Apple Criticized for 'Fundamentally Misguided' Approach to Stage Manager in iPadOS 16

[stocklen]

"arguing that the feature is unstable, hard to use, and has user interface glitches across the experience."

It's BETA software, still BETA software, and guess what IT"S BETA SOFTWARE.

That's all you got???

exactly. I dont know how such articles gain traction when they are written from a so-called perspective of knowledge and authority yet they are nothing but a unnecessary critique of an as-yet unreleased beta version of software that at best will be significantly tweaked before release and at worst be totally removed and never released in its current form when iPadOS16 drops.

Clickbait, shares... etc.. thats the sad reality for a lot of "journalism" nowadays...

 

[Mr.Blacky]

1. Is Stage Manager necessary, or does it even have a place on MacOS where multi-windowed multitasking already has several tried and tested ways of being managed? NO. I dont think it provides anything new or useful.

2. Does Stage Manager have a place on iPadOS? Yes, sure - but not in its current BETA form.
You have to remember of course that most iPad screens are smaller than MacOS laptops and desktops. There simply isnt the space for fancy wasted graphics.

Personally, there are elements I like... I like groups of apps on the same stage... although this is like split screen with 2 that stuck together before...
Its also fine on a 12.9" iPad, but I wonder how that translates to the smaller models...
However, the dock and stages simply shouldn't be ever present - YES i know you can turn them off but .... I think that the stages should appear with a swipe over from the left, and the dock a swipe up from the bottom...
But theres still something just a little odd about the whole thing - maybe its just because its a new thing - but now iPadOS has 3 distinct states - either looking through the app launcher, or having one or two apps open full screen, or the stage manager environment.

There is no reason to not show the dock and/or stages if the available screen space allows it.
In the following screenshot for example, why shouldn't it show those items?

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

By the time I get an iPad with Apple Silicon this feature will probably be perfect

 

[JMStearnsX2]

Since iOS updates are free..they can release it how it is in the Fall...and make adjusments based on the feedback in spring too
We shouldnt wait if its bug free for it....some users will use it as it is and make their feedback for a more polish feature

Unfortunately, I think it's mindsets like this that have lead us to where we are with Apple software.

 

[Ludatyk]

Clickbait, shares... etc.. thats the sad reality for a lot of "journalism" nowadays...

Absolutely! Having an outrageous headline brings more attention… that’s part of the game.

You get more eyeballs for saying “DO NOT BUY this product“ compared to “5 REASON to BUY this product.” Negativity gets more attention.

 

[jjudson]

The iPad Pro continues to be the most powerful iPod Touch ever…

 

[mansplains]

Microsoft can't figure out the tablet side in Windows

Windows 11 is a slap in the face for desktop users, it's heavily geared for tablet side. Although, despite all of this touch interface focus from Win11, I'd agree they haven't figured it out still. But they haven't got desktop either now, they act as if Surfaces are the only devices running their software.

 

[jjudson]

Besides Stage Manager there is NOTHING else new. Nothing.

Hardware, too. Apple is becoming Dell Computer. The excitement and anticipation has left this company…

 

[spinedoc77]

There is no reason to not show the dock and/or stages if the available screen space allows it.
In the following screenshot for example, why shouldn't it show those items?

View attachment 2044852

Man, that just looks horrible, but that's only my opinion. I'm already very critical of the dockbar as a big waste of space and functionality, but the stages just makes everything that much worse, and I still don't really understand what use overlapping windows gains and why I would want my windows to overlap. Again, just my personal opinion based on how my work and play flow is on my PC, and I have a 55" monitor at 4k resolution so space on my screens isn't an issue.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Unfortunately this is the direction Apple seems to be going with a lot of its software updates lately. Another case in point: System Preferences in macOS Ventura beta!

Is Apple trying to do too much, too fast with its annual OS release schedule? Perhaps it's time they moved to a "tick/tock" model with major new features every 2nd year, followed by a release that focuses mainly on bug fixes, performance, new hardware support, etc? Would this give teams more time to ensure that significant new features like Stage Manager are really polished and well-thought out?

Or.... just roll out features over time like Microsoft and others. The annual and biannual releases are from a time of physical copies of software in a box. The OS doesn't really change anymore, and they are trying to pack things in to justify an annual release which have been very lack luster for the past 5 years.

Then there is always a delayed feature anyway.

Even IOS doesn't need an annual major system overhaul. It's ridiculous that you have to wait for them to do an annual release to add a feature to something like mail, but they think this sells iPhones better than just hardware updates and is really the only reason why they still do this.

I actually like MS model they started with Win10 and still with Win11. They didn't change the OS number until it was a major redesign of the UI, but did biannual releases (and initially quarterly releases) of minor updates and improvements.

 

[spinedoc77]

Windows 11 is a slap in the face for desktop users, it's heavily geared for tablet side. Although, despite all of this touch interface focus from Win11, I'd agree they haven't figured it out still. But they haven't got desktop either now, they act as if Surfaces are the only devices running their software.

I don't have a lot of experience with Win11, but from what I've seen the issue is that they dumbed down a lot of things in their pursuit of being more Apple-like. Personally I think Win10 runs a touch tablet scenario quite nicely, I have very few complaints using it on my Surface Pro for the past 6 or 7 years on a daily basis, it's improved quite a bit in that time in the touch paradigm but kept enough desktop roots to be more than usable.

 

[xraydoc]

Hardware, too. Apple is becoming Dell Computer. The excitement and anticipation has left this company…

Really? My 14" MacBook Pro is pretty great, hardware-wise.
And right now, I'm sitting at my desk at work with my MBP and my iPad mini 6 as a second display about to jump into a WebEx meeting where I'll be able to share my laptop's built-in screen while still seeing the other people on the meeting on my little iPad. Pretty cool hardware and software, I think.

 

[NARadyk]

This is a result of not having their staff in the office. Too much of they do depends on hardware and software being built by different team working together and working seamlessly across platforms. I can’t see how this can be effectively done on a Teams call.

Didn‘t realise Jacob Rees-Mogg posted on here! 😮

 

[thenahon]

Oh for f sake just PUT MACOS ON IPAD ALREADY.

 

[Wildkraut]

Waiting for Tim Cook to demand somebody to step up and say sorry or get fired… just like with Maps.

Could lead to some funny headlines like…
Manager of Stage Manager has been fired
Stage Manager Manager has been fired
Management fired Manager of Stage Manager

 

[macsound1]

I have not even used the „3 dots“ thing they added on iPadOS15. The only time I use it is when I activated it by mistake with a swipe down.

Apple doesn’t just work anymore. You need YouTube tutorials to use anything new that they try to squeeze into their pre-existing functionalities / features. Start to rebuilt from scratch

Yes and Yes!
I spend more time trying to disable new "features" that make it harder to use my iPad the way I want.
Those 3 dots get in the way and I'm constantly engaging them my accident!

 

[recklesslife85]

Waiting for Tim Cook to demand somebody to step up and say sorry or get fired… just like with Maps.

So true..

 

[jjudson]

Really? My 14" MacBook Pro is pretty great, hardware-wise.
And right now, I'm sitting at my desk at work with my MBP and my iPad mini 6 as a second display about to jump into a WebEx meeting where I'll be able to share my laptop's built-in screen while still seeing the other people on the meeting on my little iPad. Pretty cool hardware and software, I think.

Yes, the current gear is great — but it’s the same gear. I keep hoping to see Tim Cook’s successor come up on stage and show us something new. Something innovative. Something that changes how we do something. Something that makes us — “think differently”.

Something like Steve Jobs would do…

 

[Kramerjn]

I turned it off. I couldn't get used to it the way it's implemented now.

 

[Reason077]

Didn‘t realise Jacob Rees-Mogg posted on here! 😮

In all fairness to Rees-Mogg, my flatmate is a civil servant, she works from home 3-4 days a week, and as far as I can tell seems to spend at least half of her time at home doing very little.

(OK, admittedly that's probably true for me as well these days, but I'm my own boss so if I'm wasting time, that's on me)

 

[Wizec]

exactly. I dont know how such articles gain traction when they are written from a so-called perspective of knowledge and authority yet they are nothing but a unnecessary critique of an as-yet unreleased beta version of software that at best will be significantly tweaked before release and at worst be totally removed and never released in its current form when iPadOS16 drops.

Clickbait, shares... etc.. thats the sad reality for a lot of "journalism" nowadays...

Comments like these are part of the problem.

Articles like these are often the best and only way for Apple to understand that there are real issues with their software.

Apple develops products in a self congratulatory echo chamber.

Clearly neither of you understands the point of public betas. This beta period, _especially_ this late where we are nearing release candidate stage, is EXACTLY the time for pointed criticism. Waiting for the software to release as poor as this is doesn’t serve anyone’s interests.

The beta period is not meant to be, here take a look at this idea, but don’t give us any feedback yet because it’s not complete. I don’t know where people get these outlandish ideas. Give it a rest. Honest developers want any and all feedback so that the final product is the best it can be.

 

[Kramerjn]

You can do the same in macOS with the app Magnet. It was the first thing I installed when I switched back to the Mac from Windows 10!

I love Magnet. Should be native functionality!

 

[Mr.Blacky]

Man, that just looks horrible, but that's only my opinion. I'm already very critical of the dockbar as a big waste of space and functionality, but the stages just makes everything that much worse, and I still don't really understand what use overlapping windows gains and why I would want my windows to overlap. Again, just my personal opinion based on how my work and play flow is on my PC, and I have a 55" monitor at 4k resolution so space on my screens isn't an issue.

I don't know what you're talking about. If the dock wouldn't be on screen, there would just be empty and unused space. Also, don't like overlapping windows? Just resize them.

 

[Ludatyk]

Clearly neither of you understands the point of public betas. This beta period, _especially_ this late where we are nearing release candidate stage, is EXACTLY the time for pointed criticism. Waiting for the software to release as poor as this is doesn’t serve anyone’s interests.

Who says it’s nearing Release Candidate? Rumors have already suggested that iPadOS 16 will be released later than iOS 16 (most likely October/November).

Clearly Apple is aware Stage Manager needs work… Federico is pointing out the obvious, but I don’t agree that it’s unusable. The way Federico portrays it… it crashes every few minutes making the feature not operational even on a beta.

 

[jonnyb098]

Can we just get iPadOS to allow multiple audio sources at once….my podcast just paused after opening the weather channel app…but more commonly when browsing the web….because of apples half-@$$ coding and refusal to KEEP STUFF PLAYING