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Any reason to believe iPad iOS will become similar to Android 3.0 Honeycomb?

GimmeSlack12

GimmeSlack12

macrumors 603
Original poster
Apr 29, 2005
5,406
14
San Francisco
Let's face it, the iPad is extremely underutilized with the same iOS that iPhone's have. Look at this:
http://lifehacker.com/5744175/screenshot-tour-of-android-30-honeycomb-built-for-tablets

I mean, that actually looks like a good combination between a desktop OS and iOS. The implementation by Android having a bunch of hardware makers is still a place where Apple can excel with their iOS/hardware configs. Just a matter of if an iPad specific iOS (more specific than the current iPad iOS) is in the works.
 
No, no reason at all really. It has been my opinion that Apple isn't going to take cues from Android. For me, I hope Honeycomb fixes a couple of things that are annoying on my phone like copy paste. But do I think iPad will become similar? No.
 
What do you actually mean by "an iPad specific iOS (more specific than the current iPad iOS)?" What features are you actually asking about?
 
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BaldiMac said:
What do you actually mean by "an iPad specific iOS (more specific than the current iPad iOS)?" What features are you actually asking about?
Click to expand...

As in, a design built from the ground up to make the most of a tablet, as opposed to a solid phone experience being shoehorned into a tablet.
 
Xenc said:
As in, a design built from the ground up to make the most of a tablet, as opposed to a solid phone experience being shoehorned into a tablet.
Click to expand...

That really doesn't answer my question. iOS was redesigned to take advantage of the larger screen. Both the iPhone and the iPad are based on multitouch input, so there is no reason to change the interface for the sake of change. The UI consistency between iOS devices is part of what makes them so successful.

Obviously, the larger screen does beg for more iPad specific features. Interface techniques and UI elements that you couldn't or wouldn't want to do on a smaller screen.

For example, a phone is generally a very personal, one user device. An iPad is more likely to be shared among a family, so different user accounts would make sense.
 
iOS was originally designed for tablets, but Apple decided to ship it in the form of a phone first.
 
Stetrain said:
iOS was originally designed for tablets, but Apple decided to ship it in the form of a phone first.
Click to expand...

Are you sure?

I thought I heard it was just the rubber banding/scrolling that was shown of when the tablet was shelved.

I don't think Apple would have designed the current OS/UI for a tablet as it's more suited to a small screen on a phone with a few large icons the tap on.
 
BaldiMac said:
What do you actually mean by "an iPad specific iOS (more specific than the current iPad iOS)?" What features are you actually asking about?
Click to expand...

Ideally I think there is a better home page approach to the iPad's home page vs. the iPhone's homepage. Why the 4x4 grid, why not some more multitask gestures (which actually is coming in 4.3) and would a menu bar system of some kind be so bad?
 
One of the strengths of the iPad especially initially was that it ran the same iOS as the iPhone. For developers they didn't really need to create new apps from the ground up. It ran all of the iPhone apps and developers could take advantage of the larger screen real estate if they wanted too.

The consumers were also attracted to the iPad as an easy to use device that had nearly zero learning curve. If they used the iPhone, they could use the iPad.

Remember, prior to the ipad Microsoft continually tried and failed to release a popular tablet. Apple got it right.

So to answer your question, no I don't believe there's any reason why the iPad os branch out on it own. What made the iPad what it is today is still relevant. If apple decides the UI is not functioning as it should, or is dated, they'll change it for both the iPhone and iPad.
 
Apple does not need to mimic honeycomb to remain competitive. They have a hold of a market of people that love things being simplistic and easy to use. That market will forever remain large and with pockets that can afford Apple devices.

Honeycomb based tablets will be aimed more toward that people that want more from their tablet. Customization, real multi-tasking, etc...

The next version of iOS will probably add something like Flash and the ability to arrange icons without them falling into a grid and everyone will act like it was revolutionary.
 
EssentialParado said:
Apple lead, they don't follow.

Expect something new from Apple, but it won't be a copy of Honeycomb.
Click to expand...
I'm well aware of this and wouldn't expect a copy. Rather, an iPad OS that separates the uses of the iPhone and iPad.

maflynn said:
One of the strengths of the iPad especially initially was that it ran the same iOS as the iPhone. For developers they didn't really need to create new apps from the ground up. It ran all of the iPhone apps and developers could take advantage of the larger screen real estate if they wanted too.

The consumers were also attracted to the iPad as an easy to use device that had nearly zero learning curve. If they used the iPhone, they could use the iPad.

Remember, prior to the ipad Microsoft continually tried and failed to release a popular tablet. Apple got it right.

So to answer your question, no I don't believe there's any reason why the iPad os branch out on it own. What made the iPad what it is today is still relevant. If apple decides the UI is not functioning as it should, or is dated, they'll change it for both the iPhone and iPad.
Click to expand...

Originally the same iOS on both devices made sense and your first point I completely agree with.

But in time the iPad will remain a big iPhone and although this is convenient for some people I just imagine the iPad to be more laptop than iOS device. This is why I argue that an improved iOS for iPad could open up the device to become more versatile. Having simplified menu bars and windows (not Windows) on iPad wouldn't be so bad.

I'm not suggesting to complicate the iPad, I am suggesting a re-imagining.
 
Xenc said:
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As in, a design built from the ground up to make the most of a tablet, as opposed to a solid phone experience being shoehorned into a tablet.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you've swallowed Google's marketing hook, line and sinker! From what I've seen so far there is very little to convince my that Honeycomb is a "from scratch" rebuild. Instead it looks like Honeycomb is a similar level of improvement over Android for phones, as the iPad interface is when compared to the iPhone interface. The smart thing that Google have done is made sure that Honeycomb "looks" different and new, even if the functionality isn't radically different.

From what we've seen so far the major notable points seem to be widgets, a notification bar that includes home/back buttons, an action bar and core Apps designed for tablet use. Widgets are the most obvious difference to iOS but I'm not convinced they are a hugely important feature. I accept that some people like them but personally I've not really bother with them on the desktop. I actually rather like the way that the iOS Springboard focuses solely on the Apps and allows you to quickly choose between them. In any case I hope we can agree that the pure presence of widgets doesn't suddenly make Honeycomb a tablet OS.

Moving the home/back button to the notification bar at the bottom of the screen is a smart move as it solves the "where is the home button?" problem. However it does came at the cost of losing an amount of screen space. In portrait I doubt this will be a issue however in landscape it could be, especially in combination with a widescreen display and a taller keyboard. If you look at the email screenshot the actual area you've got for composing your message is a lot smaller than on the iPad.

The action bar is again something which appears interesting but which I've got misgivings about. It appears to serve a similar purpose to pop-overs on the iPad. When you select text the Cut/Copy options appear in a pop-over on the iPad and the action-bar on Honeycomb. I think that in this situation the pop-over is better as it makes it far more obvious what the options are applying to and gives the App designer greater freedom over what options to allow. The advantage the Action bar has is that it can also be used when selecting multiple items, however I'm not sure that this is worth making the common case less intuitive.
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
Having simplified menu bars and windows (not Windows) on iPad wouldn't be so bad.

I'm not suggesting to complicate the iPad, I am suggesting a re-imagining.
Click to expand...

It's a bit ironic that your "re-imagining" involves making it more like a traditional desktop OS. :) (Especially considering that traditional OSs have failed for ten years on tablets.)

I think Apple is consciously putting off design decisions that will lock them into some traditional OS concepts (windows, menu bars, file systems) in hopes that a better idea will come along.
 
kenypowa said:
Nobody is saying it is a "from scratch rebuild"; it is merely optimized for tablet. ;)
Click to expand...

I agree with that statement happily; however my argument is that iOS on the iPad is just as optimised for tablet use as Honeycomb is. Apple didn't make big, obvious visual changes to the iPad interface like Google have done with Honeycomb, but they did consider how Apps should work. Tablet optimisations like the dual-panel view in Mail and using pop-overs to display options have been on the iPad right from the start; and in my opinion these changes are far more important than widgets or a new theme for the interface.
 
blackNBUK said:
I agree with that statement happily; however my argument is that iOS on the iPad is just as optimised for tablet use as Honeycomb is. Apple didn't make big, obvious visual changes to the iPad interface like Google have done with Honeycomb, but they did consider how Apps should work. Tablet optimisations like the dual-panel view in Mail and using pop-overs to display options have been on the iPad right from the start; and in my opinion these changes are far more important than widgets or a new theme for the interface.
Click to expand...

Actually I think Widgets are incredibly important things.

Imagine swiping your iPad on, and in literally a few seconds looking at your home screen, or perhaps even your lock screen, you can see emails, twitter updates, the weather, perhaps a meeting update, anything that a widget can be.

Without going into one app, checking for updates, pressing home, going to the next app, checking updates, pressing home, going into the next app checking updates etc etc..........

No one HAS to use widgets if they don't want to, but if they are there, then for many it would mean at 1 glance they can see anything that's of importance and get on with what they are doing. If you are on the move this would be even more useful.
 
Piggie said:
Actually I think Widgets are incredibly important things.

Imagine swiping your iPad on, and in literally a few seconds looking at your home screen, or perhaps even your lock screen, you can see emails, twitter updates, the weather, perhaps a meeting update, anything that a widget can be.

Without going into one app, checking for updates, pressing home, going to the next app, checking updates, pressing home, going into the next app checking updates etc etc..........

No one HAS to use widgets if they don't want to, but if they are there, then for many it would mean at 1 glance they can see anything that's of importance and get on with what they are doing. If you are on the move this would be even more useful.
Click to expand...

Some of what you just described can be handled through notification on iOS currently. And I'm all for an overhaul that could deal with even more of that functionality.

But my main point is that what you described sounds great in theory. But there is a reason that widgets/gadgets aren't very popular on traditional OSs. I don't know what that reason is, but I don't see a much different use case on a mobile device.
 
BaldiMac said:
Some of what you just described can be handled through notification on iOS currently. And I'm all for an overhaul that could deal with even more of that functionality.

But my main point is that what you described sounds great in theory. But there is a reason that widgets/gadgets aren't very popular on traditional OSs. I don't know what that reason is, but I don't see a much different use case on a mobile device.
Click to expand...

Actually I think the reason is that on a desktop PC which as we know does proper multitasking, you often have many things running in the background which may pop up a message on screen, or change an icon on screen so you know something is there to look at.
Combined with the fact that you can have multiple windows open on your desktop, so you may have a small twitter client and chat client open in small windows, whilst you could have a browser windows and perhaps a document all open at once, esp if you have a nice large screen.
None of which are possible on a device which only runs full screen programs.
Finally also you tend to be sitting down at your desktop for a while to do something, whereas on a mobile device you may be doing something else, out and about, turn it on, take a quick look and get on with what you are doing.

So I feel these reasons may make widgets more useful on a portable device than they are on a main desktop machine.
 
BaldiMac said:
Some of what you just described can be handled through notification on iOS currently.
Click to expand...

Even though I love my iPhone, notifications are a joke on iOS. Most pathetic system on an otherwise great OS. I can go on forever about how they have ruined my life. Widgets are important and very useful...quick glance able information beats opening apps individually.

Edit: Just an idea...4 finger swipe DOWN, brings in a widget page like OSX.
 
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