In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman provides some interesting details about what’s coming in iPadOS 19.

In addition to being included in the big redesign coming all of Apple’s major product lines, the iPad is reported pick up some big improvements with its next major software update.

According to Gurman:

I’m told that this year’s upgrade will focus on productivity, multitasking and app window management — with an eye on the device operating more like a Mac. It’s been a long time coming, with iPad power users pleading with Apple to make the tablet more powerful.

At this point, I’m just happy to see Apple putting any focus on iPadOS. Gurman’s report says iPadOS 19 will work more like a Mac, but I imagine visionOS is inspiration here.

The Vision Pro’s operating system was heavily derived from iPadOS, so it would make sense for Apple to take the learnings from that product and bring them back to the iPad, the same way the company brought aspects of the iPad “Back to the Mac” over a decade ago.

My Expectations

There’s actually not a ton Apple needs to do to improve iPadOS productivity. The OS is already a lot of the way there. There are a few improvements they need to make to Stage Manager to get over the hump:

• Removing the four app/window limit
• Default apps and windows to open in the current Stage instead of ripping the user to a new one
• Allow multiple audio sources to play simultaneously, so that obnoxious websites don’t stop audio from playing when they auto-play their videos or ads.

The callout of improved window management makes me think we’ll either get more free form window placement in Stage Manager, and/or a window snapping system similar to what was introduced in macOS 15. I’d be pretty happy to see vertical split screen in portrait orientation.

Still No macOS

There’s some disappointment in the report that Apple still isn’t putting macOS on the iPad. I continue to maintain that’s a good thing, at least for those of us that embrace the iPad as a third category of device.

Apple putting macOS on the iPad would be a slap in the face to the many developers that have put time and effort into building the Pro apps we have on the platform.

Microsoft has spent years trying to make Windows more touch-friendly, and the results remain mixed on the Surface Pro. I’m not sure Apple can really do that much better without compromising the macOS experience itself.

I maintain that the macOS on iPad crowd would be better served by a MacBook Air. iPadOS ensures the iPad remains a touch-first device, which is kind of the whole point of the product, right?