Ask Slashdot: Could Android and iOS Become Popular Desktop Operating Systems?

dryriver writes: For many older people, you use Windows, macOS, or Linux on the desktop, and Android or iOS on mobile devices. Nobody is screaming for an Android desktop PC or an iOS 17.3-inch laptop computer. But what about younger generations growing up, from a very young age, glued to devices with these two mobile operating systems running on it? Will they want to use Windows, macOS, or Linux just like us old farts when they grow older, or will they want their favorite mobile operating systems running -- in a beefed up and more robust form -- on desktop and laptop computers which they use for school, college, and/or work as well? Since we are on this topic -- could Android or iOS one day become reasonably usable desktop operating systems from an architectural standpoint? And could Google and Apple already be planning for an "Android and iOS on the desktop" computing future, without telling anyone about it publicly?

Comments

Betteridge's law of headlines

[Anonymous Coward]

Mobile devices are based on the act of consumption, not content creation.

Yes you can "create" tweets and meme-grade content, but the more complex something is, the more tools you'll need for it. The existence of an operating system that allows you to manage files is a core function required for fluidity between the tools. Without that you're stuck with all-in-one solutions.

Neither iOS nor Android has that level of user-manageable file integration, by design. If that changes in the future, so be it, but for them to be dominant desktop creation platforms they'll have to change so much that they effectively become new and different systems.

Re:Betteridge's law of headlines

[Anonymous Coward]

Mobile devices are based on the act of consumption, not content creation.

90% of users are consumers so it shouldn't be a problem.

Anything that can run a browser, play a movie and maybe some games would be perfect for most users.

No

[Roger W Moore]

iOS is far, far too restrictive to ever be a desktop replacement in its current form. Any science or engineering degree requires some level of programming which is almost impossible under these OS's so at least some "young people" will get used to desktop OS's. Plus, if you want to develop an app for these OS's you need a desktop OS to do this.

The only way that iOS or Android will replace macOS or Linux is if they end up becoming a lot more like macOS or Linux.

iOS is already most people's desktops

[xtal]

Desktop computing is the domain of professionals now. The vast majority of people use their phones and tablets as their primary computing devices. I had my eyes opened working on my wife's website for her firm - 95% of the traffic was mobile or tablet.

iOS won't work for people who use computers in the classical sense - e.g. tell the computers to do things - because you don't have enough fine grained control. An IDE on a tablet would be a genuinely terrible experience. ...but most people interact with a tablet as their primary OS, and that's a good thing.

Re:iOS is already most people's desktops

[ShoulderOfOrion]

Not sure why you're gettng so much AC hate...you nailed it. No, Android/iOS is not going to become a desktop OS, because we're talking about two VASTLY DIFFERENT userbases. All those kids now using phones and tablets who will grow up to become corporate drones or plumbers won't need desktops because they have their phones and tablets. In the corporate world they're more likely to have thin clients with fullscreen browsers running webapps than some desktop workstation running Android/iOS. Desktops will be used by those who need 2^X cores, watercooled GPUs and 256 lanes of PCIe, and those folks are not going to be installing some eToy operating system.

Re:Does it run Microsoft Office?

[Jeremi]

If the answer is no, then forget about it.

What should I do if the answer is yes?

Walled garden

[ZorinLynx]

I'm willing to tolerate a walled garden for my phone and tablet, because they are appliances. I don't consider them "real computers"; they serve a specific function, which is communicating and accessing the Internet and other systems. Basically they're like fancy terminals.

But definitely not for my desktop. I want a real computer on my desk, that I fully control and can run whatever code I want. I suppose Android wouldn't be too bad, though even on Android device makers try to take a lot more control than they do with PCs and Macs.

My iPad is great for sitting in a coffee shop reading something, surfing the web, reading E-mail, or even SSHing to a host or two. But if I have to do any sort of real work, the frustration level spikes quickly. iOS would need a substantial redesign to be a real desktop operating system, including ditching the walled garden. But then what do you have? MacOS. Why not just use the best tool for the job?

Re:It is the applications

[HornyBastard]

Could Android and iOS Become Popular Desktop Operating Systems?

No.

Most people are not very smart. It could become a POPULAR desktop operating system.

The real question is Could Android and iOS become GOOD desktop operating systems?

The answer to that question is no.

Reminds me of an old quote: "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people"