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Five Useful Features We'd Like to See Added to iPadOS

ugahairydawgs said:
I'm going to guess that app library and home screen widgets were left off iPadOS after they just ran out of time and just had to put their resources into getting it shipped for iOS. I don't think they should wait until next year to get those added though....I would think they should have enough work done on this to have it out in a point update.

The multi-user thing is the most strange to me. I just cannot come up with a good logical explanation as to why this wasn't put in years ago.
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Not a fan boy or conspiracy nut but : $ales????
 
I can’t believe they didn’t bring home screen widgets to iPadOS. That seems like a no brainer. I would really like to see this implemented. I love the widgets on iOS and when I go to use my iPad it feels dated having to use my old icon based layout.
 
6. Banishment of Flat Design and the return of those subtle intuitive interface cues that Jony put into storage back in 2013.
 
Cybbe said:
While there are some design decisions to make on this (notifications, incoming calls, storage), Apple should take a hard look at how this is done over on Android and try to deliver an even better experience.
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They won’t do it, the iPad sells too well. It would cannibalize sales.
 
ugahairydawgs said:
I'm going to guess that app library and home screen widgets were left off iPadOS after they just ran out of time and just had to put their resources into getting it shipped for iOS. I don't think they should wait until next year to get those added though....I would think they should have enough work done on this to have it out in a point update.

The multi-user thing is the most strange to me. I just cannot come up with a good logical explanation as to why this wasn't put in years ago.
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I think multiuser is complicated to implement given iOS’s design. I dont really know the specifics, but this episode of the ATP podcast has a chapter towards the end that addresses it.

ATP 378: Whale Quench — Accidental Tech Podcast

Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.
atp.fm atp.fm
 
Still can’t believe Apple ran their “WhAt’S a CoMpUtEr?” ad and I’m still waiting for the ability to have 2 people use an iPad or plug it into an external display.
 
KittyKatta said:
Dont forget:
translator app
Widget placement
Health app
Low power mode
battery health
Multi user
emoji search

It just sad that a machine as powerful as the iPad can’t even get parity with the features of the iPhone.
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Yea, some of the omissions are questionable, especially since iPadOS has evolved into something pretty great. The good news is the Fitness app is coming this year when Fitness+ comes out. Maybe the Health app will follow suit?

But as for multi-user support, I just don’t think it’s ever going to happen. Because the clue is in the name....’i’Pad.
 
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+1 on the Extended Display, the iPad is a great device with a lot of potential, iPadOS is limiting what it can do which I believe it's intentional from Apple not to hurt it's MacOS business, there was an earlier comment on merging iPadOS and MacOS which is the next logical step.
 
Give me Xcode and a way to build apps on the ipad. Then I will consider it a pro device. Until then its just an expensive toy (no matter the 'Pro' demonicer)
 
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subjonas said:
View attachment 964024
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:D
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Counterpoint:
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Shout to @AngerDanger for the GIF help!
 
HiVolt said:
iPad will never become a competent computer replacement, unless MacOS & iPadOS merge. which will probably happen with the ARM architecture, in 2-3 years.
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That "merge" is quite soon – Big Sur on Apple Silicon can run iPadOS apps, unless its developer opts out.
 
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ugahairydawgs said:
I'm going to guess that app library and home screen widgets were left off iPadOS after they just ran out of time and just had to put their resources into getting it shipped for iOS. I don't think they should wait until next year to get those added though....I would think they should have enough work done on this to have it out in a point update.

The multi-user thing is the most strange to me. I just cannot come up with a good logical explanation as to why this wasn't put in years ago.
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^^^Apple's idea of multi-user is for every member of a household to buy their iPad - that makes Tim happy ;)
 
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A decent multitasking experience would be a good start. Until Apple do this the iPad will never be a proper productivity device.
 
adib said:
That "merge" is quite soon – Big Sur on Apple Silicon can run iPadOS apps, unless its developer opts out.
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Yeah but not in a very good way, touch only apps do not behave well on non-touch OS. which MacOS still is, non touch.

Unless the app is totally rewritten to work on both.

I think it will take a few more years to merge the features of both into one that will be fully hybrid. Windows has been doing it for a long time now.
 
Sebosz said:
I'd love to see multiwindow support where you can drag the window wherever you want and minimize it to the dock like on macOS.
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I suppose I agree, but it gets me thinking. Why not just put MacOS on an iPad Pro, since MacOS will soon run on ARM processors? Also, with Catalyst you will be able to run iPad Apps on MacOS.

In this way, you could:
  1. Run MacOS on your iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard, so it can be used just like a MacBook, and
  2. Click on an iPad App and remove the device from the Magic Keyboard, so it can be used just like an iPad
Best of both worlds. I would give up my MacBook Air for this setup. There is probably a reason this would not work, but I have been wondering why Apple doesn't do this once they get MacOS to run on ARM processors.
 
Apple needs to do a lot more than just add app library support. They need to rethink the whole concept for iPad. Right now, if I want to open another app (that I haven’t launched recently) to run concurrently on the side, I have to jump through hoops. Moreover, the whole multi-windowing system is not very conducive to a smooth workflow nor is it intuitive. They need to take a holistic view to fix both issues.

As for widgets, I’m OK with widgets on the side. Widgets were a little more useful when launching apps took a long time, but most apps I use launch near instantaneously on my iPad so most widgets are useless, especially considering that they’re not always up to date... stocks, for example.

I’d like to see weather and calculator apps on iPad.
 
RumorConsumer said:
On a recent episode of Accidental Tech Podcast John Siracusa and Marco Arment addressed the multi-user question for iOS/iPad OS and basically it boiled down to it would take a major rewrite of a significant amount of the OS to do this due to having incurred so much tech debt from its origins as a single user OS.
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Works fine with classrooms. The fact is, Apple want a family to buy an iPad for each user.
 
Would really like to be able to have 3 windows on screen at a time - ie 1/2 on screen and 1/4 and 1/4 on the other side or three slim?

Also fix bloody file management. Remains useless on iPadOS as its impossible to download a whole folder at a time.
 
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