The hack depends on an exploit that tips the iPhone’s working system into pondering it’s working on an iPad. That unlocks smallish tweaks reminiscent of a panorama House Display, an iPad-style app switcher, and extra Dock objects. However it additionally supplies transformative modifications reminiscent of working desktop-grade apps that aren’t accessible for iPhone, full windowed multitasking, and optimum exterior show help. All with out Apple Silicon breaking a sweat.
Deskblocked
The exploit is already patched within the iOS 26.2 beta, and the Redditor accused Apple of locking out iPhone customers and artificially limiting older gadgets to push upgrades. However are issues actually that easy?
It’s not just like the “cellphone as PC” dream is new. Android’s been chasing it since DeX debuted in 2017. Barely anybody cares. So why ought to Apple? Maybe the idea is a distinct segment nerd fantasy. And there’s the longtime argument that if you wish to do “correct” work, you want a “correct” pc. If even an iPad can’t exchange a pc, how can an iPhone?
Besides, as WIRED demonstrated, an iPad can exchange a pc for loads of folks—you simply want the best equipment. It due to this fact follows the identical is true for an iPhone working the very same software program. However the place will any momentum for this future come from?
Android 16 is technically prepared for an additional crack at desktop mode, with a brand new system that builds on DeX. However even now, having lastly escaped beta, it’s buried in developer settings. That may be all the way down to the grim state of big-screen Android apps, or the desktop expertise itself feeling, politely, “rocky.”
Paradoxically, Apple seems to be additional forward regardless of by no means saying any of this. It already has a deep ecosystem of desktop-grade iPad apps. And the iPad options working on iPhone already look polished. Positive, some interface quirks stay, and also you would possibly have to file your fingers to a degree to hit window controls. However the efficiency is quick, fluid, and snappy. So if the expertise is that this good, why is Apple so decided to cover it?
Revenue by Design
One argument is sensible. Apple likes every system to be its personal factor, optimized for a particular type issue. It’s eager to finesse the transition between platforms reasonably than have one system to rule all of them. A cellphone lacks an enormous display screen and a bodily keyboard. Plugging these issues in on a practice isn’t as elegant as opening a MacBook or utilizing an iPad related to a Magic Keyboard. Nonetheless, with creativeness, you possibly can see the outlines of a brand new ecosystem of worthwhile equipment for a extra succesful iPhone.
