There is now just one team, and most of the engineers are iOS first, giving the people working on the iPhone and iPad more power. In another sign that the company has prioritized the iPhone, Apple re-organized its software engineering department so there's no longer a dedicated Mac operating system team. This may all sound very dramatic, but yesterday’s report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, someone with impeccable connections within Apple’s ranks, agrees with my assessment: What that means for macOS is that it’s fast turning into legacy software: an afterthought on its way to becoming abandonware. If it’s not perfectly obvious, Apple’s efforts with its new Macs are to wean its old users off their desktop and laptop habits and familiarize them with the new world of touchscreen PCs.
The improvements to the same machine - thinner, lighter, all-metal chassis, a display with wider color gamut, and a sliver of a touchscreen called the Touch Bar - are all things the iPad has. The departures from the 2016 MacBook Pro - MagSafe charger, USB and memory card slots, and a keyboard with more than 0.55mm of travel - are all things the iPad lacks. Everything that Apple did, and didn’t do, with its Mac lineup this year tells me the company would rather be selling more iPads and iPhones.