Recent reports have said that Apple has plans for UI enhancements in iPadOS 19, which could make the iPad window management a little more Mac-like. But if you can’t wait until September for iPadOS 19, you could always turn to…Microsoft Windows.
A developer called NTDEV figured out how to run Windows 11 on an M2 iPad Air. The implementation involves using an app called UTM that was sideloaded onto an iPad (sideloading is allowed in the European Union, thanks to the EU’s Digital Markets Act). UTM is then used to run a JIT emulator that runs Windows 11 on the iPad. You can see it working in the video NTDEV posted on YouTube.
If you don’t feel like watching over eight minutes of Windows 11 on an iPad (booting feels like it takes forever), NTDEV said on X that it “actually works quite decently.” Windows Latest reports that NTDEV used “a slimmed version of Windows 11” made with Tiny 11, which is used to “install the operating system without bloatware.” (I admit, I snickered at the “bloatware” bit.)
While NTDEV made a cool demo, you’re probably asking, why? Microsoft makes these things called Surface 2-in-1 PCs that run Windows much more efficiently and have a touchscreen UI, so why even bother with Windows on an iPad? Well, NTDEV’s X profile says, “Trying stuff so you don’t have to,” which says it all right there. But if you really “have to,” Windows Latest has steps at the end of their report on how to do this.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.