] Turn your iPad into almost anything — from a math classroom or workstation to a professional recording studio

Sounds like a general purpose device to me.

The hardware isn't keeping a keyboard or monitor from connecting, unless it was specifically designed to prevent that.