If you’ve ever been in a position where you need to decide between an iPad and a Mac, you’ve probably heard the same thing over and over: the iPad just can’t run the apps you actually need. Here’s the thing though: when people make that point, they’re not only talking about apps you’d need for work, productivity, or creative projects.

Instead, they also mean the essential apps you’d expect to be supported on every tablet (or even every device), yet for some reason were missing from the iPad for years. Well, it seems like Apple’s been working on addressing that and has been constantly adding the apps people actually want. Here are some of the apps I can’t believe Apple took its sweet time bringing to the iPad.

Instagram

Watching Reels on an iPad just hits different

Instagram finally announced a fully optimized iPad app after fifteen years on the 3rd of September 2025, and the announcement is what sent me down the spiral hole of wondering which other popular iPad apps were mysteriously missing all this time. In case you haven’t used Instagram on an iPad before the company launched the dedicated app, you essentially got the mobile experience on a tablet screen.

This meant that a small phone-sized window appeared in the center of your iPad’s display, and though you had the option to “zoom” the app 2x, everything just felt extremely awkward. Scrolling, typing, and even uploading photos all felt clunky and cramped. The new Instagram app finally fixes that, and while the experience is slightly different from the mobile app, that’s how I think it should be. The layout is designed with the iPad’s bigger screen in mind, and the app also has a few neat upgrades that the mobile app doesn’t currently have.

For instance, the iPad app has a new “Following” tab that gives users different ways to see the most recent content from people they follow. Don’t confuse the new Following tab with the Following tab that Instagram removed a couple of years ago that let you see what your friends were liking and commenting on, though. Unfortunately, that’s not making a comeback yet. Instagram also decided to take advantage of the iPad’s bigger screen and make some neat upgrades, like allowing you to see the rest of your inbox when responding to a Direct Message.

This is understandably different from the mobile app, where you can only have one chat open at a time. You can also fully view comments without them blocking your view when you’re watching Instagram clips, which makes reading comments while watching a video simultaneously much easier. Now, I’m not sure why it took Instagram fifteen years to launch a proper iPad app, but I’m glad they finally did.

WhatsApp

No more using WhatsApp Web

Another social app that surprisingly took its sweet time to arrive on the iPad is the popular messaging app WhatsApp. Where I currently live, no one really uses Messages, and WhatsApp is basically the default way everyone stays in touch. Though my iPad wasn’t my primary device for messaging, there were times when I just wanted to quickly text someone or catch up on chats without grabbing my phone.

So, not having a dedicated WhatsApp for iPad was definitely frustrating. Ultimately, I had no option but to rely on workarounds like using WhatsApp Web and linking my phone, which wasn’t really ideal. Thankfully, in May this year, WhatsApp finally introduced its dedicated iPad app. The iPad WhatsApp app includes every feature you’d want from the native mobile app, like messaging, sharing and receiving documents and files, making video and audio calls, sharing your screen, and more.

You can make voice calls with up to 32 people at the same time, and also get access to features like locking specific chats. The iPad app also supports accessories like the Apple Pencil and external keyboards, which makes the whole experience feel far more natural.

Calculator

Why did it take Apple 14 years?

This is an app that always makes me laugh when I think about it, because how did the iPad not have a Calculator app when it first launched? It feels like the most basic thing you’d expect to be there from day one, but for some reason, Apple just never included it. Well, only Apple can make users wait for years to add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers on their iPad.

The Cupertino-based giant finally announced a Calculator app for iPad after around 14 years of the iPad’s debut during 2024’s WWDC, when it announced iPadOS 18. I primarily rely on my iPad for studying, and I’m a computer science major (which most describe as a glamorized math degree), so a calculator is something I use constantly.

And since there was no native Calculator app for the iPad, I needed to rely on third-party alternatives, many of which locked even the most basic functions like history or scientific mode behind paywalls. It always felt absurd to me that I had to download and sometimes even pay for an app just to do something as simple as calculate an integral or convert units.

Thankfully, the iPad Calculator app isn’t just the bare minimum either. It supports the Apple Pencil, and comes with a feature called Math Notes that I absolutely love. Though I discussed the feature in detail in a separate article, it essentially lets you handwrite equations with the Apple Pencil and watch them get solved in real-time. You can even tweak parts of the equation, and the results update instantly. It can also graph equations for you, and it’s set to get some exciting upgrades with iPadOS 26, like 3D Graphing.

Weather

No more using third-party apps just to check if it’s about to rain

Another pretty ridiculous omission on the iPad has always been the lack of a native Weather app. I mean, this is the kind of app you’d assume comes preinstalled on every device, but for years, iPad users were left without one. Ultimately, if you wanted to quickly check the forecast, you’d need to download a third-party app or go the longer route and open Safari or open the Weather app on another device like your iPhone.

Apple finally realized the missing app, and announced a Weather app for iPadOS during 2022’s WWDC when it previewed iPadOS 16. Like the other apps in the list, the Weather app for iPad is just the same experience you’re used to on other Apple devices, only optimized for the bigger screen. The app lets you view all the detailed weather information you’d expect, like hourly and 10-day forecasts, air quality, and precipitation maps on a much larger, more interactive layout.

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro

With these apps, the iPad can actually replace a Mac

Of course, I couldn’t forget two of Apple’s biggest pro apps that took around thirteen years to finally get proper iPad versions — Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Both have been staples on the Mac for years, and considering Apple has long pitched the iPad as a laptop replacement, the lack of proper versions of these apps always made that claim feel a little hollow.

Thankfully, in 2023, Apple finally brought Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to the iPad, and they’ve been designed to actually take advantage of the hardware. The iPad versions of both apps feature a touch interface and intuitive tools that make editing and creating feel more natural. Both apps also support external iPad accessories. The only catch is that the apps aren’t supported on older iPad models: Final Cut Pro requires an iPad with an M chip or above, and Logic Pro is only supported on iPads with the A12 Bionic chip or newer.

iPad users are no longer left behind

It might’ve taken years, but better late than never, right? There are probably a bunch of other apps that took ages to arrive on the iPad, but these are the ones I personally consider the most surprising and impactful.