File this one under Too Crazy to Ignore: A leaker on Twitter claims that Apple is working on a “smaller version of macOS” that will run “exclusively” on the new M2 iPad Pro next year.
We’re with you—there are a lot of reasons to be skeptical. For one, the leaker, Majin Bu, doesn’t have much of a track record beyond case leaks and the yet-to-be-confirmed 14-inch iPad. For another, there’s very little evidence that Apple is working to merge the iPad and Mac lines other than the two sharing the same Stage Manager feature in iPadOS 16 and Ventura. And finally, limiting such a dramatic change to a single iPad Pro model would raise the ire of many users.
According with my source Apple would be testing a smaller version of macOS exclusively for the new iPad Pro M2!
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) October 20, 2022
"Mendocino" should be the codename for macOS 14. A simplified version should be planned for the M2. pic.twitter.com/f4RrainlZ1
But still, it’s an interesting, if not exciting rumor. The iPad Pro remains a device with untapped potential, with a screaming fast processor, stunning ProMotion display, Thunderbolt, and Face ID. However, while there are a few features in iPadOS 16 that are exclusive to M1-powered iPads, Apple hasn’t really elevated the iPad Pro above its other less-expensive iPads.
Bu claims that the “simplified” version of macOS will have “a 25% larger macOS UI” that’s presumably optimized for touch. But since iPadOS already supports trackpad navigation with the Magic Keyboard, the general macOS experience wouldn’t need to change. And now that Apple has added Stage Manager to both iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura, there’s something of a unified navigation system as well.
So maybe it’s not so crazy. As it stands there aren’t a ton of reasons to buy an iPad Pro over an iPad Air, and a “lite” version of macOS would absolutely shake things up in a big way. We won’t know if this rumor is true until next fall—or until Mark Gurman or Ming-Chi Kuo corroborate it—but for now, we’re happy to keep dreaming.
