Apple’s iPad finds itself at a crossroads. Launched as a portrait-friendly device for media consumption and web browsing, its identity is blurring. The surge in popularity of keyboard accessories and Apple’s push for the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement have fundamentally altered how users interact with the device. Landscape mode, once a secondary consideration, is now becoming increasingly dominant.
This shift in user behavior compels Apple to consider a potential design overhaul. A simple, yet symbolic change could be a landscape-oriented Apple logo on future iPads. This subtle adjustment would acknowledge the changing role of the iPad and potentially nudge users towards a more natural orientation for tasks like document editing or creative work.
In a recent interview with Numerama, Apple industrial designer Molly Anderson discussed the possibility of changing the orientation of the Apple logo on future iPads. Anderson acknowledged the growing trend of landscape usage, especially given that recent iPad models like the M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro have relocated the front camera to the longer edge, optimized for landscape use. This design change, coupled with software updates in iPadOS 14.5 that align the boot-up Apple logo with the device’s orientation, suggests that Apple is indeed considering this shift.
This would not be the first time Apple has altered the orientation of its logo to match how a device is primarily used. Historically, Apple switched the MacBook logo’s orientation to appear upright when the laptop lid is open, responding to user habits and enhancing the device’s visual appeal. Following a similar pattern, shifting the iPad’s logo to landscape orientation would align with the device’s current use case and Apple’s design philosophy.
While primarily cosmetic, the change would enhance the overall user experience by ensuring that the Apple logo appears correctly when the device is used with accessories like keyboards. This small yet significant tweak would provide a more cohesive and professional look, particularly when the iPad is used in professional or educational settings.
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