iPadOS 19 Will Be 'More Like macOS' in Three Ways

[wbeasley]

Surely by now the whole "I want MacOS on my iPad" debate should have been settled.

These devices have significantly different batteries and optimised processors to work "all day".

If you throw MacOS on an iPad you would get a very short work day with heavy tasks.

FROM APPLE:
iPad Pro 13-inch
Built-in 38.99-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

Macbook Air 13-inch
Built-in 53.8‑watt‑hour lithium‑polymer battery

Cue the "it doesn't last all day" comments or "it overheats" or "it deliberately slows things down"...

9 core vs 10 core.
3 performance core vs 4 performance core.

There are plenty of differences that would affect MacOS running natively on an iPad.

EDIT: The new iPad Air has even smaller Built‐in 28.93‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‑polymer battery.

 

[JamesMay82]

The office apps like excel etc are awful on the iPad so I wish they’d let you use Mac OS for that reason alone.

Also you can’t import music into the iPad from the files app. You can only sync it from a Mac which drives me mad

 

[wbeasley]

The office apps like excel etc are awful on the iPad so I wish they’d let you use Mac OS for that reason alone.

Also you can’t import music into the iPad from the files app. You can only sync it from a Mac which drives me mad

The Office apps on Surface Pros when using touch are pretty awful too.

Office works best with a mouse and keyboard.

Music and file syncing has long been an issue right back from iTunes days.
You could drag files from you Mac onto iTunes and sometimes they turned up immediately but mostly you waited and waited and gave up and then they showed up. Not always where you wanted.

iPads were designed to protect users from accessing file locations. Great for novices and gave Apple lots of control.
More media friendly apps, like VLC, use the more old school files model. Which many like.

 

[It’s always something]

The office apps like excel etc are awful on the iPad so I wish they’d let you use Mac OS for that reason alone.

Also you can’t import music into the iPad from the files app. You can only sync it from a Mac which drives me mad

These problems seem to be app-related rather than OS-related (although I do agree that it’s dumb to be prevented from importing music into the Music app from the Files app).

 

[goonie4life9]

That's right, folks, it's time to get pumped for the ALL NEW iPadOS 19! This is the biggest advancement in iPadOS since the original iPad. For the first time EVER, Apple is proud to announce the FULL desktop-class experience on the iPad. Because of the breakthrough M4 processor, Apple can now offer FULL multitasking and desktop-class window management. This will completely change the productivity game for pros. And Apple didn't stop there. For the first time EVER, Apple is thrilled to announce multi-user support on the iPad. Now, everyone can have their own, custom iPad without needing multiple devices.

This changes everything, all over again!

Apple can't wait to see the incredible things customers are able to do with the ALL NEW iPadOS 19!

This truly is the iPadOS for pros and Apple thinks you're gonna love it!

 

[ipedro]

Does anybody actually use Stage Manager? I've never seen it in the wild, and I touch a LOT of Macs.

I know I turned it on once, kinda half-screamed "GAAHHHH!" and never looked at it again.

I do. I had the same reaction because as an OSX user for decades, it's nothing like how I use a Mac. But I eventually gave it another shot and pushed through the learning curve and learned the intended workflow and now I don't want to go back.

I set up separate spaces along the top for different use cases (work, personal, etc) and then each Space has their own Stage Manager with 3-5 apps along the side. I like it so much that I deleted everything from my Dock and just hide it permanently.

The added benefit is that because iPadOS also uses Stage Manager, it's a natural transition between Mac and iPad. I do wish iPadOS had Spaces and I'd welcome a Files app more like the Finder — though I admit it's been getting close.

As for what else Apple could bring to iPadOS, is the full ability to run any Mac app. Let the user decide whether it'll work for them on a touch device, which frankly Apple Pencil and cursor support have already solved.

 

[rillrill]

That's right, folks, it's time to get pumped for the ALL NEW iPadOS 19! This is the biggest advancement in iPadOS since the original iPad. For the first time EVER, Apple is proud to announce the FULL desktop-class experience on the iPad. Because of the breakthrough M4 processor, Apple can now offer FULL multitasking and desktop-class window management. This will completely change the productivity game for pros. And Apple didn't stop there. For the first time EVER, Apple is thrilled to announce multi-user support on the iPad. Now, everyone can have their own, custom iPad without needing multiple devices.

This changes everything, all over again!

Apple can't wait to see the incredible things customers are able to do with the ALL NEW iPadOS 19!

This truly is the iPadOS for pros and Apple thinks you're gonna love it!

🤣🤣🤣🤣 followed by iPadOS 19 is such a letdown. iPad is doomed!!!

 

[Cuesca]

If it's anything like DeX then I don't want it.

 

[rgwebb]

So we're going to get another bolt-on windows management system that is clunky and non-obvious?

Right? Alright.

 

[goonie4life9]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 followed by iPadOS 19 is such a letdown. iPad is doomed!!!

iPadOS 19 is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Has the Apple lost its shine?

 

[germinator]

Let's start with multiple users. That would be a minimum.

 

[richpjr]

If it's anything like DeX then I don't want it.

I'd take Dex over using Stage Manger any time - and I don't particularly like Dex.

 

[richpjr]

Let's start with multiple users. That would be a minimum.

Heck, multiple audio streams should be one minimum.

 

[Radeon85]

Just make it so it can be quickly switched between iPadOS and macOS, problem solved.

If you dock it into a keyboard it could either present an option, or you can set it to automatically switch straight to macOS, and back to iPadOS when it's removed. But you can always switch between the two at will manually.

 

[richpjr]

Just make it so it can be quickly switched between iPadOS and macOS, problem solved.

If you dock it into a keyboard it could either present an option, or you can set it to automatically switch straight to macOS, and back to iPadOS when it's removed. But you can always switch between the two at will manually.

Apple is never going to do this, nor port MacOS to the iPad.

The best we can hope for is that they come up with some actual improvements to some of the much discussed shortcomings of iPadOS. It can be done without ruining the iPad touch experience if this was really a focus on the part of Apple.

 

[It’s always something]

Just make it so it can be quickly switched between iPadOS and macOS, problem solved.

If you dock it into a keyboard it could either present an option, or you can set it to automatically switch straight to macOS, and back to iPadOS when it's removed. But you can always switch between the two at will manually.

This reduces the differences between the two down to merely one of user interface. I’m pretty sure the differences between the two are much deeper than that.

 

[bluespark]

I would suggest to Apple that it's now convergence time. Touchscreen computers are too normalized to ignore and the iPad Pros (and Airs too, really) are screaming for more "computer" functionality. Make the value proposition for owning multiple devices their form factor and interoperability, not the fact that they are missing features.

 

[ereddekopp]

A common complaint about the iPad Pro is that the iPadOS software platform fails to fully take advantage of the device's powerful hardware.

That could soon change.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS."

Gurman said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like a Mac" in three ways:

• Improved productivity
• Improved multitasking
• Improved app window management

"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," said Gurman, in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. "It's been a long time coming, with iPad power users pleading with Apple to make the tablet more powerful."

Gurman did not provide any specific details.

iPadOS 19 will be announced alongside iOS 19, macOS 16, and other software updates during the WWDC 2025 keynote on Monday, June 9.

Article Link: iPadOS 19 Will Be 'More Like macOS' in Three Ways

Every year people say this…then it comes and we get…umm widgets. I won’t hold my breath

 

[adib]

So more stage manager, at this rate just let us use macOS

I'd welcome Stage Manager when I hook up my iPad Mini to an external display.

OTOH, I only enable macOS' Stage Manager when I don't have it attached to any external display.

 

[1284814]

The one "more like macOS" upgrade I'm waiting for is a universally accessible filesystem. The Files.app (which is essentially Apple's version of Documents by Readdle) doesn't cut it for me. But I realize that for most people the Files.apps is just fine.

Could not agree more. Being able to access root files for apps is a must. Especially for pro users.
Gaming would be better with modding, and better pro level customization would be awesome.
If you pair this accessibility with shortcut actions you could truly do some miracle with backup and smart restore.
It would fix the issue with iCloud black up requiring you to restore the whole device to restore data for apps with no iCloud Drive folders.
Pre lauding templates for creative works, and modifying productivity apps to suites your needs rather than the other way arround.
I am raving…

 

[jole]

Will run Homebrew and Docker? No? I’ll stick to macOS then.

 

[yabeweb]

This story keeps repeating every years since the M1 was released

 

[ScanTheNavian]

Also you can’t import music into the iPad from the files app. You can only sync it from a Mac which drives me mad

Which is why I use foobar2000 instead of Music.

 

[groove-agent]

That’s great news. I’d love to have the iPad as my daily driver but currently multitasking and window management feels really clunky. Also, app support isn’t great, esp. if you want to use a keyboard and mouse - Photoshop is a good example.

 

[groove-agent]

Wouldn’t be very pleasant to use the Mac OS interface with fingers

You’d think, but I control Mac OS on iPad via Astropad Studio and it’s not bad via touch.