The current-generation M4 iPad Pro. Photo: HWZ
WWDC is a fascinating time not only because it’s the event where Apple unveils new versions of its platforms, but it’s also where various media all over the world get to talk to Apple’s top execs to learn about their thinking and reasons for implementing certain features.
One of the most interesting interviews I came across comes from Federico Viticci and Craig Federighi. The former is one of the most vocal supporters of the iPad on the web. The latter is Apple’s software chief.
The interview was enlightening because it dives deep into the iPad platform and asks existential questions like “What even is an iPad” and why did it take this long for Apple to implement features like the new windowing system and the menu bar.
Federighi, as usual, doesn’t disappoint and replies with thoughtful and frank responses, reiterating that the iPad has and will always be a touch-first device, and tacitly admitting that Apple might have been a little too stubborn in resisting bringing certain elements of the Mac over to the iPad.
He said:
At the same time, you have to not be allergic to learning from the past. I think the balance we’ve landed on now is saying, ‘Listen, in the case that the right answer for iPad is a consistent one with another device, the Mac, then, of course, let’s use it. But let’s not reach for something on the Mac reflexively, just because it’s there.’
And on the age-old question of merging iPadOS and macOS, Federighi said that’s never going to happen because it will be akin to building a spork.
If a spoon’s great, a fork’s great, then let’s combine them into a single utensil, right? It turns out it’s not a good spoon and it’s not a good fork. It’s a bad idea. And so we don’t want to build sporks.
This was something that was communicated to me too during my own interactions with Apple’s executives. When speaking to Sebastian Marinea-Mes at WWDC 2025, Apple’s vice-president of software engineering (system experience), at WWDC 2025, he told me that they were very conscious of maintaining “the simplicity and fluidity of iPad.”
And at the launch of the iPad Pro last year, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told me, “They’re never going to converge. It’s not our goal to have iPad replace Mac, or Mac replace iPad. They are two very different tools. Each can do things that are unique to each… Most Mac customers have an iPad and they are both actively used. They use the tool that’s right for them in that situation.”
All in all, it’s a great interview for anyone who loves his/her iPad. Read the full interview in the link below.
Source: MacStories
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