Aug 3, 2011 17:01 GMT  ·  By
OS X Lion's Launchpad, perhaps the most solid indication of Apple's urge to bring iOS and Mac OS together
   OS X Lion's Launchpad, perhaps the most solid indication of Apple's urge to bring iOS and Mac OS together

Peter Misek is an analyst with Jefferies & Co. who follows Apple to provide the investor types with valuable advice in the stock market. His most recent note says look out for a merger between iOS and Mac OS powered by the next-next-generation A6 chip.

Misek wrote in a research note today that “Users want to be able to pick up any iPhone, iPad, or Mac (or turn on their iTV) and have content move seamlessly between them and be optimized for the user and the device currently being used.”

That's likely a very accurate prediction right there (and I'm not being sarcastic).

“We believe this will be difficult to implement if iOS and OS X are kept separate,” he added.

Again, a forecast that imposes a fair dose of credibility and probability.

Hence, “We believe Apple is looking to merge iOS (iPhones/iPads) with OS X (Macs) into a single platform for apps and cloud services starting in 2012-13,” Misek revealed, adding that his firm sees Apple "sampling the A6 quad-core app processor [that] will be the first such multi-device platform capable of PC-like strength.”

All right then.

Considering how many well informed bloggers and technology publications will snort at the sight of this enlightening “research” note, I’d like to be the first to say that Misek is providing his analytical piece of mind on a matter that is as obvious as flying is to a bald eagle.

Apple has been providing the world with undeniable evidence that it is trying hard to unify its entire range of offerings for years now. For all the secrecy surrounding their indivudal projects, they're not even trying to hide it.

The Mac, the iPhone, the iPad tablets and the iPod players, even the Apple TV which Steve Jobs labels as a hobby - all these products share common traits (both inside and out) that are eventually going to end up crammed together in a big screen that does it all.

Of course, these developments are not just around the corner (and mobile devices will still be around when that happens), but that’s where Apple, and its rivals, want to get eventually.

So is it too hard to predict what will be the first step towards that goal? No.

Does a theory like this have to come out of an analyst’s mouth to be taken seriously? Certainly not.

Will it be the A6 chip power a machine pre-installed with a hybrid Mac-iOS? Most likely, no. (maybe the A7, but even that's a stretch)

But until the big-screen thing happens, Apple will keep experimenting, leaving bread crumbs for the likes of Peter Misek to pick up one by one to work up his insightful notes based on which shareholders will buy and sell, while Microsoft and Google will continue to stand as helpless spectators watching the series of events leading up to their rival’s imminent dominance (at least in the major markets).

And if common sense doesn’t support this scenario, perhaps the quarterly figures disclosed by Apple, one earnings call after another, will.

Then again, this is just a theory. Since I’m not an analyst, I can afford to be wrong and happily take the punch for it in the comments.

Mr. Misek, on the other hand, won’t be able to say the same thing come 2013 with no Mac OS - iOS blend on Apple’s roadmap.

Oh, and, one more thing. OS X Lion has a thing called Launchpad that looks exactly like iOS but it's running on a Mac. How about that!