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Apple Aiming to Make iPad More Mac-Like With iPadOS 16 Multitasking Changes
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I’ve been burned before. I want confirmation on exactly how Stage Manager works with external monitors.
Sounds like M1 iPads and above are the only models getting these new multitasking and external monitor features.
I am so happy!
My take so far…
I was slightly wrong in that they did address some of my big complaints and it wasn’t just floating windows to appease people who don’t know better…
So we get a few really useful things,
- virtual memory is great but unfortunately limited to M1 - should also be more allowed than 16 GB per app but maybe that will come in the future.
- Customizable toolbar is awesome and I hope it is easy for developers to adopt
- Enhancements to files look good and I hope apps don’t need to do anything other than recompile in order to get updated open/save views.
- New find and replace looks nice
- System wide undo-redo should be useful
I’m looking forward to diving into the rest of the desktop quality apps stuff as it is released as this kind of thing is the real game changer IMO.
Stage Manager
- This looks messy but at least they didn’t go full macOS and let the windows completely be free form placed.
- It looks like it seems to try and automatically make sure all windows are partially visible which is good
- Takes away too much screen real estate - why is there all that empty space around the windows?
- Does external monitor support require me to use stage manager and floating windows or can I use split view (looks like the main iPad can be fullscreen but the external is in stage manager mode from their website)?
- I’ll admit this does solve the active app problem though since it seems like it automatically puts the active app slightly overlapping the others (though at the expense of screen real estate for the active app)
- I still think overlapping windows are a solution in search of a problem - this makes it look like the iPad is more powerful and more capable but is it really going to enable workflows that are currently difficult or impossible? I doubt it, it just seems like rearranging things in a new way, the existing multitasking grid view is pretty similar but is hidden most of the time.
- I also admit that making windows permanently visible is more intuitive than the existing multitasking view being hidden behind a complex swipe gesture (though at the expense of a large amount of screen real-estate).
Questions
- background processing - with up to 16GB virtual memory per app does this mean we can have longer running background processes that we don’t have to babysit to make sure they aren’t killed?
- New app-to-app communication, extension and plugin systems seem to be missing but maybe the later tech talks will address this.
Missing but would have been nice
- universal menu bar
- system wide utilities and shortcuts
- menu bar utilities ala macOS
Edit:
These updates don’t address one of the key pieces in Viticci’s piece (https://www.macstories.net/stories/rediscovering-the-mac/#real-power-user-apps) that the iPad still is too restrictive to allow certain power user workflows.
I was slightly wrong in that they did address some of my big complaints and it wasn’t just floating windows to appease people who don’t know better…
So we get a few really useful things,
- virtual memory is great but unfortunately limited to M1 - should also be more allowed than 16 GB per app but maybe that will come in the future.
- Customizable toolbar is awesome and I hope it is easy for developers to adopt
- Enhancements to files look good and I hope apps don’t need to do anything other than recompile in order to get updated open/save views.
- New find and replace looks nice
- System wide undo-redo should be useful
I’m looking forward to diving into the rest of the desktop quality apps stuff as it is released as this kind of thing is the real game changer IMO.
Stage Manager
- This looks messy but at least they didn’t go full macOS and let the windows completely be free form placed.
- It looks like it seems to try and automatically make sure all windows are partially visible which is good
- Takes away too much screen real estate - why is there all that empty space around the windows?
- Does external monitor support require me to use stage manager and floating windows or can I use split view (looks like the main iPad can be fullscreen but the external is in stage manager mode from their website)?
- I’ll admit this does solve the active app problem though since it seems like it automatically puts the active app slightly overlapping the others (though at the expense of screen real estate for the active app)
- I still think overlapping windows are a solution in search of a problem - this makes it look like the iPad is more powerful and more capable but is it really going to enable workflows that are currently difficult or impossible? I doubt it, it just seems like rearranging things in a new way, the existing multitasking grid view is pretty similar but is hidden most of the time.
- I also admit that making windows permanently visible is more intuitive than the existing multitasking view being hidden behind a complex swipe gesture (though at the expense of a large amount of screen real-estate).
Questions
- background processing - with up to 16GB virtual memory per app does this mean we can have longer running background processes that we don’t have to babysit to make sure they aren’t killed?
- New app-to-app communication, extension and plugin systems seem to be missing but maybe the later tech talks will address this.
Missing but would have been nice
- universal menu bar
- system wide utilities and shortcuts
- menu bar utilities ala macOS
Edit:
These updates don’t address one of the key pieces in Viticci’s piece (https://www.macstories.net/stories/rediscovering-the-mac/#real-power-user-apps) that the iPad still is too restrictive to allow certain power user workflows.
True, but I still want to disable it
At some point here, I'll bet all iPads are on M-chips and thus the problem will be applicable to all
After today’s announcement, it was more like “We worked out this new way of multitasking on the iPad and we’ve ported it to the Mac. But we’re going to announce it on the Mac first and that’s why folks THINK we’re making the iPad more Mac-like when really it’s making the Mac more iPad like.” 
I think Apple sent him a Mac to use to get him to stop carping on what the iPad can’t (and likely won’t ever) be able to do and use a system that met his need. And, they’ve got a point. The number of folks wanting to use an iPad the way Viticci does are likely quite small. Well represented on this forum, but relatively small as a group nonetheless.
Which makes stage manager even more bizarre - it doesn’t address his needs or the needs of power users, nor does it make the iPad easier to use for people who aren’t power users.
I will probably get stuck using it if it is the only external display support but we shall see - will probably download the beta soon…
Looks like we didn’t get a proper edit pane on the right in apps (like pages has on the mac) so once again we are stuck with temporary popovers even when the screen is wide enough to show the format pane at all times.
Edit: Though I am pleased that OmniGraffle has a persistent format pane it is a bit buggy in that it doesn’t persist scroll position between object selection.
Edit: Though I am pleased that OmniGraffle has a persistent format pane it is a bit buggy in that it doesn’t persist scroll position between object selection.
considering that the vast majority of iPad sales are of the entry $329 model, you're likely right.