All iPads Prediction: Touch ID and multiple accounts

But Apple wants to sell everyone their own iPad. They are unlikely to put multi-user support in place. If you both had big music/photo libraries, you would run out of space fast.

old-wiz said:

But Apple wants to sell everyone their own iPad. They are unlikely to put multi-user support in place. If you both had big music/photo libraries, you would run out of space fast.

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I can see your point with Apple wanting everyone to have an iPad but in reality that simply isn't possible. This would be a huge plus for Apple to tick from a customer service point of view, MASSIVE. there arent many familys that could afford or even need to buy an iPhone each, an iPad mini each and a iPad each. In our home we have a full sized iPad (usually the wife uses) and I have a Mini which is never really out of my hand, we each have an iPhone each. Multiple users on a single device IMO wouldn't harm sales that much and may even encourage sales as people would see it more of a family device.

old-wiz said:

But Apple wants to sell everyone their own iPad. They are unlikely to put multi-user support in place. If you both had big music/photo libraries, you would run out of space fast.

Click to expand...

Not that I think multi-user iPads are coming, but Apple probably makes more profit from a single 64GB iPad than 3 16GB ones.

If I were to buy a "family" ipad, it would be the largest capacity one available, currently the 128GB. Apple's profit on those is enormous.

Multi-User is not coming. Apple views the ipad as a personal device.

I would love it and find it useful, but that doesn't change the fact.

Eventually they will have to cave and add an accounts feature. More and more, the tablet is replacing the laptop. Laptops are a small compact device but we still share them amongst family, and the ability to add users onto one has been there forever.

Between that and the other tablets out there doing it I would expect it in the next year or two.

b166er said:

Eventually they will have to cave and add an accounts feature. More and more, the tablet is replacing the laptop. Laptops are a small compact device but we still share them amongst family, and the ability to add users onto one has been there forever.

Between that and the other tablets out there doing it I would expect it in the next year or two.

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Apple will only cave if people stop buying the iPad. Everybody else is doing it, has never been a motivator for apple.

jabingla2810 said:

Touch ID on the iPhone can register upto 5 fingerprints.

The iPad, unlike the iPhone is often used between multiple people, for example in my house me and my girlfriend have our own phones but share one iPad.

If Touch ID does come to iPads I think it would be the ideal time to announce multi-user support. Imagine how cool it would be to unlock the iPad with your fingerprint and it unlocks to YOUR profile?

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I doubt it will ever have full multiple user support. Best we might get is being able to link certain fingers to activating a saved restrictions profile. Which would be good if you could restrict any app including downloaded ones. And set a banned list rather than an approved one. Etc

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b166er said:

Eventually they will have to cave and add an accounts feature.

. . .

Between that and the other tablets out there doing it I would expect it in the next year or two.

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Or the won't have to and won't do it.

Apple doesn't give a fig about what the other boys are doing. Never have

iOS 7 has a surprising lack of iPad optimisation. Maybe there's an iOS 7.1 in the works that they can't talk about yet, as it has features that tie in with the new iPad.

I'd love a multi-user system.

I hope so. The iPad could use this badly. It doesn't even have a decent kids mode yet!!

I'd love to be able to let guests use it without having unrestricted access to everything!