A common pain point among even the best iPads is Apple's janky iPadOS, which doesn't take full advantage of the powerful hardware under the hood. But that could soon be a thing of the past, as Apple aims to revamp its upcoming iPadOS 19 to make it "more like macOS," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman revealed that iPadOS 19 is one of several major overhauls Apple is planning this year across its ecosystem of products. With iPadOS 19, Apple's revamping the software to make the design of its operating system catalogue more consistent.
"I’m told that this year’s upgrade will focus on productivity, multitasking and app window management — with an eye on the device operating more like a Mac," Gurman wrote. "It’s been a long time coming, with iPad power users pleading with Apple to make the tablet more powerful."
While he didn't go into detail about what these improvements will look like, it's a huge step in the right direction. Apple has made a few improvements to the software over the years, like bringing keyboard and mouse support or the ability to format external drives from your tablet, as introduced with iPadOS 18. But despite these incremental upgrades, Apple's tablets have continued to lag behind the best MacBooks despite sporting comparable hardware.
"For years, users have said that it feels like the hardware capabilities of the iPad are well ahead of its software," Gurman wrote. "That could soon be changing." Based on what he describes, it sounds like iPadOS 19 could function similarly to how macOS does.
More to come at WWDC 2025
We'll have to wait until Apple's WWDC 2025 keynote in June to get the official word, but if history proves, there are sure to be plenty of leaks surfacing in the meantime.
So here's hoping we get a look at iPadOS 19 before the big day to see how it compares to macOS. Apple is expected to launch new iPad Pro models powered by the M5 chip this year.
Major design changes for Apple’s iOS 19 are also in the works, including Apple Intelligence-powered Siri, a significantly more intelligent and integrated voice assistant experience. Siri's revamped functionality was initially slated to debut with iOS 18 before Apple hit some embarrassing snags.
