Apple's "Let Loose" event is on Tuesday and will show us the next evolution of the iPad, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has blown right past that in his latest Power On Newsletter.
Aside from revealing that the iPad lineup will be getting a much-needed tidy-up, Gurman also said Apple should look to nudge the iPad into the laptop replacement Steve Jobs envisaged it as all those years ago.
"The presentation, which is expected to be about 35 minutes, should set the product on a new path," Gurman says.
Gurman suggests that Apple should look to make the iPad more capable, like a laptop, but that "this picture is going to blur a bit more in the coming years because Apple is working to bring touch screens to the Mac.
"When that happens, choosing between a Mac and iPad will hinge more on whether you want an all-in-one device (laptop) or a modular system (iPad + Magic Keyboard + Apple Pencil)," Gurman says.
Big changes with iPadOS 18?
If you were worried about the iPad getting the raw end of the deal with Apple bringing touchscreens to Mac, it appears you needn't worry.
Gurman said that "by next year" Apple will have cleared up the iPad, and "the top-end iPads will feel more like computers" thanks to a snazzy new Magic Keyboard redesign with an aluminum finish and a "laptop-like aesthetic".
Perhaps most excitingly, Gurman says "new software will take advantage of the hardware."
That's not a lot to go on, but the potential for something like additional keyboard shortcuts, the ability to set our own Keyboard Maestro-like shortcuts and Macros, or even more trackpad functionality is exciting for anyone who's tried to work on their iPad for a day or two.
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