iPad doesn't need macOS. A radical change in iPadOS would be enough

Is it time to put macOS on iPads? This exact topic has been discussed among Apple users for several years, and the arrival of the M1 chip (from the Apple Silicon family) in the iPad Pro (2021) has significantly enriched this discussion. This tablet has now also been joined by the iPad Air, and in short, both offer the performance that we can see in normal iMac/Mac mini computers and MacBook laptops. But it has a rather fundamental catch. On the one hand, it's great that Apple's tablets have come a long way in terms of performance, but they can't really take advantage of it.

As already mentioned above, since the arrival of the M1 chip in the iPad Pro, Apple has faced a lot of criticism, which is mainly aimed at the iPadOS operating system. This is a huge limitation for apple tablets, because of which they cannot use their full potential. In addition, the Cupertino giant often mentions that, for example, such an iPad Pro can reliably replace a Mac, but the reality is actually somewhere completely different. So do iPads deserve the macOS operating system, or what solution could Apple go for?

macOS or a fundamental change to iPadOS?

Deploying the macOS operating system that powers Apple computers to iPads is rather unlikely. After all, not long ago, Apple tablets relied on a completely identical system to iPhones, and we therefore found iOS in them. The change came in 2019, when a modified offshoot labeled iPadOS was first introduced. At first, it was not very different from iOS, which is why Apple fans expected that a huge change would come in the following years, which would support multitasking and thus take iPads to a completely new level. But now it's 2022 and we haven't seen anything like that yet. At the same time, in reality, only a few simple modifications would be enough.

This is how Apple presented the deployment of the M1 chip in the iPad Pro (2021)

Currently, iPadOS cannot be used for full-fledged multitasking. Users only have the Split View function available, which can split the screen into two windows, which may be useful in some cases, but it is definitely not comparable to the Mac. That's why the designer made himself heard last year See Bhargava, who prepared a great concept of a redesigned iPadOS system that would 100% please all apple lovers. Finally, full-fledged windows would come. At the same time, this concept somehow shows us what we would actually like and what changes would make tablet users very happy.

What a redesigned iPadOS system could look like (See Bhargava):

iPadOS concept

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But windows aren't the only thing we need as salt in the case of iPadOS. The way we could work with them is also quite essential. In this regard, even macOS itself is quite faltering, while it would be much better if windows could be attached to the edges in both systems and thus have a much better overview of the currently open applications, rather than constantly opening them from the Dock or relying on Split View. He would also be pleased with the arrival of the top bar menu. Of course, in some cases it's better to have the traditional display method that works on iPads now. That's exactly why it wouldn't hurt to be able to switch between them.

When will the change come?

Among apple growers, it is also often discussed when a similar change could actually come. Rather than kdy but we should focus on whether it will actually come at all. There is currently no more detailed information available, and it is therefore not at all clear whether we will see a radical change to the iPadOS system. However, we remain positive in this respect. It's only a matter of time before tablets turn from simple display devices into full-fledged partners that can easily replace even a MacBook.

Discussion of the article

[René]

For me as a web designer, the big problem is that websites still only work in mobile mode on the iPad. For example, the "inspect element" function does not work. And thus I don't have enough of the whole iPad with great programs like Procreate.