This clever i Pad OS 26.4 feature brings it ever closer to the Mac — and that makes me worried | Tech Radar

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This clever i Pad OS 26.4 feature brings it ever closer to the Mac — and that makes me worried

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i Pad OS 26.4 has a new feature that helps users find hidden app windows

It adds another Mac-like element to the tablet operating system

But the Mac-ification of the i Pad could cause unnecessary confusion

In recent years, Apple has steadfastly refused to say it’s merging the i Pad and Mac, all while increasing the overlap between its i Pad OS and mac OS operating systems. With the launch of i Pad OS 26.4 in March, that was strengthened even further. But I’m concerned that it blurs the lines a little too much — and risks confusing Apple fans as a result.

In this case, we’re talking about a new feature in i Pad OS 26.4 that makes it easier to locate your open windows. The original version of i Pad OS 26 added support for running multiple app windows on your i Pad, but the problem was that you could lose track of them if you had too many open. In i Pad OS 26.4, though, that’s all changed.

Now, you'll see a little popup appear over an app’s icon if it has multiple windows open. The popup will say “X Hidden Windows” (with X being the number of windows) and “Show All Windows” written below. Just click the popup and all that app’s existing windows will be shown on-screen. It’s a quick and handy way to keep track of your app windows without losing them over the course of your day.

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This is definitely more of a feature for i Pad power users than something most people will need on a day-to-day basis, as I suspect the majority of i Pad users never open more than one app window at a time, never mind lose track of them. Yet despite the useful nature of this feature, I’m concerned that it might muddy the waters between Apple’s devices.

Adding support for multiple windows is definitely a desktop-like feature and helps the i Pad feel more akin to one of Apple’s best Macs than a tablet. Throw in a compatible mouse and keyboard and the tablet can easily double up as a laptop, with some caveats.

A few years ago, that was all well and good — the i Pad could serve as an affordable laptop alternative for people who didn’t want to shell out $999 or more for a Mac Book. But with the launch of the Mac Book Neo, that’s all changed.

Now, you just need to pay

Yet that doesn’t change the fact that Apple is making its i Pads more Mac-like when there’s a perfect good — and affordable — substitute in the form of the Mac Book Neo. If you want an entry-level device, you’ve now got to choose between the Mac Book Neo and the i Pad, and that feels like a needlessly confusing situation. Should you get an i Pad or a Mac Book Neo? That’s a question that users are increasingly going to have to ask themselves.

Evidently, though, it’s a state of affairs that Apple is comfortable with. As the recent i Pad OS 26.4 update demonstrates, the company is still bringing Mac-esque features to its i Pads, even after the Mac Book Neo was revealed — and even as it denies that the two systems are being combined. That makes it look like this perplexing overlap is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as Tech Radar, Alex writes for i More, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at Mac Format magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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