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Is iOS 11 split screen app switcher WORSE?

strategicthinke

strategicthinke

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Original poster
Feb 6, 2014
356
564
Rio de Janeiro
Sorry for the tabloid title. But from what I've seen in the videos so far you can only put an app in split screen if it is in the dock. No matter how awful the previous app switcher was, at least I could make ANY app open in the slide-over / secondary app (as long as it was compatible with it...).

Am I missing something?
 
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Apple figured it was easier to go to the home screen and open any other app, then immediately bring the previous app up from the dock, and I gotta say it makes way more sense. That's more like a traditional desktop OS that before!
 
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So, the most recently used app can be accessed in the dock right side? I mean, if I closer Safari, and Safari is NOT in the dock. And I go to Notes.app is it possible to drag Safari from the dock (as a most recently used app) to the split view mode?

Thanks for the replies!

ashindnile said:
Apple figured it was easier to go to the home screen and open any other app, then immediately bring the previous app up from the dock, and I gotta say it makes way more sense. That's more like a traditional desktop OS that before!
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1496850039][/doublepost]Oh, I see someone already emotions malt recently used apps ARE in the dock, app to the last three. That's great to hear!
Thanks everyone!
 
I really like the idea of the multitasking control centre and drag and drop but I am a bit concerned that the new slide over / split view app switcher will be more fiddly when trying to access apps not on the dock.
However I haven't tried the beta yet so I can't really make a proper judgment on usability yet.

I feel that something like the following concept would have been more intuitive whilst still keeping the same gesture actions. I also think it feels more natural to just swipe from the edge to activate split view and then drag to resize the app.

iOS-11-concept-iPad-Split-View-teaser-002.jpg


The only addition I would add is to include the same hovering dock along the full length of the iPad.
For example the different gestures:

1. Swipe from right edge = modified home screen app picker as shown + full length dock with drag and drop

2. Swipe up from bottom = hovering dock only with drag and drop (same as iOS 11)

3. Swipe up further = multitasker spaces & control centre (same as iOS 11)
 
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ashindnile said:
Apple figured it was easier to go to the home screen and open any other app, then immediately bring the previous app up from the dock, and I gotta say it makes way more sense. That's more like a traditional desktop OS that before!
Click to expand...
Framing it like that makes sense to me. Essentially, the new split screen app switcher is: The Home Screen. The ultimate place to select apps.
 
In iOS 10 and before you cannot literally put ANY app into split screen anyway, such as most games (I wish I could play two games at once) and some apps developer does not support it.
Maybe I was wrong because I just use split screen feature at Apple store.
 
strategicthinke said:
Sorry for the tabloid title. But from what I've seen in the videos so far you can only put an app in split screen if it is in the dock. No matter how awful the previous app switcher was, at least I could make ANY app open in the slide-over / secondary app (as long as it was compatible with it...).

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

It’s better that scrolling through 300 apps to find the one you want to open in split screen.
 
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az431 said:
It’s better that scrolling through 300 apps to find the one you want to open in split screen.
Click to expand...

Yeah the old way could have definitely used a search feature or a (de)selecting option what you want to see as apps that support Slide Over/Split View. But now with the Dock that changed a bit. If I understood correctly you can lock a few on the Dock but also a few (three) change depending on what you have used lately. See also more details on that in this forum topic and this post.
 
FYI, you can grab apps from the home screen, open another app or app switcher, then snap that previously dragged app into the slide over.

Oh someone just said that, my bad.
 
Well, it does force you to think ahead OR quit the main app, launch the one you want in split view, get back to the first all and THEN drag the secondary one to the split view. It's inelegant and takes way too many steps.

It is more flexible in 11 but there's nothing keeping Apple to combine this with the (suboptimal) way of iOS 10 and 9.

I'm almost certain Apple will address this in future releases.
 
I do miss rotating through all my recent apps to switch them. But it’s a beta so maybe they’ll bring it back.

On the other hand, I LOVE how you can swipe the dock up now and all the icons are just there, no need to swipe through all of them.

I know those statements seem contradictory, but they’re kinda two different things. The first statement was talking about recent apps, the other was about docked apps.
 
bmac89 said:
I really like the idea of the multitasking control centre and drag and drop but I am a bit concerned that the new slide over / split view app switcher will be more fiddly when trying to access apps not on the dock.
However I haven't tried the beta yet so I can't really make a proper judgment on usability yet.

I feel that something like the following concept would have been more intuitive whilst still keeping the same gesture actions. I also think it feels more natural to just swipe from the edge to activate split view and then drag to resize the app.

iOS-11-concept-iPad-Split-View-teaser-002.jpg


The only addition I would add is to include the same hovering dock along the full length of the iPad.
For example the different gestures:

1. Swipe from right edge = modified home screen app picker as shown + full length dock with drag and drop

2. Swipe up from bottom = hovering dock only with drag and drop (same as iOS 11)

3. Swipe up further = multitasker spaces & control centre (same as iOS 11)
Click to expand...

That is the most coherent mockup of iPad Multitasking out there. Just drag the “Sidebar” out and either your app is there or its just a search away.

And not only that. Having “multitasking” associated with a right-side drag then it gives Control Panel back to the bottom of the screen. Because the way it is now then accessing Control Panel requires TWO swipes. (One to get dock. Then another to get Multi Screen. And if you need to, a long press to dig deeper into an individual Control Pane).
 
KittyKatta said:
That is the most coherent mockup of iPad Multitasking out there. Just drag the “Sidebar” out and either your app is there or its just a search away.

And not only that. Having “multitasking” associated with a right-side drag then it gives Control Panel back to the bottom of the screen. Because the way it is now then accessing Control Panel requires TWO swipes. (One to get dock. Then another to get Multi Screen. And if you need to, a long press to dig deeper into an individual Control Pane).
Click to expand...
Actually,you can still get to the control center with only one swipe: it just needs to go a little bit higher. After a while you get used to it. It's a very well tought system
 
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I feel like for ppl like me who don’t overload their iPad and dock with too many apps, the new design is fine. But for those ppl that do have tons of apps on their iPad it sucks. Mainly cause you force those ppl to overload their dock. Which they may not want to do. And yes I understand you can also pull from the most frequently used apps on the right. But still, not everyone wants to throw a bunch of apps on their dock to split screen, or multitask.
 
lsutigerfan1976 said:
I feel like for ppl like me who don’t overload their iPad and dock with too many apps, the new design is fine. But for those ppl that do have tons of apps on their iPad it sucks. Mainly cause you force those ppl to overload their dock. Which they may not want to do. And yes I understand you can also pull from the most frequently used apps on the right. But still, not everyone wants to throw a bunch of apps on their dock to split screen, or multitask.
Click to expand...

I also have loads of apps and a big amount of those offer Slide Over/Split View support. It's not that I use it for all apps though. Luckely there is the option though to have a folder inside the Dock. However a search would also be helpfull though.
 
2 big issues

1) app switcher becomes a big mess with all the apps you have opened and then having to tough it to then get the “x” toggle and then hope your accurate enough in hitting it to close it.....am I missing something ? There must be a faster way to clear the switcher section?

2) accessing control panel fast is now painful...
 
Actually if you open the spotlight and search for an App you can drag the app icon from the search results and it can be a slide over.

That will allow you to search for any app not on the dock and put it in split screen.

 
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