Apple’s Craig Federighi on the long road to the iPad’s Mac-like multitasking
CUPERTINO, Calif.—When Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi introduced the new multitasking UI in iPadOS 26 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference this week, he did it the same way he introduced the Calculator app for the iPad last year, or timers in the iPad's Clock app the year before—with a hint of sarcasm.
"Wow," Federighi enthuses in a lightly exaggerated tone about an hour and 19 minutes into a 90-minute presentation. "More windows, a pointier pointer, and a menu bar? Who would've thought? We've truly pulled off a mind-blowing release!"
This elicits a sensible chuckle from the gathered audience of developers, media, and Apple employees watching the keynote on the Apple Park campus, where I have grabbed myself a good-not-great seat to watch the largely pre-recorded keynote on a gigantic outdoor screen.