If the 2021 iPad gets an M1 processor, will it be able to run Mac apps? Is that how Apple will bring a touch screen and stylus support to a device that runs iPad, iPhone and Mac apps simultaneously?

We'll have to wait until Apple releases such a device, but with the existing 10.9-inch iPad Air and the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros with the superlative and exquisite Magic keyboards with trackpads already wonderful machines, this is a path Apple could well take.

The world is also waiting for M1 or better processors to arrive in the iMac lineup, and with Apple discontinuing the iMac Pro and two iMac models, all signs point to the M1 or better arriving in iMacs soon. There apparently are still a 1TB Fusion Drive iMac and a 256GB SSD iMac, but maybe Apple just still has stocks of those models, but why would you buy an Intel-powered Mac of any type now that M1's are no longer a secret? 

After all, I've been happily using a late 2020 M1 MacBook Air for the past several weeks, and it is much, much faster than the early 2020 Intel Core i3 MacBook Air I stopped using once the M1 model came along. It's truly astounding, and the battery life is mindblowingly good. 

Going back to the Core i3 model reminds me just how smooth and fast the M1 is, and with no fan built in, it is an exercise in true quiet. The Core i3 MacBook Air and a Core i5 MacBook Pro I still occasionally use for some screen recordings love to fire up their fans.

The M1-powered MacBook Pro and the M1 Mac mini both have fans, but you reportedly have to push those models really hard to get the fan to spin up, which ensures the M1 can stay at full performance even longer, but I've not noticed the M1 MacBook Air slowing down ever - and when exporting a video in iMovie, it was incredible to see just how fast it is.

So, while any M1-powered iMac or iMac Pro will presumably have fans inside, the performance of the M1 is astounding - and it would certainly be wonderful to see one in an iPad that could then run Mac apps, should you wish to run them, because you'd end up with the best of both worlds in a form factor that is already perfectly designed for touch, keyboard, trackpad/mouse and stylus, rather than retrofitting a Mac to do the same thing.

Hopefully we'll know sometime in April when the rumourmongers now suggest the next Apple event is due, but whenever it is, Apple certainly has a lot of new products coming, with Apple's M1 transition scheduled to take two years, with 6 months of that timeframe effectively already now passed.

The famed leaker, John Prosser, has leaked images of what the new M1 Macs are supposed to look like, along with a range of colours the like of which we haven't seen since the colourful iMacs released by Steve Jobs, all those years ago - with Prosser's images above and below.

And just imagine if future iPhones had the M1 or one of its successors, too. Microsoft's attempts at turning a Windows Phone into a desktop computer when connected to a keyboard, mouse and monitor never took off the way they wished it did, and while Samsung's DeX mode is impressive, if an iPhone could transform into a Mac, and do it all wirelessly (or wired, if desired) it would certainly be a triumph and one that would get a lot of use!

Of course, having an iPad and a Mac as separate devices with large screens, keyboards and trackpads means you don't have your phone's battery draining fast, so whether Apple would ever do this is unknown.

That said, if anyone could do it, and do it properly, with millions, if not tens of millions and even hundreds of millions of people clamouring to use an M1 iPhone in all these ways, only Apple could truly do this to people's true satisfaction.

Otherwise the PC modes of existing devices would be a heck of a lot more popular, and clearly, they're not.

Apple does have a history of "cannibalising" itself to make sure it stays on the cutting edge, while also taking its time to introduce features that others have played with for years and have failed at doing in a way that truly captures the public's imagination.

Whatever happens, it's going to be an exciting year, and an exciting decade, so strap yourself in, get some popcorn, and as soon as Apple releases its glasses, pop those on, too!

Here are two more images from John Prosser of what the new M1-powered iMacs are supposed to look like: