Federico Viticci: Interview: Craig Federighi Opens Up About iPadOS, Its Multitasking Journey, and the iPad’s Essence

In listening to Federighi’s analysis of iPad multitasking over the years, I get the sense that Apple has been trying to understand the iPad’s audience for over a decade. At some point, they realized that the device has two types of users: those who just want a tablet, and those who want a tablet plus more traditional computing features.

I completely agree with this idea that there's a schism in iPad users, and I think satisfying the needs of both groups is a large part of what has made developing the iPadOS platform challenging over the past 15 years. Even today as people like Federico are thrilled with the enhancements this year, others are lamenting that the iPad they loved seems to be going the wrong way for them.

Then there's the age-old question of macOS and the iPad, which readers of this blog know I have an opinion about:

I don’t need to ask Federighi the perennial question of running macOS on the iPad, since he goes there on his own. “I don’t think the iPad should run macOS, but I think the iPad can be inspired by elements of the Mac”, Federighi tells me. “I think the Mac can be inspired by elements of iPad, and I think that that’s happened a great deal”.

This seems consistent with what Apple has said forever, and I don't even disagree with it, personally. I don't think iPadOS should be killed and I don't think that macOS on a literal iPad is the only solution for people like me. I'm one month in my Surface Pro life and while I don't like navigating that operating system with touch as much as I enjoy navigating iPadOS, it's not because touch is bad, it's just because I find Windows generally unpleasant to use regardless of the input method. I'd hope for more, but if Apple shipped a product that looked exactly like the Surface Pro and had exactly the same affordances for touch as Windows 11, I'd buy that product in a heartbeat and be very happy.

Like Federighi said, Apple sees several different types of iPad users with different needs, and Apple is committed to trying to make flexible software and numerous hardware lines to work for as many people as possible. That applies to the Mac too, and I think there's more to the Mac's appeal than the same exact form factors that we had 20 years ago when I bought a PowerBook for college.

Also a reminder that Apple doesn't use these interviews to reveal future plans, they try to explain why the current state of their product line is absolutely bangin' and they think they've finally nailed everything. I don't doubt anything Craig said in this interview, I'm just saying that they could release a touch Mac tomorrow and he could say, "where's the lie in what I said to Federico? This isn't macOS on an iPad, it's a new product." So will touch ever come to a Mac? I'll believe it when video comes to the iPod.