Apple's latest change to the iPad is something Steve Jobs swore never to do

Apple’s latest change to the iPad is something that founder Steve Jobs would never have done.

For many years, Apple has said that it will never add ‘windows’ to the device. That kept it quite separate from what you would find on a MacBook of any type.

But now, things are changing. This is despite Steve Jobs himself never wanting the iPad to go down the ‘computer’ style route.

Since it launched in 2010, the iPad has come a very long way and is still the tablet of choice for many. Now, though, thanks to iPadOS 26, things are a little bit different.

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What was the iPad when it was first introduced?

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in 2010, it was seen as a third type of device, away from iPhones and MacBooks.

Jobs also wanted the tablet to be better at certain tasks than the Mac and iPhone as well.

That included watching videos, playing games, listening to music, and reading ebooks.

A tablet feels much more natural versus a phone or even a laptop.

Apple and Steve Jobs, therefore, didn’t want the device to feel too much like a clone of the MacBook.

But in 2025, the latest Apple software for the Mac, iPadOS 26, has turned it into exactly what it wasn’t meant to be.

It would appear, though, that for reviewers and customers, that doesn’t matter.

The device is still a success for Apple

The tablet has strayed further away from its original vision as time has gone on.

For example, the iPad Pro brought in a lot more electronic horsepower, at a price similar to the Mac, but with the same traits in its operating system.

As the years have passed, Apple has slowly transitioned the tablet more towards a Mac style.

It has trodden a careful tightrope in doing so, in order not to eat into sales of the MacBook itself.

Now, the latest version is as close to a Mac as possible, with multiple windows, a pointy cursor, a menu bar, and more, and yet it still has a Full-Screen Apps option to give that traditional iPad feeling.

Who knows what the future will hold for the Apple device in the future.

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