I always used to think this idea was a non-starter given the many incompatible UX patterns between MacOS and iOS. Then came the ARM announcement, including the mention that Apple Silicon Macs would be capable of running iOS apps, which would point to such a seemingly chimaeric device being inevitable.
How I think Apple will manage it is by keeping the two halves separate. No or minimal touch interactions in MacOS; no Mac desktop in iPad mode. Apple won't repeat Windows 8's fridge-toaster attempt at making a unified UI between desktop and tablet mode, but apps with Mac and iPadOS versions will automatically switch UIs dependent on context.
It will still be an enormous pile of design challenges, but for the first time, I think a Mac-iPad hybrid could actually work.
How I think Apple will manage it is by keeping the two halves separate. No or minimal touch interactions in MacOS; no Mac desktop in iPad mode. Apple won't repeat Windows 8's fridge-toaster attempt at making a unified UI between desktop and tablet mode, but apps with Mac and iPadOS versions will automatically switch UIs dependent on context.
It will still be an enormous pile of design challenges, but for the first time, I think a Mac-iPad hybrid could actually work.