Here's a thought. Watch the movie on your iPad and text on your phone while watching. Or go an entire 90 minutes without texting. Contrary to popular belief by 16 year olds - it won't kill you.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad High time, iPad Air 2 must support desktop style multitasking.
- Thread starter sanke1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Why even have an iPad at all? You can browse on your phone and use your laptop if you want a bigger screen
Who cares if it isn't necessary for YOU, other may find it useful and Apple should offer it
I don't know what you mean when you say your Note 4 multitasks "effectively" but your Air multitasks too, just behind the scenes. Until Apple figures out how to make a great multitasking UI for a small screen, I don't think we will see user facing multitasking from them. As they say over and over, they won't ship crap.
Multitasking? Yes.
Desktop style? For the love of God no!
Don't expect apple to shoehorn a completely different UI paradigm into a touch based tablet. That's horrendously lazy engineering. That'd be like if all modern smartphones used a rotary phone interface for the dial pad.....why bother? Come up with the modern solution.
Desktop style? For the love of God no!
Don't expect apple to shoehorn a completely different UI paradigm into a touch based tablet. That's horrendously lazy engineering. That'd be like if all modern smartphones used a rotary phone interface for the dial pad.....why bother? Come up with the modern solution.
Yup
What this guy said.
The entire allure of iOS is that it's NOT desktop focused, but rather an entirely new way to work based on the hardware it's used on.
Desktop multitasking introduces a complexity that, at least for now, would take away from iOS as a whole.
Though I STILL don't understand how multitasking is going to work on such a small frickin' screen. There are limits to our eyesight, people.
What this guy said.
The entire allure of iOS is that it's NOT desktop focused, but rather an entirely new way to work based on the hardware it's used on.
Desktop multitasking introduces a complexity that, at least for now, would take away from iOS as a whole.
Though I STILL don't understand how multitasking is going to work on such a small frickin' screen. There are limits to our eyesight, people.
I love my Air 2 just like it is. If I want to send a text while watching a movie I simply pick up my iPhone.
I think Apple has already shown us what smallscreen multitasking will look like. One app per screen. Switch back-and-forth as needed.
If that was the only purpose for multitasking, I would do the same. For copying data (like username and passwords from one app to another) split screens would be a huge time saver.
I don't want an overhaul of iOS and I don't want my iPad to run software meant for a desktop, but I would like to be able two open side by side apps. At one time, iOS didn't even have the ability to run Pandora while surfing the web, so it isn't like they are opposed to growing in this area.
FYI My Air 2 doesn't have lags at all. It is smooth and is much more powerful than it needs to be for the current iOS.
It's not the desire to multitask 100% on our iOS devices, it's more the occasion where you want to multitask really quickly while concentrating on a primary task on your mobile device. A use case like others have said is the downtime when there's a commercial running on Hulu, we'd like to go quickly check the scores, or maybe reply to a text. Or imagine if I'm on my iPad, and my iPhone is broken, I'd still like to use the iPad to make phone calls (not the Skype, Google voice workarounds) and serve as a substitute phone in the interim. The multitasking I'm looking for on a mobile device is more of the convenience type and I don't need it to be a full blown solution. It just needs to work, it doesn't have to be ideal, but it needs to be functional.
Can't iOS already do that? Swipe to the sports score app, or the Messages app, then swipe back?
Maybe they are saving that for the ipad pro?
I have true multi-tasking on my tab pro 10.1 but to be honest I don't really use it much. Nice to have it though. I'm holding off upgrading my ipad air to the 2, mainly because I'm still happy with the original air and I'm not convinced that the upgrade is worth it for me. However I also want to see what the pro brings to the table. It would be cool if it were a mac OS/ios hybrid.
I have true multi-tasking on my tab pro 10.1 but to be honest I don't really use it much. Nice to have it though. I'm holding off upgrading my ipad air to the 2, mainly because I'm still happy with the original air and I'm not convinced that the upgrade is worth it for me. However I also want to see what the pro brings to the table. It would be cool if it were a mac OS/ios hybrid.
The better way would be for the apps to do something like 1password or iCloud Keychain integration. Sadly, that is up to the developers' discretion, and not many have done so.
The better way would be for the apps to do something like 1password or iCloud Keychain integration. Sadly, that is up to the developers' discretion, and not many have done so.
Exactly, that's the problem and split screen multitasking would be an answer to the issue since app developers don't seem to be interested. Also, simple copying from any app to another would be useful. When Allmusic guide is updated each week, they often have new releases listed that don't show up in most of the music apps and it would make it easier to copy an album name from safari to Rdio by having them both open side by side.
Here's the thing. For me, iOS represents the perfect opportunity to make a clean break from the old legacies and complexities of desktop computing, from hierarchical file structures to multiple resizable windows, and to completely rethink what modern mobile computing really means.
The way I see it, Android has pretty much thrown in the towel by essentially modeling their OS after a PC. iOS is the last bastion here, and I really don't wish to see Apple cave in to "populist" demands like split-screen multitasking because I honestly don't think it is suitable for a mobile tablet experience.
iOS already lets you copy and paste between apps.
i don't see how tiny side by side apps would be any easier than what we have today.
That's the most elegant solution IMHO. No need to learn special multitasking gestures, other than those that come naturally to everyone.
Yes, but the way they allow you to do it now isn't the best way to do it. If you need to revisit the app you are copying from, which is typical for username and passwords (and many other things), you have to go through the time wasting process twice. It would be much more useful to allow it to be pulled up with a split screen and have access to both programs at the same time.
The word "tiny" would apply to the size of iPhones that Apple thought we should use until this year and we managed. Splitting a 9.7 inch screen down the middle would still give you more real estate for each app than those phones.
I remember back when I got my first iPhone (3GS). Folders weren't allowed, you couldn't run background apps like Pandora, etc.. and many people were saying they didn't need it. However, Apple added those abilities and most have chosen to use both. This would just be one extra step to make iOS more useful.
For me, this is not a request to integrate a full desktop operating system... which I wouldn't want either.
Last edited:
Agreed. That's exactly what MS repeatedly did with Windows CE: Lazily offer a shrunken desktop.
MS was a full decade ahead of Apple with mobile. Look where lazy engineering got them.
I just want more features in iOS for iPad! iOS for iPhone is fine imo...
I replaced laptops with tablets years ago and although I do agree they're not quite there yet, I strongly believe they are the future with lots of potential to replace the laptop! Tell me, when you watch a futuristic sci-fi movie what do you see people walking around holding? Laptops are old school like it or not inside of five years they will be gone... Tablets are much more convenient, easier to hold standing and or sitting, more portable, more up close and personal and have the ability to use attached input or built in touch screen! They are diverse and cater to the best of both worlds... As components get smaller faster and more efficient tablets will rule!
And Apple know this otherwise they wouldn't be working on progressing iPads with more advanced software features, larger screen sizes and more powerful components!
Just saying...
I replaced laptops with tablets years ago and although I do agree they're not quite there yet, I strongly believe they are the future with lots of potential to replace the laptop! Tell me, when you watch a futuristic sci-fi movie what do you see people walking around holding? Laptops are old school like it or not inside of five years they will be gone... Tablets are much more convenient, easier to hold standing and or sitting, more portable, more up close and personal and have the ability to use attached input or built in touch screen! They are diverse and cater to the best of both worlds... As components get smaller faster and more efficient tablets will rule!
And Apple know this otherwise they wouldn't be working on progressing iPads with more advanced software features, larger screen sizes and more powerful components!
Just saying...
The problem with the statement "If I want to do desktop work I get out my desktop" is the fact that I often grab my iPad Air 2 not intending to do any work but then decide I want to.
I often want to be able to read something on the internet while I'm writing in Pages. I'd like to be able to put two windows side by side. There is more than enough room. Half of a 9.7" screen is way more real estate than an iPhone 6 Plus.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason Apple stuck the triple core A8X is into the Air 2 is to make room for a multi window setup. I'm hoping it comes in iOS 8.2.
I often want to be able to read something on the internet while I'm writing in Pages. I'd like to be able to put two windows side by side. There is more than enough room. Half of a 9.7" screen is way more real estate than an iPhone 6 Plus.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason Apple stuck the triple core A8X is into the Air 2 is to make room for a multi window setup. I'm hoping it comes in iOS 8.2.
iPad will not do Adobe Photoshop so we artists will depend on powerful desktop to get the job done. That is why I still have AMD Althon 64 X2 4800+ with Hyper X 2GB and powerful Diamond Radeon 1950XT with 512MB graphic card. 
Android solved this problem already; why is it so hard for Apple?
----------
They already have it baked into the UI with the four-finger swipe between apps and five fingers to return to the Home screen and so on. They simply need to make the apps stay truly running and not suspended. Use that RAM (and add more) so switching away from Safari or to a new tab to research something doesn't dump what I was doing in the previous tab when I return.
----------
The Galaxy 4 and 5 phones both already multitask and do screen splitting where one app takes up half the screen (adjustable amount, actually) so you can, for an example, stream a Youtube video, but have your email open and typing into it while the video plays. The Note and all their tablets do the same. Why are you making excuses for Apple being so far behind the curve of what users want to do?
Last edited: