- A new leak is claiming iPados 19 gets a Mac menulje
- Stage Manager 2.0 also comes to iPad and iPhone, claims the report
- However, there are reasons to be questionable about the rumors
For years, a small but vocal group of tech fans have called for Apple to essentially braid the iPados and MacOS into a kind of hybrid operating system that works on both platforms. Apple has persistently pushed back against this idea, but a new rumor suggests that the two systems could soon get even closer when iPados 19 launches later in the year.
According to Leaker Majin Buer, the most important changes will take place when you connect a magic keyboard to an iPad running iPados 19. When it happens, BU claims a menu bar will appear at the top of the iPad’s display, giving you a more Mac-like experience.
In addition to that, BU claims that iPados 19 comes with Stage Manager 2.0, an update to the Multitasking feature that is “activated automatically when the keyboard is attached.” BU says the new version of Stage Manager will “do the control of apps and Windows smoother and more productive than ever,” but will not go into.
In addition to the iPados 19, BU touched what could arrive in iOS 19. There, the leak claimed that iPhones with a USB-C port-that will say them from the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16-Intervals-will be able to run stage manager when connected to an external screen.
This will expand your iPhone screen instead of just mirroring it, as is currently the case. BU noted that this feature may be delivered with some restrictions, “Possibly in resolution or the number of apps that appear at once.”
There are big questions left
Majin Bu has a somewhat spotted record when it comes to apple leaks and rumors, so their latest claims have to be treated with a degree of skepticism. But apart from their track record, there are other reasons to be questionable.
First, Apple has long said that the merger of elements of iPados and macOS will mean that both systems will miss where too many compromises are needed to make the hybrid platform work. With that in mind, it feels directly poring a macOS element like the menu bar over to iPados a little too close to the kind of thing that Apple has long argued.
In addition, it feels incredible niche as the number of people who want to use an iPhone for productivity in this way is likely to be very small.
Maybe stage manager support on iOS can be something built for the upcoming coincidental iPhone? This device is likely to have a display about the size of an iPad Mini where better productivity tools may make more sense.
We will have to get stuck on one as the folding iPhone is not expected to arrive until 2026 or 2027. But while we wait, IS -19 and iOS are 19 willing to land on Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. It could be when we finally see if Majin BU’s claims are on the money.
