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Shoud the iPad not get it's own OS

zombierunner

zombierunner

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 18, 2011
1,856
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UK
I mean it is suppose to be a whole new category. Then why use iOS built for iPhone ... iOS on the iPad is too little functionality . I am not saying we need a full blown OS Lion but somewhere in the middle perhaps?

Thoughts?
 
Why don't the iMac 27" and MBP 13" have different OSes? They are different categories of computers.

The iPad is in essence a large iPhone so why wouldn't it use the phone OS which is reformatted for the large screen. Even Google knows this, which is why the next version will be a single OS for tablets and phones.
 
Sounds like that would make things more complicated. The 'you already know how to use it' reason for buying it would disappear.
 
darngooddesign said:
Why don't the iMac 27" and MBP 13" have different OSes? They are different categories of computers.

The iPad is in essence a large iPhone so why wouldn't it use the phone OS which is reformatted for the large screen. Even Google knows this, which is why the next version will be a single OS for tablets and phones.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. All Apple needs to do is make it more tablet optimized, like a better homescreen than just plain grid of icons.
 
jmpnop said:
Agree with this. All Apple needs to do is make it more tablet optimized, like a better homescreen than just plain grid of icons.
Click to expand...

What would you suggest. If anything, with Lion, there is movement to make the desktop more iOS-like (e.g. Mission Control)
 
jmpnop said:
Agree with this. All Apple needs to do is make it more tablet optimized, like a better homescreen than just plain grid of icons.
Click to expand...

I wish they will keep it simple. I guess that's still the DNA of Apple post-Jobs era.
 
i am pretty pleased with how things work with iOS and OSX. what exactly would you like to see? an OS tailor made for each device?

as for the home screen, i often see people complain about the grid of icons on the screen, but that has never bothered me in the least. i use apps, so i am barely on the homescreens at all. keep it simple and easy to find stuff and i am happy. android is an eyesore (in my opinion).
 
Overall it should be the same OS as this is essential to avoid issues in software development and also usge fo end user. Though there are already some small differences eg the split screen is only on iPad and available on iPhone; but those are really few and easy to manage in universal apps.
As the screen of the iPhone will grow it will (or is) also a tablet; a specialized one of course
 
zombierunner said:
I mean it is suppose to be a whole new category. Then why use iOS built for iPhone ... iOS on the iPad is too little functionality . I am not saying we need a full blown OS Lion but somewhere in the middle perhaps?
Click to expand...

The iPad doubles the pixels in both x and y of the iPhone 3GS (which was the current phone when the iPad was released). This allowed iPhone apps to run with their pixels doubled on Day 1 of the iPad release. While apps have been updated to natively use the full real estate of the iPad at its native resolution, there are still a fair number of apps developed for the iPhone running unmodified on the iPad.

Software licenses for the App Store allow purchased software to run on multiple machines. It's tremendously useful to run the same app on different machines. For example, a Keynote presentation can be prepared on an iPad and the presented through an iPhone -- all with a single Keynote license. iCloud connectivity in iOS 5 will further increase the ease of coordinating activity between an iPhone and an iPad.

Any iPhone user will instantly be comfortable using an iPad; iPhone developers will have the same comfort coding apps for the iPad. While many apps are iPad-only, the iPhone was an excellent launching pad for the iPad.

This new class of machines has achieved huge success. At the end of the current quarter (which ends today), there will be between 40 and 50M iPads sold. Analysts are predicting that Apple will sell at least 20M iPads during the holiday season. We'll know more when the FY11 Q4 results are announced (I believe that's October 17th), but a minimum 20M iPad sales per quarter going forward seems perfectly plausible. My point is that the marketplace has certainly embraced Apple's hardware and software choices on the iPad.
 
It's not time for the UI to change yet. What we have is right for the time. No need for anything more. Just because you know it can be different is the only reason why u want something different, but if you focus, you would realize that what we have is just what we need.
 
zombierunner said:
I mean it is suppose to be a whole new category. Then why use iOS built for iPhone ... iOS on the iPad is too little functionality . I am not saying we need a full blown OS Lion but somewhere in the middle perhaps?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

So what you would like to see? If you were in charge and given the task of developing a separate OS for iPads, what features would you add?
 
FloatingBones said:
The iPad doubles the pixels in both x and y of the iPhone 3GS (which was the current phone when the iPad was released). This allowed iPhone apps to run with their pixels doubled on Day 1 of the iPad release. While apps have been updated to natively use the full real estate of the iPad at its native resolution, there are still a fair number of apps developed for the iPhone running unmodified on the iPad....
Click to expand...

"Fair number"? "Vast majority" is more like it. I certainly understand Apple's decision to leverage the huge number of iPhone/iPod apps for the iPad. It was a brilliant marketing move, enabling Apple to claim "hundreds of thousands" of apps for the iPad.

Nevertheless, I find it annoying to find apps that are either pixalated (sp?) on the iPad, fail to work in landscape orientation, or both.

Not arguing for another OS. Heaven help us, we don't need another OS designed specifically for a particular device. But trying to make a single OS that spans the capabilities of different processors and supports apps across a broad range of devices is no mean feat. Microsoft hopes to pull off that trick with Windows 8. Whether they succeed is a still very much an open question.

I'm sure that Apple is wrestling with the similar issues.
 
I don't personally think it needs a whole new OS, it's fine running on iOS as long as they continue to make it tablet friendly and work well with the iPad just as it currently does with the iPod Touch/iPhone :D.
 
CalWizrd said:
If enough complexity and confusion are added, we could get really lucky and create another Windows! :eek:
Click to expand...

It is on its way. I will probably upgrade from "Microsoft Bob" (ask Mr. Google) so I can hardly wait. Will it still run QBasic, I wonder. Smiley.

When Windows 8 arrives, the Linux users might have a few things to say. Actually they already are saying some things about "Secure Boot" which apparently offers less control over your computer's hardware and locks down system firmware to prevent (or to try to) pirated copies of Windows. This might make it tough for anyone wanting to install other than Windows because new systems will (apparently) be locked much tighter, thus requiring Rooting.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/09/windows-8-spells-trouble-for-l.php

Ubuntu and/or one of the Linux variants is looking better. So is building my next PC, I guess

I'll agree, Windows is complex and I still relish the days before the Registry and all you needed was the Windows 3.1/For Work-groups Resource Guide and a text editor to fix problems.

The next Win version is curious and complicated. I do not plan to upgrade because I see no need even before I see the OS in action.
 
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jsh1120 said:
Along with another pound of weight? A fan? Diminished battery life? What are you willing to sacrifice?
Click to expand...

ok fine, you're right.

give me something that is more useful than my iPhone.

i really want one, but as of now i can't justify one just yet. if it ran OS X, then i would sell my MBP.
 
acfusion29 said:
ok fine, you're right.

give me something that is more useful than my iPhone.

i really want one, but as of now i can't justify one just yet. if it ran OS X, then i would sell my MBP.
Click to expand...

And Apple would serve its shareholders by selling a device that makes your MBP redundant at half the price? How does that work?

I strongly suspect you're not looking at your iPhone with eyes you've been using for more than half a century. :D For those of us who aren't using 20 year old eyes, the iPad is far more useful (for many things) than an iPhone.
 
Changing the OS would most likely mean loosing compatability with all of the current apps which is one of the strong suits it has. Loosing this and adding a new learning curve to people would mean deviating from simplicity state of mind. I don't believe the iPad was meant to be just like a laptop it is on a different category something that other manufacturers have become to learn.
 
On an aside, when I first read about the pixeldoubling I hoped they would allow you to load up to four iPhone apps on the same screen and share the info between them.
 
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