Apple’s Craig Federighi on the long road to the iPad’s Mac-like multitasking
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Kind of a mind blowing read since Android has had this for over a decade.
Apple F'd this up way back when they had divergent builds between phone and tablet OS treatments because they were afraid the iPad would impact MacBook sales. They nerfed the entire device line by restricting memory for this exact reason. Not even mentioned once in this article.
This is the problem with android fans. You’ll say Android does X or Y thing and has been able to do it for years! Apple sucks!
But the reality is that it doesn’t matter because the app ecosystem for Android tablets is abysmal, so who gives a fuck about the capabilities of Android tablets if there’s nothing worth doing on them? Most Android tablet apps are still phone apps. It’s terrible all around.
And I don’t mean this in a platform war way, it’s just that it’s not a straight up comparison as it would be with Phones which are more up to par.
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This is the problem with android fans. You’ll say Android does X or Y thing and has been able to do it for years! Apple sucks!
But the reality is that it doesn’t matter because the app ecosystem for Android tablets is abysmal, so who gives a fuck about the capabilities of Android tablets if there’s nothing worth doing on them? Most Android tablet apps are still phone apps. It’s terrible all around.
And I don’t mean this in a platform war way, it’s just that it’s not a straight up comparison as it would be with Phones which are more up to par.
Did WWDC 2025 just prove that Apple is kneecapping the iPad?
There's a lot to love about iPadOS 26, which makes the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. It makes you wonder: why doesn't the iPad have macOS?
Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.com)
Apple’s Slow March Toward MacPad Continues
The new iPad Air gets a desktop-grade chip. Consider it a sign of things to come.
WIRED (www.wired.com)
And also I was at WWDC 2019 where they literally said in a Q&A they weren't making developer tools available for iOS because they wanted people to use MacOS for development.
There is literally no difference in software between any of them anymore, except the manufactured kneecaps that they won't allow certain devices to produce under.
Android had all this over a decade ago. It's just a fact.
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Personally, I was shocked that they did the thing that people have been asking them to do for years. I expected them to continue to dig their heels in and ship another halfstep / half-assed measure.
Multitasking is a feature of an operating system that is already there.
And window management on a touchscreen - I guess tiling is fine. Maybe.
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Did WWDC 2025 just prove that Apple is kneecapping the iPad?
There's a lot to love about iPadOS 26, which makes the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. It makes you wonder: why doesn't the iPad have macOS?
Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.com)
Apple’s Slow March Toward MacPad Continues
The new iPad Air gets a desktop-grade chip. Consider it a sign of things to come.
WIRED (www.wired.com)
And also I was at WWDC 2019 where they literally said in a Q&A they weren't making developer tools available for iOS because they wanted people to use MacOS for development.
There is literally no difference in software between any of them anymore, except the manufactured kneecaps that they won't allow certain devices to produce under.
Android had all this over a decade ago. It's just a fact.
If you like Apple devices you also know they are opinionated. Sure there’s no reason not to allow X or Y thing on it, but if it requires dev time why would Apple invest on something that they do not see as a priority for the device? The iPad is not aimed at developers or engineers it’s aimed at creatives and board room executives. I know many tattoo artists that use it, they have 0 complaints about the device. I know it’s widely used by illustrators as well.
And yea it’s true Android has had all those features for ages, but who gives a fuck like I said? The apps are not there and no one wants an android Tablet because of it. If those features were so good and so better than what the iPad offers people would be ditching their iPads for Android tablets, but that’s not what happens at all.
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I don't think a macbook can fit in my pocket ... and I don't think the (virtual) keyboard on an iphone is a "manufactured restriction" compared to a macbook
A small box you can stick into 3 different cases, one looking like a laptop, another like a tablet and another like a phone, can.
Or a phone you stick into the former two, like a dock station. One could do this with Ubuntu Phone, sadly they failed.
One can argue that the case of a MacBook and its screen and the keyboard account for much of its cost, but I think the fact itself that it's a single device with different UIs would make many situations more convenient. No need to synchronize files - it's already the same storage medium. No need to charge 3 separate devices. No need to stop your work when switching.
And yeah, I still think the "computer" part costs a lot.
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Yep, you could use your iPad as your primary device if Apple would let you, but they're never gonna let it run OSX
Have you used a Surface Pro? It’s a terrible tablet and a terrible laptop. Thats what the iPad would be if it ran MacOS. Also the battery life would be horrendous. Maybe as an option or something but if it’s not gonna be used by a significant chunk of usersApple is not going to spend time on it. People online are not representative of the market.
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If you like Apple devices you also know they are opinionated. Sure there’s no reason not to allow X or Y thing on it, but if it requires dev time why would Apple invest on something that they do not see as a priority for the device? The iPad is not aimed at developers or engineers it’s aimed at creatives and board room executives. I know many tattoo artists that use it, they have 0 complaints about the device. I know it’s widely used by illustrators as well.
And yea it’s true Android has had all those features for ages, but who gives a fuck like I said? The apps are not there and no one wants an android Tablet because of it. If those features were so good and so better than what the iPad offers people would be ditching their iPads for Android tablets, but that’s not what happens at all.
The simplest difference is a company that cripples their products to ensure they keep profit margins and $1 TRILLION in the bank.
It's not a better product, it's just a profit machine.
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I would have absolutely bought an iPad instead of a Surface Pro if I could run desktop MacOS applications on it when docked to desktop peripherals. I want one single convergent device for tablet and desktop.
Yeah my MacBook is a workhorse, the kind of absurd one that actually does need to not be a tablet, but the MacBook Air and an iPad with a magic keyboard are only different in exceptionally arbitrary ways (and the iPad would be way more convenient with its touch screen, pencil support and modularity).
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The simplest difference is a company that cripples their products to ensure they keep profit margins and $1 TRILLION in the bank.
It's not a better product, it's just a profit machine.
Then go buy the better product, it’s a free market. Whenever Apple is no longer fulfilling the expectations of their customer, they will start to lose market share to their competitors that do. So go ahead, buy that Android tablet.
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Then go buy the better product, it’s a free market. Whenever Apple is no longer fulfilling the expectations of their customer, they will start to lose market share to their competitors that do. So go ahead, buy that Android tablet.
You're completely missing the point though.
The reason Apple is literally spending billions of dollars globally fighting against government mandates for opening their ecosystem to third-party app stores is not because of their usability, it's because they know they have an on-par product with a high profit margin and intend to keep that way instead of doing actual innovation to differentiate their products.
As you even said, there is no difference between them now, so just existing to enhance profits is not a good reason to keep doing things as they are.
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Personally, I was shocked that they did the thing that people have been asking them to do for years. I expected them to continue to dig their heels in and ship another halfstep / half-assed measure.
I’m really excited about this update. I use my iPad with continuity all the time (typing on it right now with it connected to my mac). I don’t even necessarily hate Stage Manager on iPad, but it never fully worked like they advertised because some apps just didn’t work well with it.
So if this can hopefully iron some of that out and also give us better file management, then great!
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I think it's hilarious that people will buy an iPhone, iPad and Macbook and not realize the only thing that's different about them is the software. Any restriction is manufactured.
edit: apparently I've upset some Apple users. I apologize. My point was that the features each class of device has is manufactured to ensure you buy 3 products instead of 1 while the hardware inside is essentially the same. Like restricting touch and pen support isn't about hardware limitations; it's about getting you to spend. If you're happy with a company that does that you, then hey you do you, but don't get upset when that fact is pointed out.
As someone who uses and enjoys a MacBook, but who has recently moved away from iOS; one of the biggest problems I have with tech right now is how much ALL of the companies cripple their products so as to not cannibalise another. And I think Apple are the worst for it.
I have a 6th gen iPad mini. It's form factor is perfect for hand held reading, social media, and the like. If I could plug it into a monitor and use Stage Manager to carry out light computing tasks it would be perfect. But Apple decided it simply wasn't powerful enough, so didn't enable it. It absolutely could do that, but that would have been one less selling point for the Airs and Pros. So Apple restricted it.
I'm old enough to remember when you'd buy computing stuff that had no restrictions beyond what it was physically capable of. You could buy a shitty graphics card and you could play a game, but if the card wasn't up to the task it would run like crap. There are games and apps you literally cannot buy for lower end models of Apple devices. If you've already bought it on a device that can run it, it's not available to another that can't.
All so they can maintain their air of quality.
Fuck Apple. They make great hardware, but they're run by cunts.
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As someone who uses and enjoys a MacBook, but who has recently moved away from iOS; one of the biggest problems I have with tech right now is how much ALL of the companies cripple their products so as to not cannibalise another. And I think Apple are the worst for it.
I have a 6th gen iPad mini. It's form factor is perfect for hand held reading, social media, and the like. If I could plug it into a monitor and use Stage Manager to carry out light computing tasks it would be perfect. But Apple decided it simply wasn't powerful enough, so didn't enable it. It absolutely could do that, but that would have been one less selling point for the Airs and Pros. So Apple restricted it.
I'm old enough to remember when you'd buy computing stuff that had no restrictions beyond what it was physically capable of. You could buy a shitty graphics card and you could play a game, but if the card wasn't up to the task it would run like crap. There are games and apps you literally cannot buy for lower end models of Apple devices. If you've already bought it on a device that can run it, it's not available to another that can't.
All so they can maintain their air of quality.
Fuck Apple. They make great hardware, but they're run by cunts.
You get it. Apple fans, which by the way I think it's stupid to be a fan of a product/company, can't admit that the devices they buy and the company that makes them have flaws. They view the marketing as objective truths when the objective truth is Apple is first and foremost a very profitable company and those profits matter above everything else. They aren't a "good" company and will follow the path that leads them to profits. Taking a single chip and making 30 devices that all do different things is proof of that.
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Have you used a Surface Pro? It’s a terrible tablet and a terrible laptop. Thats what the iPad would be if it ran MacOS. Also the battery life would be horrendous. Maybe as an option or something but if it’s not gonna be used by a significant chunk of usersApple is not going to spend time on it. People online are not representative of the market.
Yep. They don’t understand how hardware and software are interconnected, yet love to call us fanboys and zealots if we don’t bash Apple from the start.
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I don't think a macbook can fit in my pocket ... and I don't think the (virtual) keyboard on an iphone is a "manufactured restriction" compared to a macbook
Either they are idiots, or they are dumb AI bots…
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A small box you can stick into 3 different cases, one looking like a laptop, another like a tablet and another like a phone, can.
Or a phone you stick into the former two, like a dock station. One could do this with Ubuntu Phone, sadly they failed.
One can argue that the case of a MacBook and its screen and the keyboard account for much of its cost, but I think the fact itself that it's a single device with different UIs would make many situations more convenient. No need to synchronize files - it's already the same storage medium. No need to charge 3 separate devices. No need to stop your work when switching.
And yeah, I still think the "computer" part costs a lot.
It has been done before. It was deemed impractical.
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It has been done before. It was deemed impractical.
Has been done before by whom and for what?
Say, the particular case could have been a failure because of Android not being a very good desktop OS, or the hardware being too weak. I can't think of a precedent though, even such.
Deemed impractical by whom and for what?
Say, if it was a braindead monkey or an Apple fanboy, then irrelevant.
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Has been done before by whom and for what?
Say, the particular case could have been a failure because of Android not being a very good desktop OS, or the hardware being too weak. I can't think of a precedent though, even such.
Deemed impractical by whom and for what?
Say, if it was a braindead monkey or an Apple fanboy, then irrelevant.
You guys sure display a crazy obsession with "Apple Fanboys" in this sub… The amount of Applephobia… Phew! As if the new release had you all flustered or something…
Gotta take a bite and taste the Apple at some point!
Can’t stay in the closet forever, ya know?
