iPad Pro Disappointed in iPadOS

[arobert3434]

The release of iPadOS 15 makes it clear that, whether or not Apple ever really intended to add productivity-enhancing functionality to the rebranded OS, it has devolved to a simply a way to delay implementation of iOS features to reduce load on the iPhone team. Rather than straining to implement each new piece of functionality for the two screen sizes, the team now need only focus on the phone, while a separate small group picks a few old features each year to port over to the iPad. No matter how much people beg for extended monitors, greater options for working with files, Xcode, or other real steps forward, this team doesn't have the capacity for it, nor do their managers have the vision to drive it, and the company as a whole lacks the humility to listen to market feedback.

The iPad is still a great device for what it is: a large-screened touch device that some software developers leverage to build more elaborate apps, but despite tremendous accomplishments on the hardware side, it's never going to become the Surface. And while the pencil was a promising development, devices with better ergonomics (for example the reMarkable) are showing its limitations as a drawing / sketching medium as well. The Pro iPads pay a massive bulk tax for all their power, but the power goes unused due to the limited sooftware so they might as well shift gears and start using technical advances to slim down the devices instead.

Sad!

 

[Tsepz]

The release of iPadOS 15 makes it clear that, whether or not Apple ever really intended to add productivity-enhancing functionality to the rebranded OS, it has devolved to a simply a way to delay implementation of iOS features to reduce load on the iPhone team. Rather than straining to implement each new piece of functionality for the two screen sizes, the team now need only focus on the phone, while a separate small group picks a few old features each year to port over to the iPad. No matter how much people beg for extended monitors, greater options for working with files, Xcode, or other real steps forward, this team doesn't have the capacity for it, nor do their managers have the vision to drive it, and the company as a whole lacks the humility to listen to market feedback.

The iPad is still a great device for what it is: a large-screened touch device that some software developers leverage to build more elaborate apps, but despite tremendous accomplishments on the hardware side, it's never going to become the Surface. And while the pencil was a promising development, devices with better ergonomics (for example the reMarkable) are showing its limitations as a drawing / sketching medium as well. The Pro iPads pay a massive bulk tax for all their power, but the power goes unused due to the limited sooftware so they might as well shift gears and start using technical advances to slim down the devices instead.

Sad!

This is a very interesting take and before you start getting attacked for your opinion (a lot of folks sensitive toward Apple criticism round these parts lol), I agree with a lot of what you have said, one thing I never understood was how iOS was able to have widgets where you want and App Library before iPad, lol, little things like that are incredibly bizarre and do make one wonder a lot about Apple’s approach with iPad OS.

My current belief is now that iPads and Macs share hardware Apple will be beginning to build a more robust iPad OS, not to the lengths of Mac OS but as a sort of coexisting OS that plays nicer with MacOS than before.

I think all of us can come up with a multitude of ways apple maybe going with iPad OS, but one thing is for sure it’s not where some of us think it should be but we choose to accept it for what it is I guess, lol.

 

[rovex]

Are free floating windows too Much to ask for ? multitasking as it is now isn’t intuitive.

 

[MisterSavage]

This is a very interesting take and before you start getting attacked for your opinion (a lot of folks sensitive toward Apple criticism round these parts lol), I agree with a lot of what you have said, one thing I never understood was how iOS was able to have widgets where you want and App Library before iPad, lol, little things like that are incredibly bizarre and do make one wonder a lot about Apple’s approach with iPad OS.

Yep, add low power mode to that list also of things that would have been useful on iPad that took an additional year to get.

 

[Tsepz]

Yep, add low power mode to that list also of things that would have been useful on iPad that took an additional year to get.

Oh yes indeed! I was incredibly surprised when I saw it on my iPad Pro in the iPad OS 15 Betas, something is definitely off about iPad OS development it’s almost like a second rate version of iOS at this point which is quite sad.

 

[sparksd]

Monitor support is the biggie for me. I use my Surface Pro 7 with a 24" 4K monitor and I'd like to be able to do the same with my 12.9 Pro.

 

[sunapple]

It seems like especially the iPad Pro 12.9”, which keeps making huge leaps in performance, is never matched by the software. I am not sure what will be the turning point, but rather than blurring the lines with macOS it should just straight up to overtake it!

Anyway, I’m using my iPad as my only computer and am perfectly happy with it. Depends very much on usage.

 

[spinedoc77]

Apple has to continue to straddle the line between MacOS and iPadOS. If they make iPadOS too functional then they can't convince you to buy 2 devices. iPadOS is not enough of a OS for my own needs, but plenty of users can make it fit their needs. You are never going to see full functionality until Apple figures out a way to financially capitalize on it.

 

[bluespark]

I agree — the iOS/iPad OS fork seems at this point to have been created solely to allow for faster feature development for iPhone. There are so many ways iPad OS could be improved at this point, and many of the new features really seem like half-baked ports of iPhone features.

As a related aside, the new bar that pops up at the bottom of my screen when typing on my iPad Pro is completely off center. This is not the Apple we used to know.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple has to continue to straddle the line between MacOS and iPadOS. If they make iPadOS too functional then they can't convince you to buy 2 devices. iPadOS is not enough of a OS for my own needs, but plenty of users can make it fit their needs. You are never going to see full functionality until Apple figures out a way to financially capitalize on it.

^^ this is the real answer

Bean counter Tim isn’t concerned with doing what’s best for the consumers or product lines.

Remember when Apple killed their own very successful iPod Mini?

Tim never would have done that. - but it was the right move as they’d made the Nano and Steve wanted the best product to be the one out there in consumer hands.

Tim would have had 4 different generations of iPods all for sale at once to milk anyone at any part along the price chain. Guy is a financial guy and nothing else.

 

[PhillyAnt]

I honestly have zero faith in Apple. I do not feel like they care about what we want. It’s obvious they do not. They do what they want, how they want, with zero explanation of why to their consumers.

Yet I keep giving them my money. I love my 2021 cellular 1TB M1 12.9" iPad Pro and the ton of other Apple products I own… but deep inside I really really hate Apple.

 

[MisterSavage]

Oh yes indeed! I was incredibly surprised when I saw it on my iPad Pro in the iPad OS 15 Betas, something is definitely off about iPad OS development it’s almost like a second rate version of iOS at this point which is quite sad.

Even little things such as emoji search hit iOS way before iPad. So frustrating.

 

[Wackery]

I honestly have zero faith in Apple. I do not feel like they care about what we want. It’s obvious they do not. They do what they want, how they want, with zero explanation of why to their consumers.

Yet I keep giving them my money. I love my 2021 cellular 1TB M1 12.9" iPad Pro and the ton of other Apple products I own… but deep inside I really really hate Apple.

Tim Cook’s apple is the parts bin apple

 

[radus]

Monitor support is the biggie for me. I use my Surface Pro 7 with a 24" 4K monitor and I'd like to be able to do the same with my 12.9 Pro.

"extended display" support is the minimum we need.
The 12.9" 1TB M1 iPad Pro was my biggest mistake ever - it is near the same as my old 2018 1TB iPadPro 12.9.

 

[arobert3434]

"extended display" support is the minimum we need.
The 12.9" 1TB M1 iPad Pro was my biggest mistake ever - it is near the same as my old 2018 1TB iPadPro 12.9.

That would be the biggest difference-maker for me as well. The funny thing is I think the iPhone will get it first, then the iPad later when we're lucky. And I agree with @spinedoc77 about the financial angle – just looking at all the emphasis Apple puts on the iPad operating as a "sidecar display" for the Mac shows how interested they are in keeping the iPad as an addition rather than a replacement for the Mac.

 

[radus]

That would be the biggest difference-maker for me as well. The funny thing is I think the iPhone will get it first, then the iPad later when we're lucky. And I agree with @spinedoc77 about the financial angle – just looking at all the emphasis Apple puts on the iPad operating as a "sidecar display" for the Mac shows how interested they are in keeping the iPad as an addition rather than a replacement for the Mac.

unfortunately you are completely right

 

[sracer]

The release of iPadOS 15 makes it clear that, whether or not Apple ever really intended to add productivity-enhancing functionality to the rebranded OS, it has devolved to a simply a way to delay implementation of iOS features to reduce load on the iPhone team. Rather than straining to implement each new piece of functionality for the two screen sizes, the team now need only focus on the phone, while a separate small group picks a few old features each year to port over to the iPad. No matter how much people beg for extended monitors, greater options for working with files, Xcode, or other real steps forward, this team doesn't have the capacity for it, nor do their managers have the vision to drive it, and the company as a whole lacks the humility to listen to market feedback.

The iPad is still a great device for what it is: a large-screened touch device that some software developers leverage to build more elaborate apps, but despite tremendous accomplishments on the hardware side, it's never going to become the Surface. And while the pencil was a promising development, devices with better ergonomics (for example the reMarkable) are showing its limitations as a drawing / sketching medium as well. The Pro iPads pay a massive bulk tax for all their power, but the power goes unused due to the limited sooftware so they might as well shift gears and start using technical advances to slim down the devices instead.

Sad!

Good thoughts... and mirror mine.

I've stopped trying to push the envelope on iPadOS and accept it for what it is and will be for the foreseeable future... a mature smartphone OS. I've shifted the heavy lifting from my iPad Pro to the Galaxy Tab S6 (with DeX). But I still continue to use my Mini 5.

 

[bobcomer]

I kind of agree. While it's a good consumption device, I would have thought that it would have gotten more computer features by now. Like real multitasking, and a bunch of UI enhancements!

I still love it for what I use it for, but I'll keep using it for the same stuff, no more, no less.

 

[jdb8167]

I kind of agree. While it's a good consumption device, I would have thought that it would have gotten more computer features by now. Like real multitasking, and a bunch of UI enhancements!

I still love it for what I use it for, but I'll keep using it for the same stuff, no more, no less.

I think part of the problem is the range of iPadOS devices. It is pretty apparent that the low-end iPad, iPad Air, mini, and Pros are all different classes of devices with some overlap. But what would be an appropriate upgrade for an iPad Pro probably wouldn’t be as suitable for the plain iPad or iPad Air.

Apple needs to have a finer level of features tied to different classes of devices or allow a Pro Mode that can let those of us who understand the consequences of say enabling unlimited background multitasking to enable those kinds of features.

I’m switching from years of using iPad Pros to an iPad mini because I’ve given up on Apple providing support for the advanced features I need to replace my Mac. The M1 Macs are good enough with low power, silent operation with high performance that whatever benefit that I was reaching for with the iPad Pro is moot. Instead I’ll go with the Mac for productivity and the iPad mini for media consumption with the use of the Apple Pencil for the only other thing that’s really missing on the Mac.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I think part of the problem is the range of iPadOS devices. It is pretty apparent that the low-end iPad, iPad Air, mini, and Pros are all different classes of devices with some overlap. But what would be an appropriate upgrade for an iPad Pro probably wouldn’t be as suitable for the plain iPad or iPad Air.

I think that the problem is... to many Macbooks.
Macbook Air, Macbook Pro 13, Macbook Pro 16.

• The Macbook Air should be the iPad Pro... with a MacOS for Tablet. That is, tablet functionalities, and should be a direct competitor of the Surface.
• Macbook Pro's should be the power-laptops.
• iPad's should only be only Air, and mini (for the different sizes and prices), both with iPadOS.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’m switching from years of using iPad Pros to an iPad mini because I’ve given up on Apple providing support for the advanced features I need to replace my Mac. The M1 Macs are good enough with low power, silent operation with high performance that whatever benefit that I was reaching for with the iPad Pro is moot. Instead I’ll go with the Mac for productivity and the iPad mini for media consumption with the use of the Apple Pencil for the only other thing that’s really missing on the Mac.

Same -- except I honestly never bought into them providing the advance feature support.

I find their software quality and execution not up to the task here.

M-powered MacBook and iPad mini is a superb combo

 

[Pakaku]

Apple has to continue to straddle the line between MacOS and iPadOS. If they make iPadOS too functional then they can't convince you to buy 2 devices. iPadOS is not enough of a OS for my own needs, but plenty of users can make it fit their needs. You are never going to see full functionality until Apple figures out a way to financially capitalize on it.

I think the majority of Apple users are casual enough that the differences don’t matter as much. If Apple is banking on people buying two devices for different needs, I’m skeptical about how well that stands up realistically. Meanwhile people like us on a computer forum are not the casual userbase and our needs are probably different, and we’re more likely to notice the differences

If iPad OS doesn’t need full functionality, then it at least needs most functionality. I think making a pro device live up to the name and actually function like a pro device should be something that would drive more sales, because then there are even less differences and all it would come down to is form factor (and people will buy two devices for different comfort levels) even if it‘s not 1:1 equal to Mac OS…

 

[rui no onna]

Apple needs to have a finer level of features tied to different classes of devices or allow a Pro Mode that can let those of us who understand the consequences of say enabling unlimited background multitasking to enable those kinds of features.

Not enough RAM unless Apple introduces swap to SSD. Maybe the 16GB RAM iPads would be okay but 8GB and below would likely be crashing near constantly.

 

[jdb8167]

Not enough RAM unless Apple introduces swap to SSD. Maybe the 16GB RAM iPads would be okay but 8GB and below would likely be crashing near constantly.

Yes, I envision three power user features.

• Virtual memory paging/swap to SSD
• Unlimited background multitasking
• Running a macOS, Windows, or Linux virtual machine (right now only possible on the M1 iPad Pro)

The third is admittedly the most unlikely. The others are standard OS features that Apple could enable at any point without any difficulty.

 

[jdb8167]

I think that the problem is... to many Macbooks.
Macbook Air, Macbook Pro 13, Macbook Pro 16.

• The Macbook Air should be the iPad Pro... with a MacOS for Tablet. That is, tablet functionalities, and should be a direct competitor of the Surface.
• Macbook Pro's should be the power-laptops.
• iPad's should only be only Air, and mini (for the different sizes and prices), both with iPadOS.

I don't think there is a problem having both iPads and MacBooks overlap. I do believe that users who want a portable Mac are different from users who want an iPad tablet. I just think that the iPad Pros should have actual pro features. I'd imagine many (maybe most) iPad users do not want added complexity in the OS so for them, iPadOS should retain its simple nature and maybe even remove some recent features that confuse people like the split screen functions.

One other point, the Mac is different when it comes to features because of its long history compared to the iPad. Anyone using a Mac is likely already well versed in the various features that come with macOS.