iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

[Soccerrick10]

I'm all for users having the choice of which OS to use. So, it would be nice to have that option. However, I find the MacOS to now look tired and cumbersome. It fits a traditional approach to computing. However, I use my iPad Pro for 99.5% of my computing because iOS is just easier for me.

All of my creative work is done on my iPad. Prior to retirement, I ran my full business on my iPad since the first iPad Pro was released. I think its biggest limitation is the crippled apps. If that is a limitation in the OS, FIX IT.

Perhaps iOS could use a better file management system. I don't have really big issues with it. I'd rather see some better behind the scene improvements like multi-tasking, better printer support. The LAST thing I'm yearning for is a stupid drop down menu so it "looks more computer-like".

 

[Soccerrick10]

Can we get a proper mouse pointer too?

Why? I like the implementation on the iPad. I don't need an arrow all the time just so it mimics the design choice from 1984.

 

[Soccerrick10]

Well I’m not going to buy Apple keyboard for $300 for sure.

You already did if you have a MacBook. Me, I like the choice to buy it or not buy it, to use it or not to use it, to bring it along or not to bring it along based on my wants and needs in any given circumstances.

 

[smirking]

The other point you made about making macOS touch friendly, it's not hard on the surface. Windows readily made its entry into touchscreen convertibles in a hasty way, but anyone who's used an iPad knows how clunky and unnatural it feels to use a Windows tablet, even if is flagship Surface line.

I'd love to see Apple make a run at a dual-OS device that works mostly like MacOS one way and mostly like iPad OS another way, but I'm not interested in a blended hybrid OS that forces compromises on both ends so that nobody gets what they want.

I'm aware that there are some PC variants already trying out dual-OS type of concepts or are they actually more hybrids? I haven't given them a good look yet. Is there anything already out there that's something of a dual-OS desktop/mobile?

 

[sdz]

My guess is that this "CMD menu" will just move to the top of the screen and be reshaped to look like a Mac menu bar.

View attachment 2505314

Wow I think you are spot on!

 

[HighwaySnowman]

Let's hope they don't shove everything in a menu bar like they do in macOS.
I talk about this macOS user friendliness issue with the menu bar and I still feel the same about this to this day.

Let's hope they DO. You're just wrong, EVERY function should be available in the menu bar, not in some random popup menu.

 

[HighwaySnowman]

Two windows will do. Just so you can see what is in both windows at the same time. They don't even need to be resizable, a split screen will be fine. An Apple IIgs can manage this.

No I'm not sending my data to the cloud. Why not? This is becoming way too common,

"Researchers at Cybernews have uncovered a major privacy breach involving WorkComposer, a workplace surveillance app used by over 200,000 people across countless companies. The app, designed to track productivity by logging activity and snapping regular screenshots of employees' screens, left over 21 million images exposed in an unsecured Amazon S3 bucket, broadcasting how workers go about their day frame by frame."

An Apple IIgs can manage overlapping windows just fine.

Non-resizable split screen windows are a throwback to the bad old days before Apple made windows overlap in the early '80s. The lore is that they did it because they thought the Xerox systems they got a look at could do it, when they really couldn't. The inability to overlap windows is part of why iPads will always be toys unless they get full macOS.

 

[MonkeySpank158]

This happens before ever new iPadOS iteration... Rumors about the new OS being more Mac like, but it never really happens, does it?

 

[WilliApple]

Let's hope they DO. You're just wrong, EVERY function should be available in the menu bar, not in some random popup menu.

The menu bar is made for PRO APPS! Not for simple apps like weather. I proved in that video that the menu bar is not user friendly and that functions should be in the app for simpler apps. For apps like Final Cut Pro and Xcode, shoving functions in the menu bar makes sense.

 

[Numbah One]

If it's restricted to Apple's keyboard rather than any keyboard, they should stop now and not waste resources on this feature.

 

[lddhtx]

If you have been paying attention to iPadOS releases over recent years, Apple has slowly been adding the most essential “desktop” features to the iPad. Mouse/cursor support, USB drive support, Stage Manager, Files app improvements, etc. Apple is slowly bringing iPadOS up to par with macOS. I don’t think we will ever see macOS on an iPad. Eventually most core macOS features will be available on the iPad. This will provide the best user experience.

This year, I would love to see a proper menu bar, like macOS. Fun fact, they actually already have it, it’s just harder to access (hold down command key with a keyboard connected). I hope they also add window “stoplights” to the top left of windows, like macOS. A desktop for dragging and dropping files, expanded desktop APIs, and better background tasks (ex: exporting Final Cut / iMovie video in the background) are also at the top of my wish list. These updates will make the iPad experience more in line with macOS while not compromising on the iPad experience user’s love. In my opinion, I think we will get all of these updates this year as they are the biggest complaints and a next logical step for Apple.

I also think multi-user support is something iPad users really want, but as we all know, Apple is greedy and only throws us 1 bone at a time. I don’t think this will come in iPadOS 19 but I do believe they could package it in a future update or make it tied to Face ID where users would need to buy a new device to get the feature.

Finally, the ability to run code natively is a HUGE wish of mine. Yes they have Swift playgrounds, but I want to be able to run my Mac apps on my iPad Pro when on the go. We shall see what Apple decides on in June.

 

[mlayer]

I bought the iPad mini 2, 4, 5, 6, and may get the A17 Pro version eventually. The mini is the purest version of the iPad in that it doesn't support and doesn't have room for Stage Manager or much of the desktop "chrome" the pro iPad/touch Mac users are clamoring for. It's not that this talk is over my head, I simply don't appreciate it as much because I mostly like the iPad as a simpler device - the third device. That is driving Apple's decision making, the fact that they have to cater to all of the different types of users and use cases. The waitress or service employee that only uses 2-3 apps, one at a time? Yes. Someone like me who occasionally uses Slideover? Sure. The artist or musician on-the-go? Yes. And the power-user who wants to maximize the hardware too, though that is clearly a 1-5% share of the iPad market and probably requires a disproportionate amount of resources to support. MSFT tried and largely failed. Someone in this thread is going with Ubuntu with touch support. Good luck to everyone on their solutions, because it's not easy to come up with them and get them right.

 

[0lf]

What an absolutely stupid idea. What value would a "menu bar" add to an OS that has a mature notification center, centralized settings, etc.? Last thing in the world I want is for my iPad Pro to have a status bar I can't make go away sitting on top of the screen all the time.

At least, one can hope the menu bar does not eat into screen space, as with stage manager activated in iPasOS 18, when not in full screen the app windows cannot occupy the status bar area.

And in full screen (I mean still with stage manager activated), one can hope the menu bar behave like in macOS and auto hide.

 

[darngooddesign]

The menu bar is made for PRO APPS! Not for simple apps like weather. I proved in that video that the menu bar is not user friendly and that functions should be in the app for simpler apps. For apps like Final Cut Pro and Xcode, shoving functions in the menu bar makes sense.

All your video showed was that you don't know that MacOS apps almost always have a Settings window because you said it had to be done with the View menu. I also question how regularly your Mac + iPhone user uses a Mac for the same reason.

The MenuBar is for all apps because it is a consistent part of the OS. Of course its worth mentioning that everything else in the View menu can be done in the Weather app window itself so Apple isnt overly relying on it.

 

[ZZ9pluralZalpha]

As usual, Steve Jobs said it best with the original iPad. The Mac is a truck, and there are those who will always need those, but most day-to-day activities can be accomplished with just a car, and that's where the iPad comes in: just the screen half of a clamshell Mac so it's lighter (well, after the original) and you don't have to set it on something to be comfortable; no need for the pointing precision of a mouse or trackpad, just reach out and tap things; one app (or maaaaybe two) at a time, because you're just doing one specific task and more would be clutter. Then came third-party apps made to do specific things, and thus able to do them more simply and pleasantly than general-purpose web browsers, as other commenters have said.

Tim Cook's Apple violated this divide with Microsoft Surface-style trackpad accessories, something that Jobs' Apple rejected because it entails tapping and missing tiny desktop-style touch targets or using a mouse to trudge around giant finger-sized interface buttons. The technical capability to jam a Mac worth of computing power into an iPad and charge a Mac's price probably seemed too good to pass up, but trucks-that-are-also-sports-cars and cars-that-also-haul-massive-things have never managed to master both roles at anywhere near a reasonable price. Hopefully Apple will eventually realize how much focus they've lost.

 

[starlabjump]

As usual, Steve Jobs said it best with the original iPad. The Mac is a truck, and there are those who will always need those, but most day-to-day activities can be accomplished with just a car, and that's where the iPad comes in: just the screen half of a clamshell Mac so it's lighter (well, after the original) and you don't have to set it on something to be comfortable; no need for the pointing precision of a mouse or trackpad, just reach out and tap things; one app (or maaaaybe two) at a time, because you're just doing one specific task and more would be clutter. Then came third-party apps made to do specific things, and thus able to do them more simply and pleasantly than general-purpose web browsers, as other commenters have said.

Tim Cook's Apple violated this divide with Microsoft Surface-style trackpad accessories, something that Jobs' Apple rejected because it entails tapping and missing tiny desktop-style touch targets or using a mouse to trudge around giant finger-sized interface buttons. The technical capability to jam a Mac worth of computing power into an iPad and charge a Mac's price probably seemed too good to pass up, but trucks-that-are-also-sports-cars and cars-that-also-haul-massive-things have never managed to master both roles at anywhere near a reasonable price. Hopefully Apple will eventually realize how much focus they've lost.

yes apple should not have made ipad
pro in terms of price and cpu. The current basic or standard ipad remains close to what Steve Jobs originally intended.

The current expensive ipad pro should be something like surface pro for Apple, differentiated from both ipad and nontouch mac.

 

[rp2011]

I wish they would just get rid of the preposterous Stage Manager abomination along with that stupid blob pointer. Just make it regular Windows and a regular mouse pointer. No need to get cute with that annoying nonsense.

 

[subjonas]

It’s not going to be productive outside of basic tasks until text editing is fixed. Selecting text with the Magic Keyboard trackpad is a nightmare very imprecise, this is the basic foundation of productivity on computers and this to me is why everything is harder on iPad.

Text editing with the MK trackpad on iPad and Magic Trackpad on Mac seems pretty much the same to me. It’s text editing with touch that’s a nightmare.

 

[subjonas]

If this is the type of baby step I need to take to my ultimate goal of only needing an iPad, which I would pay handsomely for, so be it.

If you mean an iPad that runs full macOS (and there will always be some people who won’t stop complaining until it does), it would need better thermals and a bigger battery than current iPads, so it would be thicker and heavier than what people have grown accustomed to with iPads. And that’s even before adding the heavy Magic Keyboard.

That’s why I think iPad has and will probably continue to be less functional than a Mac (software-wise), because it focuses on being a thin light tablet first. So it will continue to be that optional third device for those who still need a Mac.

But there are some people for whom it already can replace their Mac. There are some for whom even a big phone can replace their Mac.

 

[subjonas]

What if you want a Mac with a touch-screen?

Touch wouldn’t be terribly useful for a Mac. Windows users barely use theirs from what I hear and have experienced. Pencil/stylus is a different story though as it’s required for various desktop applications.

 

[subjonas]

I'd love to see Apple make a run at a dual-OS device that works mostly like MacOS one way and mostly like iPad OS another way, but I'm not interested in a blended hybrid OS that forces compromises on both ends so that nobody gets what they want.

I'm aware that there are some PC variants already trying out dual-OS type of concepts or are they actually more hybrids? I haven't given them a good look yet. Is there anything already out there that's something of a dual-OS desktop/mobile?

There used to be Windows + Android dual boot devices for a little while but I believe they dropped out of existence long ago. I think those manufacturers learned that dual boot is not a good UX. It’s a very disjointed experience. It only so happened for Boot Camp that the good outweighed the bad in enough cases. Windows tried a hybrid UI for awhile but it was still disjointed, so they pivoted to a slightly hybrid UI. It’s really just the desktop UI but targets get a little bit bigger when the keyboard is detached. Not all apps follow suit though.

Techies here clamor for macOS + iPadOS dual boot and while it might be nice for them (although I suspect many haven’t thought it totally through), I think it would be rejected by the mainstream.

 

[madebybela]

Making your perfectly usable tablet OS more desktop-like went so well for Surface/Windows 10

 

[starlabjump]

Making your perfectly usable tablet OS more desktop-like went so well for Surface/Windows 10

I think that Apple can do a lot better than what MS has done for Surface.

Reason: Apple chip, well estabilished app store

MS had hard time for several reasons. Intel chip had battery problem, Lack of mobile apps, Snapdragon chip has compatibility issues, etc

Apple has none of these problems.

Even recently MS showed good improvement in their surface devices with intel lunar lake chips and improved compatibility with arm chips.

 

[0lf]

As usual, Steve Jobs said it best with the original iPad. The Mac is a truck, and there are those who will always need those, but most day-to-day activities can be accomplished with just a car, and that's where the iPad comes in: just the screen half of a clamshell Mac so it's lighter (well, after the original) and you don't have to set it on something to be comfortable; no need for the pointing precision of a mouse or trackpad, just reach out and tap things; one app (or maaaaybe two) at a time, because you're just doing one specific task and more would be clutter. Then came third-party apps made to do specific things, and thus able to do them more simply and pleasantly than general-purpose web browsers, as other commenters have said.

Tim Cook's Apple violated this divide with Microsoft Surface-style trackpad accessories, something that Jobs' Apple rejected because it entails tapping and missing tiny desktop-style touch targets or using a mouse to trudge around giant finger-sized interface buttons. The technical capability to jam a Mac worth of computing power into an iPad and charge a Mac's price probably seemed too good to pass up, but trucks-that-are-also-sports-cars and cars-that-also-haul-massive-things have never managed to master both roles at anywhere near a reasonable price. Hopefully Apple will eventually realize how much focus they've lost.

From collapsible seats to vans and SUV, the automotive market shows there is room for a lot of variation between cars and trucks

 

[0lf]

yes apple should not have made ipad
pro in terms of price and cpu. The current basic or standard ipad remains close to what Steve Jobs originally intended.

The current expensive ipad pro should be something like surface pro for Apple, differentiated from both ipad and nontouch mac.

Last time I used a surface (still on w10), it feels like the kb and trackpad are mandatory for a good experience. It works without, but does not feel good. I do not want my iPad Pro to be something like that.

I think that Apple can do a lot better than what MS has done for Surface.

Reason: Apple chip, well estabilished app store

MS had hard time for several reasons. Intel chip had battery problem, Lack of mobile apps, Snapdragon chip has compatibility issues, etc

Apple has none of these problems.

Even recently MS showed good improvement in their surface devices with intel lunar lake chips and improved compatibility with arm chips.

Even on the HW side, the surface pro is still a 900g tablet and a laptop that struggle to fit on lap.

Basically, the iPad is the best tablet to be used as a tablet, and the iPad Pro is the best iPad. So it shall keep what makes an iPad great and allow to do more.