Apple tests macOS on the iPad Pro M2. It has all the credentials to be a bombshell: according to a leaker, Apple is working on an exclusive version of macOS for the iPad Pro M2, scheduled for launch in 2023.
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One of the main complaints surrounding iPad, especially from users of the more powerful and expensive models, is its lack of desktop-class software support. There have been constant requests for Apple to bring not only Final Cut Pro, but a full version of macOS to the iPad as well. Considering that tablets and Macs now share the same chip, the possibility of a desktop-class operating system on tablets isn’t all that far-fetched.
The leaker Leaker Majin Buu, who in the past has correctly anticipated some news coming from Apple, claims that Apple is working on a “smaller” version of macOS exclusively for the Pad Pro M2. It is rumored to be codenamed Mendocino and will be released as macOS 14 in 2023.
At the moment, the tests would show an operating system with a macOS user interface 25% larger than the classic one, therefore more suited to the tactile input system. However, the apps running on the product would still be iPad-optimized versions, not the actual macOS ones.
It’s unclear why Apple would move iPad to a macOS interface. Those who are clamoring for macOS on iPad are doing it more for the software, than for the interface itself. Rumors about macOS for iPad have been circulating for more than a decade, starting with the launch of the original iPad. Additionally, Apple almost certainly has versions of macOS running on the iPad for internal testing and setup.
For these reasons it is also possible that the leaker has accessed an iPad in debug mode with one of these internal OSes, rather than having proof of a tablet with a real operating system.
The other possible explanation is that the OS seen by the leaker was not macOS at all. Apple could work to bring iPadOS even closer to macOS by adding a menu bar and other interactions similar to what happens on Macs. The Cupertino multinational has already introduced a Mac-style window feature with iPadOS 16, called Stage Manager, and new functionality could bring the mobile system even closer to the desktop one.
Majin Buu also suggests that macOS exclusivity on the iPad Pro M2 could be a boost for marketing reasons alone. If the feature were only available on that iPad, more people would certainly be interested in buying it.