Apple SVP Craig Federighi reveals why the iPad won't become a Mac says: ‘It's a bad idea…'
Speaking to MacStories' Federico Viticci in an interview, Federighi explained Apple's philosophy behind not merging the two popular Apple products. "Someone said, 'If a spoon's great and 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 said. This analogy clearly explains Apple's belief that merging the two devices or operating systems will compromise the strengths of the devices and will also make the product less useful.
Federighi further explained that Apple's main aim is to make both iPad and Mac excel in their respective areas and the company does not want the iPad to displace a Mac. "The Mac lets the iPad be iPad," he stated, highlighting that the existence of a robust Mac ecosystem allows the iPad to remain focused on its touch-first, immersive, and simple interface.
He also said that this time the iPadOS 26 introduced many useful and improved features such as new windowing engine and desktop-like features, but these features are designed to cater to the needs of a broader range of iPad users. The main focus is to improve the capabilities of an iPad without compromising on its identity.
Federighi also talked about the growth of multitasking functionality in the iPadOS. He described evolution as a multi-year journey of experimentation. He added that if Apple had introduced traditional Mac-like menu bars on the iPad, developers might have designed their apps differently, which could have compromised the iPad app ecosystem.
While the two platforms can "be inspired by elements of the Mac" and vice-versa, Federighi firmly believes that a full merger would lead to a messy, confusing, and ultimately inferior
user experience
. Apple remains committed to its strategy of offering distinct devices optimized for different use cases, rather than a "compromise" solution that attempts to be all things to all people.
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