With just a few weeks to go before WWDC 2026, here’s my wishlist for iPadOS in 2026! OS-level tabs This feature massively benefits screens with less real-estate to work with. It seems especially suited to iPad. It exists as a macOS feature, but I’ve pulled this out of the grab-bag because I’d like to see Apple go further than the current macOS implementation, by allowing tabs from multiple apps in the same window....
The MacBook Neo just came out. It looks great. Fun colours, low price. It’s objectively better in every way than my M1 MacBook Air. I could use it for Xcode, but I’m going to have a nicer experience for everything else on an iPad with Magic Keyboard. The non-touch, non-convertible laptop is a dated form factor - it will always feel crippled in basic HCI terms vs an iPad. I feel measurably more comfortable having the ability to between input methods as I use my computer....
I just got myself a like-new Galaxy Fold for the cost of the new iPhone 16e (!), and I’m realising it’s what I always wanted from the iPad Mini - a premium device with a nice, 120Hz screen, which you can actually pocket and carry about as a phone too. I’ve been all-in Apple for 20 years or so, and have been getting a bit frustrated with them recently and wanting to try something new, if only to prove to myself it’s better than the alternative....
Apple has released the long-awaited Swift Playgrounds 4.6 update, or as it’s now known, Swift Playground! The release notes read as follows: This update includes a new document browser to easily create a new playground or find a recent one, and provides bug fixes and improved stability. Let’s see what’s new! iOS 18 Support! Despite the description, the update does include support for targeting SDKs up to iOS 18.1. Interface changes The update also includes the new document browser demoed in June last year which is a big win for organising projects!...
The story so far Last year, I developed and released Medlied from my iPad using Swift Playgrounds. I cut out the Mac from my workflow completely, enjoyed live on-device previews that update in seconds, and I even got the privilege of doing a talk on my experience using Swift Playgrounds at Leeds Mobile! Unfortunately, this setup still has some holes which I ran into with my next project. First, Swift Playgrounds support for iOS 18 has failed to materialise....
In the last year, I’ve gone all-in on building apps using an iPad. I’ve never met another Playgrounds developer, and a lot of the community are surprised this is even possible! This post should clear up what is and isn’t possible when it comes to app development on iPad, and I hope to encourage others to give this a try too! I use my iPad hooked up to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor for most serious work, with both screens set to More Space....
In my previous post I discussed how I prefer a few aspects of iPadOS over macOS. In this post, I’ll be discussing how to fix the big one - macOS’s window positioning. The problem The fundamental means of positioning windows in macOS has never really received a rethink since the inception of windowing in the early days of the OS. It’s designed for screens with big pixels, and as pixels have gotten smaller it’s become increasingly fiddly to keep windows from being an untidy mess....
I have opinions. 🐣 I tend to prefer working on iPadOS to macOS. There’s not any one thing, but a combination of things which just make it feel more comfortable to work with… It’s fair to say macOS has features which iPadOS is lacking, but the reverse is also true! Windowing There’s no weird distinction between maximised and fullscreen windows. (And let’s not get into how some apps don’t maximise, but “zoom”) We don’t work all the time, and iPadOS defaults every app to be fullscreen by default when Stage Manager is disabled....
A mutating and functional blog for whatever is on my mind. Expect Swift and iPad topics published from my iPad!