近期对 iOS 26 的漏洞利用显示所有现代 iPhone 已内置可运行 iPadOS 风格窗口系统的完整代码，包含桌面级应用、多窗口、多任务、外接显示器支持等能力，只因系统被锁定为 iPhone 模式而无法启用。黑客证明 iPhone 17 Pro Max 在被“伪装”为 iPad 后可流畅运行完整 iPadOS，性能来自 A19 Pro 芯片，其算力已被官方描述为“MacBook Pro 水平”。漏洞已在 iOS 26.2 beta 中被封堵，触发用户指控 Apple 人为限制 iPhone 以推动硬件分层。
Android 自 2017 年 DeX 起便尝试手机桌面化，但桌面体验不佳、应用适配不足导致需求有限；相较之下，iPhone 运行的 iPad 窗口界面已高度成熟，外接显示亦流畅。Apple 却基于产品区隔避免 iPhone、iPad、Mac 互相蚕食，担忧开放 iPad 级功能会降低 iPad 与 MacBook 的销量，从而继续以人为方式维持设备间的功能边界。iPhone 本身因屏幕与键盘限制难完全替代电脑，但若开放该模式，将形成一条全新且高利润的配件生态链。
另一关键趋势指向 2026 年的“iPhone Fold”。传闻其将配备 7.8 英寸、4:3 的类 iPad mini 大小屏幕，此类设备若不具备 iPad 式窗口多任务将不合理。当前隐藏于 iOS 的多窗口代码几乎确定是折叠机的 OS 基础，并可能成为 Apple 史上最昂贵 iPhone 的核心卖点。未来仍不明朗之处在于：这些能力是否只限于折叠机，还是最终也会向普通 iPhone 开放。
Recent exploits in iOS 26 reveal that all modern iPhones already contain the full iPadOS-style windowing stack, enabling desktop-grade apps, full windowed multitasking and external-display modes—locked behind an iPhone-only configuration profile. A hacked iPhone 17 Pro Max ran iPadOS features smoothly, powered by the A19 Pro chip that Apple says delivers “MacBook Pro–level compute.” Apple has patched the exploit in iOS 26.2, prompting accusations that the company is deliberately restricting iPhones to preserve product segmentation.
Android has pursued phone-as-PC functionality since DeX launched in 2017, but weak big-screen app support and uneven UX have kept adoption minimal. Apple, despite never announcing such a mode, is technically further ahead: iPad apps and windowing run fluidly on iPhone hardware. Yet Apple relies on strict device differentiation to avoid cannibalizing iPad and Mac sales. Enabling iPad-class multitasking on iPhones could erode demand for those products, so Apple maintains artificial boundaries even though performance constraints no longer exist.
A second explanation points to the 2026 “iPhone Fold.” Rumors describe a 7.8-inch, 4:3 display—essentially an iPad mini that folds. Shipping such a device without iPad-level multitasking would be untenable, especially at two to three times the price of an iPad mini. The hidden windowing system in iOS is almost certainly the Fold’s operating foundation and likely its main premium feature. The unresolved question is whether Apple will confine these capabilities to the Fold or eventually unlock them for standard iPhones.