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For years, users of the best iPads have been contending that their tablets aren’t as capable as they could be, and a big part of that argument centers on window management. After all, the discussion goes, how can you manage multiple apps and workflows if you struggle to keep them all under control?

Well, at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this month, Apple attempted to answer those critics emphatically, bringing a huge update to iPadOS 26 that included improved productivity features and multiple overlapping windows, plus several Mac-like additions, including a menu bar and the multi-colored “traffic light” buttons for minimizing and maximizing app windows. It was a massive, long-awaited change.

This got me thinking: while I don’t believe that Apple has any intention of merging iPadOS and macOS for the time being (Craig Federighi even said as much in a recent interview), something is looming on the horizon that’s going to test that resolve to the limit. It might not be long before Apple is forced to reckon with the possibility of cannibalizing its own operating systems in order to make something better.

Despite unveiling a bunch of new features at WWDC that brought its iPad and Mac software releases closer together, Apple’s actual hardware remains solidly distinct. You’re unlikely to confuse an iPad tablet for one of the best MacBooks (unless you’ve attached it to a Magic Keyboard mount, of course).

Yet if the rumors are to be believed, this could all change in the next couple of years. That’s because according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, Apple is set to release a 19-inch foldable device by 2028 that sits somewhere between Apple’s tablet and its laptop.

The idea is you can fold it out flat and use it like a giant tablet, or crease it along its hinge and use it as a laptop. Apple has never made something like this, but companies like Huawei have already launched their own attempts. We even reviewed the original Asus Zenbook Fold a couple of years back, when this tech was still in relative infancy. Don’t be surprised to see more in the coming years.

A product like this raises some serious questions regarding software. Right now, Apple says that merging iPadOS and macOS wouldn’t work because macOS isn’t designed for touch and iPadOS should retain its simplicity. In other words, a sturdy boundary should divide the two platforms. But what do you do to your software when your hardware has already obliterated those boundaries?

That might become the reality by late this decade. Depending on what Apple does to its software at that time, Federighi might have to eat his words.

Over the years, Apple has given a few different reasons why it’s not planning to merge iPadOS and macOS, but they’ve all come back to the idea that the two systems are better off apart. By forcing tablets and computers to use the same platform, Apple says, you end up making too many compromises to get the operating system working well for everyone. The result is a bland mixture that loses everything that makes iPadOS and macOS unique and powerful.

But there might be another thought that’s holding Apple back: the fear of cannibalizing its own products. This makes a certain degree of sense – while neither the Mac nor the iPad bring in as much raw cash as the iPhone, they’re still massive moneymakers for Apple. Why jeopardize that?

Interestingly, this might not be a way of thinking that Apple founder Steve Jobs would have embraced. Under his watch, the company occasionally launched devices that overshadowed its other products (or made them outright obsolete). Take the iPhone, for example: for all of Apple’s rivals’ talk of releasing the next “iPod killer,” it was the iPhone itself that leapfrogged the iPod and led to its premature demise.

That wasn’t some accident – it was a very deliberate decision on Apple’s part. I’m currently reading the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, and coincidentally came across the following Jobs quote right around the time Apple was bringing Mac-like features to iPadOS 26: “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.” Destroying your own bestsellers every now and then was a way to keep your lineup fresh, embrace exciting advances, and avoid getting stuck in a technological rut.

When the foldable iPad-Mac hybrid arrives a few years down the road, will Apple be able to call upon that mindset when it comes to the software that runs on this device? Will it cannibalize iPadOS and macOS with something newer, stronger, and better suited to its foldable?

Or will it pick an existing operating system and maintain its insistence that iPadOS and macOS must be kept forever discrete, even on the clearest example yet of the company overlapping its hardware?

None of us can know for sure what will happen, but I’ve no doubt that Apple is frantically trying to work out the best approach inside its top-secret labs. This foldable will be the sternest test yet of Apple’s ability to craft a software experience that works for the hardware at hand – and could help us finally learn whether it will ever merge iPadOS and macOS.

• ‘With macOS, you’d lose what makes iPad iPad’: Apple explains why it’ll never let its tablets become full Macs
• Don't call it a Mac – I went hands-on with iPadOS 26, here's what you need to know
• Apple's giant foldable iPad could be crease-free and run macOS apps, new report claims

Wireless chargers make a super convenient accessory for any Apple gadget fans who want to keep their desktop looking tidy, especially when charging multiple devices at the same time. However, you may find that the same wireless charger that’s keeping your surfaces clutter-free quickly becomes an eyesore all of its own. Let me explain.

Two key considerations when shopping for a wireless charger tend to be charging speeds, naturally, and aesthetics, because it’s something we’ll likely be looking at every day. However, not long into my stint testing almost thirty of them, I learned that it doesn’t matter how much you may like the design of a wireless charger if the finish means it’ll look filthy fast and, worse still, if the materials are difficult to clean.

If you’re looking for a wireless charging station, for example, then it’s pretty likely it’ll be spending its life on your nightstand or your desk, so it’ll inevitably pick up dust day-to-day. That in itself isn’t a revelation, of course, but it turns out that some silicone areas can hold onto dust longer than Taylor Swift holds onto a grudge.

Now, I’m not entirely against silicone; it certainly has its uses, particularly when used over Qi and Qi2 charging pads to help keep devices in place as they charge. However, the way it’s used and the finish it has make all the difference when it comes to keeping a wireless charger dust-free.

For example, non-slip rings, like those pictured above, prove a nightmare for dusting, as lint loves to cling to the rougher finish and raised edges. Whereas the super-soft surfaces of the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Foldable Pad didn’t pose a problem – though the pesky ridges on the silicone straps were another matter.

Even some of the best wireless chargers, like the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand, can make things a little trickier than they need to be by sticking a silicone area in the middle of an otherwise wipeable surface. Instead, I much prefer when a design includes a recess to help keep wireless earbuds in place as they charge. The ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set (HaloLock) is a prime example of this.

Another example of a satisfyingly silicon-free wireless charger is the UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station. Unfortunately, though, the surface of the Qi2 charging pad falls victim to my second-biggest bugbear – fingerprints.

I wish I could give you a straightforward answer on what material to avoid if smudges and fingerprints are going to get on your nerves, but I’m yet to find a definitive answer. You may assume that any matte black plastic is bound to show up fingerprints; some types certainly do, to the point that they never fully wipe clean again, but some eternally appear free of ever having been handled.

The easiest solution, if these imperfections are the sort of things that could prove bothersome to you, is to opt for a charging station that can be easily packed away when not in use. The design of the aforementioned 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station is ideal here, as it can be folded down into a neat little cube very easily.

Alternatively, if you’ve got an Apple Watch to charge too, the ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set folds down flat, and proved really useful as both a desktop and a travel charger. Otherwise, keep an eye on my guide to the best wireless chargers, as I always take durability and ease of cleaning into account when evaluating potential additions.