A:Answer The first difference (open vs closed):
iPad is a tablet and runs on iOS which is a proprietary, closed-system, that is not compatible with anything else out there except for hardware made by 1 company - Apple. Chromebook is not a tablet but a laptop (with a full-size keyboard) based on ChromeOS. ChromeOS is an open-system created by Google. Open here means you are not confined/limited to one company. You can buy Chromebook made by several competing manufacturers just like living in a country that supports Democracy instead of a Communist dictatorship. You can buy a Chromebook made by Samsung, Acer, Asus, HP, Google, Lenovo, Dell, LG, Toshiba, etc. Similar to any open-systems like Microsoft Windows, Google's Android, and Linux.
The second difference (web vs app):
iPads, and even Android tablets are app driven devices. Chromebook is a browser driven device just like a real laptop or desktop computer. In app-driven devices, you will always need an app to do something. You want to use Netflix, you have to download Netflix app. To read PBS news, you have to download an app for that. On a real computer, you just use your web browser, which makes it extremely convenient. You want to read anything on CNN just type 'cnn.com', you want Fox news, you type 'foxnews.com'. No need to get a specialized app to do anything. You still can use an app if you wanted to. Chromebook is much more flexible and it is OPEN which means it gives you, the consumer choices, unlike a closed system.
