iPadOS 19: New macOS-like features apparently coming to boost multitasking, productivity and window management
Apple will reportedly add more macOS-like features to its upcoming iPadOS 19 operating system to make the iPad work and be more productive more like a Mac.
“Apple readies iPadOS 19 overhaul that will make the tablet’s software more like macOS,” Mark Gurman wrote in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter at Bloomberg. Several high-quality sources previously said that Apple will overhaul the user interfaces across the iPhone, iPad and Mac with the iOS 19, iPadOS 19 and macOS 16 updates. According to Gurman, iPadOS 19 will be “a big theme of the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference,” which runs June 9-13.
Apple has been making iPadOS function and feel more like macOS for several years now. After the overhauled iPad Pro dropped in 2018, the tech press and iPad owners have been criticizing iPadOS for being too limiting and restrictive for real work.
Apple has since added decent mouse and trackpad support to iPadOS, expanded compatibility with USB-C peripherals and introduced additional features such as Continuity Camera that make iPads and Macs work together better.
The newsletter also claims that the iPhone maker is developing an ultra-low-latency Vision Pro headset and working on camera-equipped smart glasses for notifications, status information and AI, but is currently contemplating whether they should let folks take pictures like Meta’s Ray-Ban AI glasses given Apple’s privacy stance.
iOS 19 could make your iPad work even more like a Mac
Gurman says changes in iPadOS 19 don’t mean Apple will put macOS on the iPad. Instead, iPadOS 19 should “focus on productivity, multitasking and app window management.” The purpose of the rumored improvements is to make the iPad operate more like a Mac. “It’s been a long time coming, with iPad power users pleading with Apple to make the tablet more powerful,” he wrote.
The revamp is arriving about a year after Apple brought the M4 chip to the iPad Pro, which, in my experience, seriously makes the device fly. The software also is coming around the time new iPad Pros with M5 chips are likely to be ready. For years, users have said that it feels like the hardware capabilities of the iPad are well ahead of its software. That could soon be changing.
The last iPad I owned was a 12.9-inch iPad Pro made in 2018. It’s an excellent device whose software still feels smooth as butter almost seven years later. But I gave it away to my Mom because I realized I was only reading emails, surfing the web, doing social media and playing games on my nearly $2000 computer.
We actually don’t need any killer apps for tablets; most of the use cases are well-covered by existing software in the App Store. What Apple needs to do to make iPadOS 19 less painful is way better multitasking (retire Stage Manager, please) and simpler ways to drag or use contenth from one app in another. Just let me accomplish common tasks like importing stuff from external USB storage with fewer clicks and less frustration, and I might reconsider getting an iPad again.
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