Reports earlier this year said Apple is about to drop massive redesigns for iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16. The iPhone is expected to get the biggest software design change in years, with Apple supposedly going for a visionOS-inspired look for the iPhone. Elements of that new design will also come to the iPad and Mac.
In light of the unexpected Apple Intelligence disaster, a big iPhone redesign might seem to some people like Apple’s way of changing the narrative. Rather than focus on delayed AI features come June, WWDC 2025 could focus on the brand new coat of paint coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
As disappointed as I am with how Apple has handled the development and especially marketing of Apple Intelligence, I don’t think the iOS 19 redesign is coming to make us forget about the AI mess at Apple. You can’t redesign an entire operating system, let alone three, just to mask the Apple Intelligence failure and think fans will forget. (Also, we won’t forget this big fumble anytime soon.)
The iOS 19 redesign must have started long ago, and it all makes sense, given Mark Gurman’s latest report. It’s all about the future of Apple’s products, especially the upcoming foldable iPad. iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 will further fix the software problems Apple needs to solve before it can release a foldable computer we’d actually consider buying.
I wrote late last May that foldable MacBook rumors make iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 even more exciting. This was before WWDC 2024, and I was pointing out the big software issues with iPadOS and macOS when it comes to foldable computers:
What’s interesting about the two foldable MacBook leaks [in May 2024] is that they both focused on hardware. But another key development needs to happen for us to get to a foldable Apple laptop/tablet contraption. The operating system needs to change. iPadOS has to behave more like macOS. Or macOS needs to get a different user interface allowing touch controls.
It turns out I was about a year too early with my excitement, considering Gurman’s latest take on iOS 19 software. Also, that “foldable MacBook” I was talking about is now routinely called the “foldable iPad.” This signals the underlying software will be iPadOS rather than macOS. But considering the big redesign coming to Apple’s opertaing systems this year, it won’t matter what kind of OS runs on the foldable iPad.
Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter that Apple is “planning one of the most dramatic overhauls to iOS, iPadOS and the Mac operating system in its history.”
It’s not just the design, as previous rumors led us to believe. It’s also how iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 behave:
The changes will go well beyond a fresh coat of paint and alter the way people interact with their devices for many years to come. The revamp spans both the software’s interface — how it looks — and the experience — how it works — and will be a bold move given the company has more than 2 billion devices in active use.
Gurman says that the three operating systems will indeed be inspired by visionOS:
That includes greater transparency and new types of windows and buttons — and that should make all Apple devices feel more consistent and familiar.
This is where Gurman drops the foldables connection:
Executives say the goal is to make the operating systems simpler to use, faster to navigate, and easier to learn. The software should also set the stage for new hardware designs, including foldable devices and touch-screen Macs. And it will have to adapt to an era dominated by artificial intelligence assistants rather than people continually dipping in and out of applications.
I’ve been a longtime iPhone user, and I think it’s reasonably easy to get used to macOS after first being an iOS user or vice versa. That’s even though macOS is a true desktop operating system compared to iOS and iPadOS.
But the iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 upgrades might make the three operating systems look more similar than before. If Apple can also make iPadOS 19 behave more like macOS 16 in terms of multitasking, it will practically solve its main software problems concerning a foldable iPad.
That device should be significantly more expensive than a regular MacBook or the iPad Pro. Rumors say we’re looking at a foldable 18.8-inch display for this computer, so the operating system must be optimized for touch. That’s why iPadOS makes more sense and why this foldable computer will probably be called a foldable iPad rather than a foldable Mac.
But iPadOS is unsuitable for real computer use as it is today. It needs a massive overhaul to make consumers care about a foldable iPad that will probably retail north of $2,500. I’m speculating on the price here based on rumors that the foldable iPhone might cost up to $2,500.
I don’t expect iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 to bring over all the changes Apple needs to make that foldable iPad compelling. But the foldable iPad isn’t coming next year. Gurman doesn’t mention the larger foldable in his Bloomberg coverage. He does say that a foldable iPhone will launch next year.
Most rumors say the foldable iPad will follow the foldable iPhone. Think 2027 or 2028. This would give Apple more time to iron out the software following the big redesign coming with iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16.
