Wesley Hilliard
A leaker has claimed that Apple is working on a version of macOS exclusive for the M2 iPad Pro, with it expected at some point in 2023.
One of the leading complaints surrounding the iPad is its lack of desktop-class software support. There have been constant calls for Apple to port not just Final Cut Pro, but also a full version of macOS to the iPad.
Leaker Majin Bu's sources have shared that Apple is working on a "smaller" version of macOS exclusively for the M2 iPad Pro. It is said to be codenamed Mendocino and will be released as macOS 14 in 2023.
Testing is being done with a 25% larger macOS UI so it is suitable for touch. However, apps run on the product would still be iPad-optimized versions, not macOS ones.
It isn't clear why Apple would move the iPad to a macOS interface in a half-step like this. Those clamoring for macOS on iPad do so for the software more than the interface.
Rumors about software testing should always be taken with a grain of salt. Very little, if any, detail ever leaks out about Apple's software plans.
Rumors have been floating around about macOS on iPad for more than a decade, and rumors about the original iPad said that macOS was a possibility before that device's release. Also, Apple likely has versions of macOS running on iPads for internal testing and configuration. This leaker could have seen an iPad in a debug state rather than an actual operating system.
According with my source Apple would be testing a smaller version of macOS exclusively for the new iPad Pro M2!
"Mendocino" should be the codename for macOS 14. A simplified version should be planned for the M2. pic.twitter.com/f4RrainlZ1
The other possible explanation is this wasn't macOS at all. Apple could be working to bring iPadOS even closer to macOS by adding a Menu Bar and other Mac-like interactions. It already introduced a Mac windowing feature in iPadOS 16 called Stage Manager, this could be the next iteration.
Majin Bu also suggests that the exclusivity to M2 iPad Pro could be a marketing push. If the feature is only available on that iPad, more people would buy it.
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Andrew Orr
79 Comments
This rumor makes no sense.
Almost a dozen years, when the Mac App Store was introduced, there was a lot of teeth-gnashing that Apple was aiming towards a MAS-only version of macOS that would lock out outside purchases. Apple shot that down that concern, but I wouldn't actually be too surprised if an Apple-regulated version of macOS was being reconsidered.
As long as 'regular' macOS for Mac machines continued (and there's no reason why not), Apple could offer App Store-only A-series dual-OS iPads as a more easily-managed, updated, and security/privacy-oriented alternative in the vein of iOS. You wouldn't have to buy it if you didn't want it, but maybe a lot of people would go for it. I don't know.
As someone who loves his iMac and iPad mini, I'd personally consider going for a (large) iPad Pro if I could run Mac apps and have iPad apps too.
But I think that the Surface machines show how grafting touch onto Windows is sometimes good but usually a kludge, so I'd hope that if this was true then touch/Pencil support would be intelligently but very lightly integrated into macOS itself.
MacPad Pro!