Show and hide Dock is already an option if you enable Stage Manager. I suspect on iPad OS 26 you have to enable one of the windowing modes to get the option to appear.
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iPadOS 26 to Bring These Mac-Like Features to Your iPad
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I hope I can turn all that new stuff off. My iPad m4 11” is my most used device & I like the interface as it is in iOS 18.6.2. My MacBook m2 Pro is great for what it is, but it’s one of my least used devices… 🤞🏻
You can use Google Docs on web on iPad too here is a screenshot
Chromebooks are dead now !
Well yes you will find Chromebook cheaper but those really sucks, I have some friends who have one and just by looking the screen it’s terrible…
Schools don't buy Chromebooks based on the quality of the screens, the buy them based on price, durability, repairability and ecosystem.
...and it's not a Chromebook, but my parents use a Asus Chromebox hooked to a 24in monitor. It can have multiple accounts, so both parents can (and do) use their own accounts, and it doesn't have a touch screen, which they can't stand. They have no use for a full Mac.
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Well there is the Smart Connector on the back you can charge with if you have a Magic Keyboard. It's a kind of Magsafe connector, except probably lower-powered than the MacBook Magsafe, but also can transmit some data, and the magnets are around the edge of the entire backside of the iPad instead of on the Connector itself. Perhaps Apple could make a back case with a Smart Connector for those who want to use iPad without a keyboard but want to charge via Smart Connector.
Same here. I have an M4 11" iPad. And a M4 13" MBA. They both serve different purposes.
Combining MacOS into iPadOS is not something that interests me.
They're not dead. Not even hurt.
Show an iPad, with an attached keyboard/trackpad, for anything near for $250-$350 that schools pay for Chromebooks...and at least Chromebooks can have multiple user accounts on the same device.
Oh yea, you can plug in a USB device and charge, at the same time, without an adapter. Revolutionary.
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Revolution is on the iPad Air + Magic Keyboard too with the usb-c port on the keyboard
For the price I understand… Tho you can always get the educational price and it’s a very good deal, definitely worth it at 100% My eyes cannot stand on entry Chromebooks
If you pay for an iPad with a better screen, then the experience is better making the user happier and having better grades in school…
For your parents Mac mini is a very good deal too or wait for the cheap MacBook !
Welp… I have a Magic Keyboard and a cheap Logitech mouse. It works perfectly and even better if I hook up my iPad to an external monitor. There’s not a single app I’m missing, I don’t need more than the “locked down” Apple Store, I am more than happy with Safari, I don’t want any of my kids touching my devices. I could go on and on.
The advantage is that I have an awesome tablet, but also a very powerful computer. (M4 iPad Pro) A device to read/study/draw… but also a device I can edit 4K video with, make graphics AND edit podcast recordings.
Oh yea, the iOS/iPadOS 26 layout ain’t bad either.
Just try to milk users for as long as possible. Almost as if they are trying to delay the inevitable of something.
Hardware limitations on a calculator app? Or a notes app? Or Pages app? These excuses don’t stand strong in 2025 when M4 is also being used on MacBook Air, running full version of macOS, while also being passively cooled. On AAA titles sure, or on Adobe Premier sure. But on a notes app? What kind of processor power Apple needs to run full version of the calculator app? Granted their version also has math notes but without it calculator would function just fine.
Nah, they are making iPadOS just good enough before axing macOS altogether. After all there are only so many professional macOS users out there, while majority don’t use the remaining 20% or even 5% of what macOS has to offer, such as terminals.
Love all the changes coming to iPadOS this year. Will be updating my new M4 iPad Pro soon after the software release. Cannot wait to try out all features.
You are obviously stating examples that I am not referring to. Instead have a look at the topic we're all commenting on.
you know, that’s a really good point! it’s truly too bad apple doesn’t make a charging cable to take advantage of the existing magnetic port on the back or side of the ipad. though i still would love a single unified existing magsafe cable solution for both macs and ipads with the port on the side so it can lay flat on a platform or table.
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I more concerned that they keep dumb'ifying MacOS by bringing more iPad / iPhone features to it, rather than working to keep it a real professional OS.
If Apple really wants users to consider the iPad as a true computer and move away from laptops, finally migrate MacOS to it - not the other way around.
If Apple really wants users to consider the iPad as a true computer and move away from laptops, finally migrate MacOS to it - not the other way around.
Yes, but the exception is those use cases that benefit hugely from running on a 27”+ monitor.
I agree. I bought the iPad Mini 7 for Christmas last year. I liked the form factor and enjoyed slide over to watch video and browse social media/internet at the same time. I didn't go bigger because I liked the portability and ease of use for reading books. Now with slide over gone, the Mac like windowed approach just doesn't work on the Mini the same way. It's a novel concept in a way and has its uses, but it limits the Mini.
What's to explain? My iPad and my Mac are different tools that have different strengths and weaknesses. I don't need either to be more like the other. I'm not saying that everyone should feel the same way though. I'm fine if they want to give the iPad more Mac-like features, I probably just won't make much use of them myself.
i would love an ipad pro that worked like an ipad, but if it is in a special dock or case then macos is activated on the monitor/mouse. there is no reason stopping this anymore as the hardware is identical except for the touch screen.
i personally don’t want the ipad interface to become more mac like nor do i want the mac to be more ipad like, they each have their strengths for different tasks and mixing the interfaces serves each less well. But i would love a single device that i can carry to work or school that gives me everything in one package when i need it.
i personally don’t want the ipad interface to become more mac like nor do i want the mac to be more ipad like, they each have their strengths for different tasks and mixing the interfaces serves each less well. But i would love a single device that i can carry to work or school that gives me everything in one package when i need it.
The beauty of it is they have given users the option to use their ipads the traditional way, but also a Windowed pseudo mac/windows interface for those that want it. A true hybrid device now. For dev work you will still need a Mac.