Imagine an iPad that automatically switches to MacOSX if plugged into an external monitor, keyboard/mouse.
It'd be glorious, not that I'd ever happen - for multiple reasons. One of which being that ipadOS is essentially iOS, so no overlap with MacOS
It'd be glorious, not that I'd ever happen - for multiple reasons. One of which being that ipadOS is essentially iOS, so no overlap with MacOS
Right now the joke is Windows XP emulation making it what it always needed to be, getting containerised/emulated Mac apps with decent Perfs from low level access would be a huge win. We could be close to your ideal, with the iPad still running, and a Mac instance pinned to the external screen.
I'd easily pay $3k for a top end version of such a device. I think this is Apple's main holdup - if the iPad can run macOS in this dual mode setup, the MacBook Air becomes pretty boring and a pretty bad deal. And they can no longer sell people two devices that accomplish the same task, only differentiated by one having a touchscreen.
In my eyes, Apple's transition to ARM on Macbooks looks like a stepping stone on that path. I wouldn't be surprised if they announced something like that for the iPad Pro eventually.
Sounds nice in theory but people rarely actually use it.
BTW, I've done exactly this daily with the only slightly larger Surface Pros and docks for over a decade, so the concept definitely works, and there are probably millions of people using it, contrary to your assertion.
It's a very small step from doing that with a PC or tablet to doing that with a folding phone design, and there are a few such solutions like that today. (Though they should run the same OS/interface, just morphed slightly for the hardware that's active.)
After having this setup, I will never, ever, go back to an old caveman laptop or desktop computer.
But such technological wonders are but a fantasy.