A version of macOS for the M2 iPad Pro rumored to arrive in 2023 could address criticism that the iPad is slowing down iPadOS software rather than its hardware.
- What is happening? The leader claims that Apple will provide desktop-class software support for the iPad Pro by creating a macOS version for it.
- Why care? Because everyone and their brother has already realized that the iPad Pro needs a more powerful operating system to realize its true potential.
- What to do? Be patient. We need more information to sort out this rumor.
Is Apple testing a version of macOS for the iPad Pro?
The teasing rumor was started by insider Majin Boo on Twitter.
His unnamed source claims that Apple is working on macOS 14, codenamed Mendocino, the next major update to the Mac operating system. At the same time, the company may be testing a simplified version of macOS specifically for the new iPad Pro based on Apple’s latest M2 chip. Read: How to right-click on iPad
According to my source, Apple will be testing a smaller version of macOS exclusively for the new iPad Pro M2. “Mendocino”is supposed to be the codename for macOS 14. A simplified version is planned for M2. pic.twitter.com/f4RrainlZ1
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) October 20, 2022
The wording and poor English grammar of the post make it hard to say for sure if the liquor might have mixed something up. The next major version of macOS will be released in the fall of 2023, and that will be macOS 14.
Maybe Majin Bu was misinformed or just confused about future macOS-like sed features that could arrive in iPadOS next year with the iPad Pro native version of macOS. Let’s consider another possibility.
I want you to imagine choosing between two user interfaces in iPadOS 17.
Instant switching between iPadOS and macOS interfaces.
One will be iPadOS for touch computing and the other will be macOS. Not the entire operating system, but only the user interface.
In this case, everyone will start with the familiar iPadOS interface, while professional users will move to the more powerful macOS interface when using apps like DaVinci Resolve. This is not unusual – after all, Samsung makes similar changes to the user interface whenever a Galaxy smartphone is connected to its Dex accessory.
Boo’s tweet says that a “smaller version of macOS”is in development “exclusively”for the new iPad Pro. According to him, this explains the launch of DaVinci Resolve for iPadOS, although the application is not exclusive to the M2 chip and also works on the M1, according to a press release on the Blackmagic Design website.
Our Opinion: Please Let It Be True
While we wish someone more reliable like Mark Gurman would share this, Majin Boo is not exactly an unknown name in the Apple blogosphere.
macOS-ification of the iPad Pro certainly seems inevitable. The iPad Pro line has the best hardware of any iPad, allowing you to run desktop-class software. It’s not even a lack of professional apps for the iPad, because the tablet can run Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve, and many other complex applications.
But try moving objects around in iPadOS and using multiple apps at the same time, and it’s immediately obvious that iPadOS isn’t well-suited for this kind of interaction. Apple missed the ball this year by creating a mess called the Stage Manager that delayed the launch of iPadOS.
On the other hand, slowly but surely, Apple has been adding features to make iPadOS more Mac-like so you can do many things you couldn’t do before.
Last night I finished creating a nice faux web page for my iPadOS 16 concepts. The file is too big to post separately so I had to crop it… check out my ideas for multitasking, home screen, dock and more… pic . twitter.com/l68denoWckK
— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) April 11, 2022
Things like drag and drop, file management, connecting wireless keyboards, mice and trackpads, importing stuff from external storage devices, connecting Thunderbolt and USB-C peripherals, and so on. But there is still a lot of work to be done before iPadOS is as efficient for everyday tasks as macOS.
Apple has been trying to give the iPad proper software support ever since it decided to give the iPad its own operating system, iPadOS.
But progress has been slow, much slower than fans expected. In that light, perhaps Apple decided it should stop trying to make iPadOS work like macOS and just create a stripped-down version of macOS for a tablet.
We know the hardware isn’t an issue because the A12 Bionic was powerful enough to be the processor for the special edition Mac mini that was used to develop Apple’s silicon applications prior to the launch of the first M1 Macs.