iOS 11 iPad Multitasking thoughts - 1 Month in

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I'm not running the beta (been debating tossing it on my 9.7 iPP), but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the new multitasking paradigm in iOS 11 now that you've had a while to get used to it.

When I first saw it at WWDC I thought it looked amazing and exactly what everyone wanted and needed on iPad. But after hearing some peoples experiences and thinking about it a little more, I'm not sure how much better it actually is, and possibly worse in some ways... Particularly, in iOS 10 I like how easy it is to keep one app persistent while cycling through different apps.

 

[Mlrollin91]

My biggest complaint of the new Multitasking is the lack of slide-over. If the app is not in my dock, I need to go open it, so it appears in "recents" so I can add it to multitasking. And if you disable "recents" then you are completely screwed unless its in your dock. Slide-over was very easy to use, and really convenient. Besides that, I do like the ability to position the second app on either side of the screen.

 

[Feenician]

If the app is not in my dock, I need to go open it, so it appears in "recents" so I can add it to multitasking

You actually don't

1) You can go to the home screen, pick up your app and with another finger swipe up to go into multitasking. Still with the app/icon you picked up, slide it onto the space you want and then place it into slideover.

2) Use spotlight, right from the app you're in. This only works by inducing it with a keyboard at the moment (sliding down and right results in not being able to drag apps out of spotlight. I'm certain this is a bug) but once you induce spotlight enter the first few characters of the app you want in slideover and.. put it in slideover. It's difficult to see it for now but, again, I expect that will improve.

That second workflow, once the kinks are worked out, is the equal of any desktop operating system for efficiency.

 

[Mlrollin91]

You actually don't

1) You can go to the home screen, pick up your app and with another finger swipe up to go into multitasking. Still with the app/icon you picked up, slide it onto the space you want and then place it into slideover.

2) Use spotlight, right from the app you're in. This only works by inducing it with a keyboard at the moment (sliding down and right results in not being able to drag apps out of spotlight. I'm certain this is a bug) but once you induce spotlight enter the first few characters of the app you want in slideover and.. put it in slideover. It's difficult to see it for now but, again, I expect that will improve.

That second workflow, once the kinks are worked out, is the equal of any desktop operating system for efficiency.

Thanks, didn't know about those workarounds, but in my opinion they are still unnecessary extra steps. Not sure why slide-over could not have been maintained in this new update. It should not require the extra steps to do the same exact thing. The only thing Slide-over could have used was a search function at the top.

 

[Feenician]

Thanks, didn't know about those workarounds, but in my opinion they are still unnecessary extra steps. Not sure why slide-over could not have been maintained in this new update. It should not require the extra steps to do the same exact thing. The only thing Slide-over could have used was a search function at the top.

Well, we can never know what's in their minds when we design these things. I'd guess just consistency. Starting a single app, bringing one in for split or bringing one in for slideover... go to the dock or home screen. Who knows though.

 

[itsmilo]

You actually don't

1) You can go to the home screen, pick up your app and with another finger swipe up to go into multitasking. Still with the app/icon you picked up, slide it onto the space you want and then place it into slideover.

2) Use spotlight, right from the app you're in. This only works by inducing it with a keyboard at the moment (sliding down and right results in not being able to drag apps out of spotlight. I'm certain this is a bug) but once you induce spotlight enter the first few characters of the app you want in slideover and.. put it in slideover. It's difficult to see it for now but, again, I expect that will improve.

That second workflow, once the kinks are worked out, is the equal of any desktop operating system for efficiency.

Just reading this makes my head spin. Who comes up with such intuitive gestures. Such a delight to use.

/s

 

[Feenician]

Just reading this makes my head spin. Who comes up with such intuitive gestures. Such a delight to use.

/s

It’s really hard to learn. No-one could possibly do so. In the face of adding multitasking features to a touchscreen Apple have clearly missed the bar but Macrumors forum user itsmilo is about to explain how to add all features, but better, and will surely do so without fantasy mockups while considering consistency, reliability and realism.

/s

 

[GreyOS]

My biggest complaint of the new Multitasking is the lack of slide-over. If the app is not in my dock, I need to go open it, so it appears in "recents" so I can add it to multitasking. And if you disable "recents" then you are completely screwed unless its in your dock. Slide-over was very easy to use, and really convenient. Besides that, I do like the ability to position the second app on either side of the screen.

You actually don't

1) You can go to the home screen, pick up your app and with another finger swipe up to go into multitasking. Still with the app/icon you picked up, slide it onto the space you want and then place it into slideover.

2) Use spotlight, right from the app you're in. This only works by inducing it with a keyboard at the moment (sliding down and right results in not being able to drag apps out of spotlight. I'm certain this is a bug) but once you induce spotlight enter the first few characters of the app you want in slideover and.. put it in slideover. It's difficult to see it for now but, again, I expect that will improve.

That second workflow, once the kinks are worked out, is the equal of any desktop operating system for efficiency.

I'm not running iOS 11 but is this a third way?

3) Go to the home screen, pick up your 2nd app, then with another finger, open the previous app you had open from the dock. If it's not pinned it'll be in recents. You can now place the second app over it.

Admittedly this relies on recents but the part of the original post quoted didn't include an issue with that. Anyway, it's one way, if you have recents, or the app pinned - I think.

 

[bmac89]

I'm not running iOS 11 but is this a third way?

3) Go to the home screen, pick up your 2nd app, then with another finger, open the previous app you had open from the dock. If it's not pinned it'll be in recents. You can now place the second app over it.

Admittedly this relies on recents but the part of the original post quoted didn't include an issue with that. Anyway, it's one way, if you have recents, or the app pinned - I think.

Yes this works. In fact the app does not even need to be on the dock. You can press and drag an app on the home screen then use another finger to open another app on the home screen and place it on top.

Also you can go to app switcher / control centre and drag an app onto a space.

 

[Donka]

After using this on my mini 4 with the iOS 11 beta, I know really miss it when I go back to both of my Pros on 10.3.2. It takes a little getting used to but seems much more practical to me now than using that frustrating, forever scrolling list in iOS 10.

 

[itsmilo]

It’s really hard to learn. No-one could possibly do so. In the face of adding multitasking features to a touchscreen Apple have clearly missed the bar but Macrumors forum user itsmilo is about to explain how to add all features, but better, and will surely do so without fantasy mockups while considering consistency, reliability and realism.

/s

Nope cuz that aint my job

 

[DNichter]

I am mostly happy with iOS 11 multitasking. I did have some issues with having to open the app so it shows up in recents, but I have since added about 8 main apps to my dock and the rest of my apps resides in an "apps" folder in my dock. These are easy to access for multitasking. Works well.

 

[Superhappytree]

Thanks, didn't know about those workarounds, but in my opinion they are still unnecessary extra steps.

You've just described my issue with iOS 11 iPad multitasking. It requires more muscle memory. When I have to google and search for how to do a simple thing (split screen) which I didn't have such an issue with in iOS 10, that's when the user experience is fail to me. I still haven't gotten used to it, and still forget you need to drag, keep hold, and then drop. I downgraded back to iOS 10 out of frustration. This is Apple we're talking about here who are known for their simplicity, and I expect as much.

 

[DNichter]

You've just described my issue with iOS 11 iPad multitasking. It requires more muscle memory. When I have to google and search for how to do a simple thing (split screen) which I didn't have such an issue with in iOS 10, that's when the user experience is fail to me. I still haven't gotten used to it, and still forget you need to drag, keep hold, and then drop. I downgraded back to iOS 10 out of frustration. This is Apple we're talking about here who are known for their simplicity, and I expect as much.

The issue here is that it becomes increasingly difficult to add "power user" features while keeping everything really simple. Everyone wants iOS to be desktop-like on the iPad, but with that comes complexity. In iOS 11, everything mostly works the same except for the slide over, which I felt to be clunky anyway. I think the current implementation is more desktop-like and will become learned over time. It's hard to please everyone.

 

[Donka]

A quick search and there are plenty of articles and videos on how the new multitasking works in iOS 11. Not too hard for someone to look up and figure out what to do.

 

[Feenician]

I'm not running iOS 11 but is this a third way?

3) Go to the home screen, pick up your 2nd app, then with another finger, open the previous app you had open from the dock. If it's not pinned it'll be in recents. You can now place the second app over it.

Admittedly this relies on recents but the part of the original post quoted didn't include an issue with that. Anyway, it's one way, if you have recents, or the app pinned - I think.

The method you describe works but not as you think. You pick up the first app, tap the 2nd and it launches full screen (or, if its already open, in full screen or already in split, re-opens that space). From there you drop the app you originally dragged where you want it.

There’s another way to do that too. Instead of tapping the second app you can just hover the icon you dragged over it. Same result.

The system is flexible and pretty powerful. Absolutely it means re-learning things if you use splits and slideover but quite elegantly, if you don’t, not a great deal has changed from iOS 10. The home button still lets you shuffle around between, or remove, single full screen apps. The only really notable difference is the longer swipe up to see CC if you used that gesture.

 

[GreyOS]

The method you describe works but not as you think. You pick up the first app, tap the 2nd and it launches full screen (or, if its already open, in full screen or already in split, re-opens that space). From there you drop the app you originally dragged where you want it.

Hmm? That's one way, but not what I was describing? I meant say you're already using the 1st app. You want the 2nd app as slideover. So you hit home button... then continue with my steps.

Cool other ways to do it, thanks!

 

[Feenician]

Hmm? That's one way, but not what I was describing? I meant say you're already using the 1st app. You want the 2nd app as slideover. So you hit home button... then continue with my steps.

Cool other ways to do it, thanks!

Right, though it makes no difference if you’re already using it. I guess I am describing the more general version of the very case you are talking about. Or maybe I’m just misunderstanding you.

Whether it’s pinned, in recents or just somewhere else on the home screen doesn’t make a difference. If you’re not currently using, tapping it will start a space for it. If you are, tapping it will return to the existing space - that existing space may or may not already be split and/or slideover.

An app in slideover on an existing space is not considered as being in an existing space, btw. If you return home and start an app currently in slideover it will start full screen. Apps already in split view view are considered as existing in space and you will return to that space when you invoke one of those apps.

 

[GreyOS]

Right, though it makes no difference if you’re already using it. I guess I am describing the more general version of the very case you are talking about. Or maybe I’m just misunderstanding you.

Yeah I think it was just a difference in how I was conceptualising it, or the lens through which I was viewing it. I was thinking 'I have this app open, how do I add another over it?' and that involves going to the home screen. From this perspective, the first app is temporarily 'minimised' while you find another. The reason I thought of it like this is because it's most similar to previous versions of iOS, where you'd open an app and then find another to slide over. I added that as a third way for someone approaching the system looking for familiarity.

But yeah, of course, once you're at the home screen, it doesn't really matter what you had open just before, you can use this as your starting point for multitasking with any two apps you like. In this conception the previous app you returned to the home screen from is 'closed' (even though there is no actual difference in what happened to the app when you went to the home screen in this example and the one before it)

Looking forward to getting my hands on this. Am a strong believer that the home screen and spotlight are already excellent ways to find and open apps - whether multitasking or not - and we don't need that third slide over way that we had in previous versions.

 

[Feenician]

Yeah I think it was just a difference in how I was conceptualising it, or the lens through which I was viewing it. I was thinking 'I have this app open, how do I add another over it?' and that involves going to the home screen. From this perspective, the first app is temporarily 'minimised' while you find another. The reason I thought of it like this is because it's most similar to previous versions of iOS, where you'd open an app and then find another to slide over. I added that as a third way for someone approaching the system looking for familiarity.

But yeah, of course, once you're at the home screen, it doesn't really matter what you had open just before, you can use this as your starting point for multitasking with any two apps you like. In this conception the previous app you returned to the home screen from is 'closed' (even though there is no actual difference in what happened to the app when you went to the home screen in this example and the one before it)

Looking forward to getting my hands on this. Am a strong believer that the home screen and spotlight are already excellent ways to find and open apps - whether multitasking or not - and we don't need that third slide over way that we had in previous versions.

Yep, bingo. The spotlight workflow is a bit inconsistent and buggy right now (described it above) but once it is up and running the launching and management of apps will be really efficient.