A dubious rumor started making the rounds this afternoon that Apple is planning to make an operating system for its rumored 12.9-inch iPad that includes elements of both OS X and iOS. This is allegedly one of two prototypes for the large tablet: one currently sports only iOS in the style of previous iPads, and the other is the “2-for-1 device” described above.
There’s plenty of cause for skepticism. For one, the news comes from DigiTimes, which has a poor record as in regards to reliable Apple rumors. For another, Apple has said again and again that its touchscreen devices aren’t designed to handle something like OS X.
Most notably of all, Apple executive Craig Federighi seemed to slam down existing rumors that we’d ever see such a system during his presentation for the Continuity features found in the upcoming OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.
“At Apple, we believe you should be able to use the right device for the moment,” he said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook himself expressed opposition to the idea during a 2012 earnings call when asked about Microsoft’s tablets, which combine elements of its mobile and desktop systems.
“You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator,” he said (via Bloomberg), “but those aren’t going to be pleasing to the user.”
Still, it could be nice — and if you’re allowed to use your iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard (currently possible) and a mouse (not possible without jailbreaking), it could go a long way toward making the iPad the laptop replacement some have always dreamed of.
The report also says that we’ll see the 12.9-inch iPad sometime early next year.
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