
Photo 306152481 © Dimarik16 | Dreamstime.com
Apple might be ready to turn heads—literally—on its iconic iPad design. The tech giant is reportedly considering a significant but purely cosmetic update to its popular tablets, reflecting the way users interact with the device today.
The iPad was initially designed for portrait orientation, a mode that made sense in its early days. However, as Apple began proudly positioning the iPad as a laptop replacement, usage patterns shifted. Many users now favor landscape mode, especially when pairing their iPads with accessories like the Magic Keyboard.
Currently, the Apple logo on the back of the iPad is upright when the device is held in portrait mode. This makes sense historically but, admittedly, looks awkward when the iPad is used horizontally with a keyboard, as the logo appears sideways.
Hints of a possible overhaul emerged during an interview with Molly Anderson, an Apple industrial designer, by French tech news outlet Numerama.
Anderson mentioned that the vertical logo “could change” in the future, a subtle indication that Apple is considering aligning the logo with the more common landscape orientation.
Apple itself seems to acknowledge this changing behavior, MacRumors reports. The iPadOS 14.5 update introduced a software tweak where the boot-up Apple logo adjusts to match the device’s orientation. Likewise, the 10th generation iPad released in 2022, along with the recent M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro, all feature a front camera positioned for optimal use in landscape mode.
While this cosmetic tweak might seem minor, it carries symbolic weight, signaling attention to evolving user habits. A realigned logo means you’d see it in its intended view when encountering someone illustrating on their iPad screen at a cafe.
[via MacRumors and 9to5Mac, cover photo 306152481 © Dimarik16 | Dreamstime.com]