Craig Federighi Explains Why True Multitasking Took So Long to Reach the iPad
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Posted June 12, 2025 at 4:52pm by iClarified
In a post-keynote interview this week, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi sat down with Ars Technica to discuss the new windowing system in iPadOS 26. The feature was introduced at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference with a touch of self-aware humor, acknowledging the long-standing requests from pro users to make the iPad more like a Mac.
Federighi explained that the hardware capabilities of early iPads were a major limiting factor. He told Ars that those devices "didn't have the capacity to run an unlimited number of windowed apps with perfect responsiveness." He emphasized the importance of the iPad's "direct manipulation touch-first" interface, noting that any lag would create a "psychic break" for the user. Early iPads were essentially just iPhone internals connected to larger screens, which necessitated the simpler, full-screen app interface of iOS.
Over the years, as the iPad became more powerful and the user base shifted toward more trackpad and keyboard use, the "stars kind of aligned," Federighi said. This allowed for the implementation of Mac-like features without compromising the iPad's core experience, a shift that has been rumored for some time.
When asked about the shortcomings of Stage Manager, which was introduced in iPadOS 16, Federighi said that one of the main goals for the new system was to create a more consistent experience across a wider range of devices. "We wanted to offer a new baseline of a totally consistent experience," he said, which led to the re-architecture of the windowing system. This, combined with new optimizations, has made it possible to bring the feature to more devices than Stage Manager supported. As part of the iPadOS 26 announcement, a macOS-style menu bar was also showcased.
While the new multitasking UI takes significant steps toward the Mac's interface, Federighi clarified that Apple is not trying to turn the iPad into a Mac. "Where it makes sense, use a converged design... so it's familiar and comfortable," he told Ars. "But where it doesn't make sense, iPad's gonna be iPad." For example, while tasks can run in the background, apps are still only allowed to run workloads with a definitive endpoint, such as a file transfer or video export. Although the new windowing is more broadly compatible, older iPads will have some performance limitations, including how many windows can remain active at once and a lack of true multi-monitor support, which will be reserved for more powerful models.