Apple’s walled garden is the iPad’s biggest roadblock to becoming a Mac

iPados 26 Appletablet Much more like macOS. Best window? Check. The menu bar? Yeah. There is even a more refined file application, as well as publishing documents in the preview. It was as if Apple took a long -standing request control list of the power user and made them all. It is enough that the closed garden of the App Store could be the last reason to stay with your Mac.

For me, the ipad productivity changes were the most intriguing part of Apple WWDC Keynote 2025. Years ago, when Apple made iPados for the first time more respectful of work, I tried to replace my MacBook with the iPad Pro. After examining several Microsoft SurfacesI wanted an Apple equivalent, damn it. So, despite the obvious limits of the iPad, I gave it a gunshot.

For most of the things I have done, it was … very good. But there were always tasks that slowed me down. Apple Division viewwhich places two applications side by side, was solid. Manager Addition even more window nuances. But it was still not the same as having windows manually. All I had to do was come back to a Mac, and things became clear: the iPad was far from ready for my workflow. I was trying to adapt a square ankle to a round hole.

Changes in iPados 26 will finally bring the tablet closer to something that could replace a Mac. For many, I suspect it will be more than enough. You can place windows anywhere and resize them fluidity. The menu bar will facilitate access to the finest of applications. You can tile the windows and see them all in a grid with exposure. The file application catches up with the Mac researcher. The new preview application should make the publishing of documents a breeze. And you can easily return to the simplicity of the full screen iPad at any time.

This raises the question: where are iPados still below macOS? It’s stupid locking.

The Mac grew up at one time when you can install applications from anywhere. First of all, they were records. Then the internet. Of course, Apple has made changes in the last decade which make the macOS a little more limited. The protection of the integrity of the system (SIP) comes to my mind. PorterAlso. However, overall, there remains a relatively open environment. Obtaining your applications from anywhere a wider selection, faster updates and less restrictions.

The iPad, on the other hand, has evolved from the iPhone. (Those who are quite old can remember the comment “It is only a large iPod touch” mocking the first model.) The App Store has always been the only official way to install applications on the iPad (EU exceptions notwithstanding). This remains in iPados 26.

Tablet software also prevents applications from replacing security and confidentiality restrictions. Although it may not seem a good idea, it can be a killer functionality for the MAC applications of confidence.

For example, the Maestro keyboard on macOS can automate almost everything you can do with a keyboard and a mouse. BettttouchTool also offers a (almost) endless personalization list, including window controls. (My favorite is to modify the yellow “Fight” button so that it hides the applications instead of minimizing them.) Karabiner-Elements allows you to remap any key. A director of the clipboard can, with a single button, display everything you copied.

Then there are Mac applications that allow you to use alternatives to Apple versions. Thus launchers like Raycast and Alfred are like projectors on steroids. (Their extensions libraries are so vast that they have their own windows.) Applications like Rectangle and Moom give you alternatives to the management of Apple windows. Many Mac applications offer a more flexible text replacement than Apple’s integrated solution.

What iPados 26 does is drawn a line between two types of power users. As before, Mac users will use a combination of the above examples. Meanwhile, a new class of iPad energy users will appreciate the tablet office capabilities. But the latter will always be limited to the Apple version, well, All. Power is much stronger now; The opening, however, is not.

For this reason alone, I will probably remain a mac-first guy in the predictable future. But the iPados 26 will surely try to experiment.