Craig Federighi Explains Why Apple Won't Merge iPad and Mac: 'We Don't Want to Build Sporks'

[MacRumors]

MacStories' Federico Vittici, who is known for his focus on the iPad as a main computing device, recently did an interview with Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi. Federighi and Vittici did a deep dive into the iPad and the changes that are coming to iPadOS this fall.

Federighi said that figuring out multitasking on the iPad has been a multi-year task that's required experimentation.

"Figuring out what the right multitasking experience is for this device, and in all the ways that make it unique, has been something that I think deserved careful exploration", Federighi begins, after telling me that he's "on an iPad every day, all the time".

Apple wanted to ensure that users didn't have to worry about managing apps, and that led to the first implementation of Slide Over and Split View multitasking, which was limited. Federighi said ensuring that the iPad's simplicity and interactivity stays intact has always been "job one." Touch first experiences are "the non-negotiable in the whole thing," according to Federighi.

When Stage Manager came around as the next major multitasking change in 2022, Federighi said that the iPad and its OS were well-established and developers had a solid understanding that the iPad was distinct from the Mac, so Apple "felt a little more flexibility" to add multitasking options for those who wanted them.

Apple's long path toward more Mac-like multitasking features seems to reflect a fear that adding Mac capabilities to iPad would limit what developers might do on the iPad. Federighi suggested that if the iPad had app menu bars to begin with, developers might have tucked functionality away, and Apple wanted to encourage a simpler experience.

"If iPad had had a menu bar from the beginning, like Mac did, app developers would naturally say, "Well, I think a lot of my functionality probably is only accessible via menu bar, right?", Federighi says. "Those affordances provide the set of constraints under which developers operate and dictate, to some degree, the nature of what gets created. And with iPad, by creating an environment that had very simplicity at its core, it meant the entire app ecosystem had all kinds of incredible design work done by so many developers to preserve the simplicity of that experience", he continues.

It has taken time for Apple to establish how people are using iPads, and the decision to update iPad multitasking in iPadOS 26 was made to meet the needs of different kinds of iPad users. There are some users who want a simple iPhone-like interface with a fully immersive, single window, but there are also iPad users who want more control and more functionality beyond the tablet interface. "We came to the point of saying, 'Let's recognize that audience,'" Federighi said. "I think we've been on a journey of finding the right interface for iPad, along with our users," he said. "And I think it actually has been important that it's been considered a journey."

Federighi explained that with a new device and a different kind of user in mind, Apple needed to guard against the urge to "pull the old thing off the shelf and put it here because maybe that feels right." Instead, it was important to discover the "essence of iPad," and what windowing might be like on a touch-first device if the Mac had never existed. Apple is now trying to strike a balance.

Apple has long been resistant to merging iPadOS and macOS, and Federighi used a spork analogy to explain why. Apple's aim is not to displace the Mac, and each device has a different purpose.

Someone said, "If a spoon's great, a fork's great, then let's combine them into a single utensil, right?" It turns out it's not a good spoon and it's not a good fork. It's a bad idea. And so we don't want to build sporks".

Federighi went on to say that while the iPad can be "inspired" by Mac elements, he does not believe that the iPad should run macOS.

Vittici's full interview with Federighi goes into much more detail, and it is well worth a read over at MacStories.

Article Link: Craig Federighi Explains Why Apple Won't Merge iPad and Mac: 'We Don't Want to Build Sporks'

 

[germanbeer007]

Good.

Just get a freaking Mac if you want a Mac. It's not hard.

Stop trying to ruin the iPad by turning it into a Mac. It's so stupid.

 

[MacKid]

Craig sure came prepared with a lot of ways to avoid saying: if iPad runs Mac apps we don’t get 30%.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I agree with him. iPad Pro is my fav device, working on it is so much more fun than my 16 inch MBP. Don’t ruin the iPad trying to get it mixed up with mac. Identity crisis isn’t good.

 

[xaqt93]

I agree with this though. I don't get why some people are like, "just let me run MacOS on my iPad"

Okay, well, how about you just get a MacBook Air? Haha. If you want a Mac, get a Mac. Thats how I look at it.

 

[Westside guy]

Stop trying to ruin the iPad by turning it into a Mac. It's so stupid.

More importantly... stop trying to ruin the Mac by turning it into an iPad! Some of us use them for real work.

It's a computer, and people sometimes need more flexibility to do things like - install software that's not from the approved App store. Or software that's not from a person with an Apple Developer subscription. OR even build software oneself! It's not helpful when people like Federighi say things (as he has in the past) like "the Mac security model is too permissive".

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

All about the revenue

 

[ersan191]

So many dumb excuses.

 

[dumastudetto]

Craig sure came prepared with a lot of ways to avoid saying: if iPad runs Mac apps we don’t get 30%.

It's possible they'll lock down macOS in the same way as iOS once it's all Apple Silicon.

 

[Gengar]

He ate with that analogy 😂

 

[t0rqx]

They still use iPad all the time? I thought all of them were using Vision Pro? Or is this another ... Apple Lie?

 

[contacos]

At this point it is more likely that macOS will be merged into iPadOS

 

[ambientdaw]

iPhone IS a spork. Just give me a dedicated music device please.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I'd love to be able to run "Certain" Mac apps on my iPad.

But that's something to take up with the app developers, not with Apple.

 

[csnwbd2251]

Yes....don't be Pixar!

 

[Plutonius]

It's all about money.

 

[MilaM]

Federighi went on to say that while the iPad can be "inspired" by Mac elements, he does not believe that the iPad should run macOS.

Strange comment by Federighi. My impression is that Apple is already working hard trying to standardize the various operating systems. MacOS is already borrowing heavily from iOS. And now iPadOS is inheriting the windows management from macOS.

 

[flybynight]

I think the windowing changes to iPadOS look great, and I look forward to using it (I'm not a beta user, so I'll wait until the full release).

I'm more of a Mac user. I have no desire to touch my monitor (ew, gross!)… but I get why people want that.

I mostly agree with the mantra of keeping them separate, but… I actually like sporks! 🤣

 

[TechRunner]

I don't know, Craig. When backpacking, a titanium spork is a great item to have as it saves on pack weight and can function as two similar but distinct tools.

 

[bradman83]

"If iPad had had a menu bar from the beginning, like Mac did, app developers would naturally say, "Well, I think a lot of my functionality probably is only accessible via menu bar, right?", Federighi says. "Those affordances provide the set of constraints under which developers operate and dictate, to some degree, the nature of what gets created. And with iPad, by creating an environment that had very simplicity at its core, it meant the entire app ecosystem had all kinds of incredible design work done by so many developers to preserve the simplicity of that experience", he continues

I get his argument, but the problem is that it's led to wildly different interface paradigms across many apps as to how features are displayed and are accessible. On desktop OSs the menu bar provides a place for every single control for an app to live. Developers can then choose which controls are reflected as more easily accessible on screen controls within toolbars, panels, buttons, etc. In the absence of this, developers have been left to create inconsistent interface designs to try to accomplish the same thing - with ad hoc menus for additional features tucked behind varying icons at varying locations. Inconsistency is the opposite of simplicity, because simplicity means the user can expect similar behavior across the system.

 

[0815]

I think the windowing changes to iPadOS look great, and I look forward to using it (I'm not a beta user, so I'll wait until the full release).

I'm more of a Mac user. I have no desire to touch my monitor (ew, gross!)… but I get why people want that.

I mostly agree with the mantra of keeping them separate, but… I actually like sporks! 🤣

I tried them and I love them - and the new UI looks beautiful. Best iPad OS update ever.

 

[svish]

Interesting article. Like my iPad very much especially with all the changes to iPadOS this year. Maybe touch screen Macs may come in the future but I think iPad will not be running macOS anytime soon.

 

[fatTribble]

I’d like to see more parity with the apps, like Photos or Files. But I like the way iPadOS itself is evolving.

 

[kevcube]

Craig sure came prepared with a lot of ways to avoid saying: if iPad runs Mac apps we don’t get 30%.

Right? Sporks rock.

 

[MicahB]

More importantly... stop trying to ruin the Mac by turning it into an iPad! Some of us use them for real work.

It's a computer, and people sometimes need more flexibility to do things like - install software that's not from the approved App store. Or software that's not from a person with an Apple Developer subscription. OR even build software oneself! It's not helpful when people like Federighi say things (as he has in the past) like "the Mac security model is too permissive".

This is one of the fundamental flaws of iOS and iPadOS. We should be able to install third party apps from outside the Apple app store. If this walled garden was forced to be taken down, Apple would lose a huge amount of revenue, but they would also be forced to deal with the reality that the difference between MacOS and iPadOS is that much narrower once users have the freedom to install whatever they want.