iPadOS 26 arguably brings the biggest update to the iPad ever seen, turning it into something much more Mac-like in both UI and capabilities.But since iPads have been using the same chips as Macs since 2021, why did it take so long? That’s the question Apple’s software head Craig Federighi sets out to answer in a new interview … iPadOS 26 is so ground-breaking that I argued Apple has finally turned the device into something worthy of the term ‘computer.’ But given that the iPad got an M1 chip way back in 2021, meaning the hardware was absolutely capable of this and more, why has it taken so long to let the software take advantage of it? asked Federighi to explain.He suggests that one element was that iPads actually have to react than Macs.
Plus, he implies, using the iPad via keyboard and trackpad has been a niche thing until more recently.Why do older iPads get full windowing when they didn’t get Stage Manager? That one is simpler, he says: iPadOS 26 has been built from the ground up.The full piece is worth reading.
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