A leaker claimed that Apple is developing an exclusive macOS version for M2 iPad Pro, which is expected to be launched at some point in 2023. One of the main complaints surrounding the iPad is its lack of desktop-level software support, and people have been calling on Apple to port not only Final Cut Pro to iPad, but also full version of macOS to iPad.
Source of leaker Majin Bu said that Apple is developing a "small" version of macOS for M2 iPadPro. It is said to be codenamed Mendocino and will be released as macOS 14 in 2023.
The macOS UI is rumored to be tested by 25% larger, so it is suitable for touch operations. However, the applications running on this product will still be optimized for iPad, not macOS.
It is not clear why Apple considers replacing the iPad with the macOS interface, while those who want to use macOS on iPad are more for software compatibility than interfaces.
There are few rumors about software testing , especially about Apple's software plan, and rumors about running macOS on iPad have been circulating for more than a decade. Additionally, Apple is likely to have a version of macOS running on iPad for internal testing and configuration. What this leaker might be seeing is an iPad in debug state, rather than an actual operating system.
Another possible explanation is that this is not macOS at all. Apple may be working on making iPadOS closer to macOS by adding menu bars and other Mac-like interactions. Apple has introduced a Mac window control feature called Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 to make it more like the operating logic of a Mac computer.
