iOS 18 Speculation Thread

[Realityck]

And iPadOS does offer “real multitasking” with floating windows like other windowed OS’s with Stage Manager. In fact, I actually prefer iPadOS’s multi-windowing over macOS and Window’s implementation of multi-windowing. Both iPadOS and macOS are actually so close at this point already that I’ve completely replaced my MacBook with an iPad Pro. I’ve now used an iPad as my primary computer for the past 3-4 years, and have had zero regrets. I do have a Mac Mini for when I want to work on a desktop, but it’s mostly just for managing some external storage drives at this point, kind of like my own private cloud storage I can access from my iPad without having to carry all of those drives with me. I’d say for the majority of things, the iPad can now replace a MacBook. Of course people’s use-cases differ, so it depends on the person and workflow whether they want to switch over or not, but for most average things, I think there’s hardly any difference anymore. While Apple is busy implementing Apple Intelligence, I think they can also continue to improve and converge the platforms. Apple has even done this quite a bit so far with iPadOS 18. The iPadOS Settings app and macOS System Settings app continue to become more similar in both aesthetics and options available (such as the improved Privacy and Security section that now only lacks about a handful of the options that are in the macOS System Settings section by the same name, and will quite possibly be added in future updates to 18). Think about it, when Apple Intelligence and Siri gain on-screen awareness, and the ability to access background data on device, I’m guessing Apple will also add options for controlling app access to the device’s screen content and such, which would narrow the gap with these settings options even further. Since improvements to Privacy & Security, and new options in this menu were highlighted at WWDC24, I think the chances are pretty good. Additional options for allowing apps more system access would make quite a difference for some niche-case apps.

Overall, there are very clear signs that iPadOS and macOS are converging, even while Apple is simultaneously rolling out Apple Intelligence. And I’d say that Apple Intelligence is actually a very good impetus for greater convergence and coherence between Apple’s platforms.

I recognize that stage manager with app switcher gives you a limited environment with IpadOS 17/18 but it not terrible useful for any MacOS user as most say used it once, totally forgettable. I think the verge reviewers of its IPadOS17 incarnation gave the best feedback.

But now Apple needs to make Stage Manager an actual iPad feature. It needs to integrate it with the other iPadOS navigational tools and windowing systems in a way that makes sense. Let me have widgets and apps together in a space! And please, please let me save a collection of apps with a name and then bring it up with a Spotlight search, please. It needs to take advantage of the tablet’s outrageous processing power and actually let you use more than four apps at a time. It needs, in short, to make Stage Manager feel like part of the iPad instead of a wholly separate device that just happens to live inside the same screen.

This is a main negative

it has nothing to do with the rest of the iPad’s software.

The last part is direction Apple needs to go with, but ARM based SoC's by Apple's choice didn't allow non-M ARM processors to run it, along with less then 256GB storage. We have the first MacOS native software DTK using a A12X running MacOS back then. This many years latter even with 2028 speculation as I commented earlier I expect Apple to be so overly focused onboard AI any thoughts of change for immediate IPadOS will be mothballed.

 

[Kal Madda]

@Realityck Your response doesn’t seem to be showing up, just a quote of my comment. ? To clarify my point, by the security footprint, I’m mostly talking about the Privacy & Security options, and the secure frameworks and APIs being adopted by Mac apps from iPadOS. And I’d say iPadOS is also gaining several things from macOS’s security footprint. Like additional Privacy & Security options, and app sideloading and other browser engines (currently only in EU, but likely will become available worldwide down the road once Apple has worked out the potential security holes).

 

[Realityck]

@Realityck Your response doesn’t seem to be showing up, just a quote of my comment. ? To clarify my point, by the security footprint, I’m mostly talking about the Privacy & Security options, and the secure frameworks and APIs being adopted by Mac apps from iPadOS. And I’d say iPadOS is also gaining several things from macOS’s security footprint. Like additional Privacy & Security options, and app sideloading and other browser engines (currently only in EU, but likely will become available worldwide down the road once Apple has worked out the potential security holes).

That was an accidental posting, it's been updated after I returned.

 

[Kal Madda]

I recognize that stage manager with app switcher gives you a limited environment with IpadOS 17/18 but it not terrible useful for any MacOS user as most say used it once, totally forgettable. I think the verge reviewers of its IPadOS17 incarnation gave the best feedback.

This is a main negative

The last part is direction Apple needs to go with, but ARM based SoC's by Apple's choice didn't allow non-M ARM processors to run it, along with less then 256GB storage. We have the first MacOS native software DTK using a A11X running MacOS back then. This many years latter even with 2028 speculation as I commented earlier I expect Apple to be so overly focused onboard AI any thoughts of change for immediate IPadOS will be mothballed.

I think many of these reviewers are WAY overly critical of Stage Manager, and really iPadOS in general. macOS is their comfort zone, what they’re used to, and so they are overly hard on iPadOS when it differs in any minor way from macOS. Many of these reviewers have even made claims that are just verifiably false. I’m sure they don’t necessarily intentionally make these false claims, but they’re false nonetheless. I’ve found much of the pool of content regarding the iPad to be heavily slanted and skewed towards the Mac and against the iPad. Most of it is far from fair or balanced.

And I’ve never felt like Stage Manager is “separate from iPadOS”, as someone who’s used it ever since it was initially introduced. It’s an optional setting for sure, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t part of the system… Could it be improved? Sure. But so could multi-windowing and the Stage Manager feature on macOS. Stage Manager on the Mac doesn’t have these features like “creating window presets” either. Stage Manager on the iPad is nearly identical to Stage Manager on the Mac.

And A. more than four app windows simultaneously on the display would be extremely cluttered, which is exactly what Stage Manager is trying to avoid. B. The developer kit that Apple released for developers when transitioning to M-Series chips for the Mac used a modified A12 chip (not A11, and not the same as the A12 found in iPhones or iPads. The modified A12 chip in the developer kit had more RAM and other changes that allowed macOS to run more effectively. The A12 found in iPad Pros had half the low-spec RAM of the developer kit, and RAM limitations are the reason Stage Manager is more limited on A12 iPads. And it should be noted that A12 iPads do actually support Stage Manager on the iPad’s native display, they just don’t support driving an external monitor with it’s own set of apps due to too little RAM available. C. There is no minimum storage requirement for Stage Manager. You do not need 256GB to run Stage Manager, I run it on a 128GB iPad.

We’ve seen other changes that push iPadOS and macOS closer in terms of convergence within iPadOS 18 alongside Apple Intelligence. And as I said before, I believe Apple Intelligence is an impetus for greater levels of unification and convergence between the platforms. I highly doubt that the only new features and changes in iPadOS 19, 20, and possibly even 21 will only be Siri improvements and a few Apple Intelligence features… That isn’t true of 18, I don’t see why we would assume that will be true of all the updates coming for the next 2-3 years…

 

[Realityck]

I think many of these reviewers are WAY overly critical of Stage Manager, and really iPadOS in general. macOS is their comfort zone, what they’re used to, and so they are overly hard on iPadOS when it differs in any minor way from macOS. Many of these reviewers have even made claims that are just verifiably false. I’m sure they don’t necessarily intentionally make these false claims, but they’re false nonetheless. I’ve found much of the pool of content regarding the iPad to be heavily slanted and skewed towards the Mac and against the iPad. Most of it is far from fair or balanced.

And I’ve never felt like Stage Manager is “separate from iPadOS”, as someone who’s used it ever since it was initially introduced. It’s an optional setting for sure, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t part of the system… Could it be improved? Sure. But so could multi-windowing and the Stage Manager feature on macOS. Stage Manager on the Mac doesn’t have these features like “creating window presets” either. Stage Manager on the iPad is nearly identical to Stage Manager on the Mac.

And A. more than four app windows simultaneously on the display would be extremely cluttered, which is exactly what Stage Manager is trying to avoid. B. The developer kit that Apple released for developers when transitioning to M-Series chips for the Mac used a modified A12 chip (not A11, and not the same as the A12 found in iPhones or iPads. The modified A12 chip in the developer kit had more RAM and other changes that allowed macOS to run more effectively. The A12 found in iPad Pros had half the low-spec RAM of the developer kit, and RAM limitations are the reason Stage Manager is more limited on A12 iPads. And it should be noted that A12 iPads do actually support Stage Manager on the iPad’s native display, they just don’t support driving an external monitor with it’s own set of apps due to too little RAM available. C. There is no minimum storage requirement for Stage Manager. You do not need 256GB to run Stage Manager, I run it on a 128GB iPad.

We’ve seen other changes that push iPadOS and macOS closer in terms of convergence within iPadOS 18 alongside Apple Intelligence. And as I said before, I believe Apple Intelligence is an impetus for greater levels of unification and convergence between the platforms. I highly doubt that the only new features and changes in iPadOS 19, 20, and 21 will only be Siri improvements and a few Apple Intelligence features… That isn’t true of 18, I don’t see why we would assume that will be true of all the updates coming for the next 2-3 years…

I tend to see iOS, iPadOS and MacOS going their own ways indefinitely as it stands. It's mainly due to why reinvent the wheel with differences with how the apps or applications work for each device category of usage.

That was my error A11X versus A12X. Now how about the A17 Pro example with 128GB, that can't run stage manager because apple considers you need large enough screens for it to be advantageous. Yes I often thought of a iPhone being the basis of a whole user setup with bluetooth keyboard and external display. The article below showing it is possible in the future.

How to use an external keyboard, mouse and display with your iPhone or iPad

Want to connect peripherals to your iPhone or iPad? Be it wirelessly, via USB-C or Lightning, I’ve tried it all. Here’s how you can do so and what to bear in mind.

www.digitec.ch

As the iPad has a 4:3 aspect ratio, you’ll have black bars on the sides of any 16:9 display you hook it up to. The iPhone, on the other hand, has an aspect ratio of around 20:9, meaning you’ll have black bars at the top and bottom of the display. In portrait mode, you’ll have huge black areas on the left and right.

In general, the image on the display will also rotate when you turn the iPad or iPhone by 90 degrees. With the iPhone, keep in mind that landscape mode often isn’t an option, for example on the home screen or in the settings. I’d love to have an external monitor that can be rotated, too; mine can’t be

This also returns this topic to being iOS centric.

 

[Kal Madda]

I tend to see iOS, iPadOS and MacOS going their own ways indefinitely as it stands. It's mainly due to why reinvent the wheel with differences with how the apps or applications work for each device category of usage.

That was my error A11X versus A12X. Now how about the A17 Pro example with 128GB, that can't run stage manager because apple considers you need large enough screens for it to be advantageous. Yes I often thought of a iPhone being the basis of a whole user setup with bluetooth keyboard and external display. The article below showing it is possible in the future.

How to use an external keyboard, mouse and display with your iPhone or iPad

Want to connect peripherals to your iPhone or iPad? Be it wirelessly, via USB-C or Lightning, I’ve tried it all. Here’s how you can do so and what to bear in mind.

www.digitec.ch

Undoubtedly, as I already said, Apple’s OSes will continue to maintain unique optimizations for their respective hardware and interaction paradigms. I’m not saying this won’t be the case. As I’ve already said many times before, iPadOS and macOS will not merge in that sense. They will not become one OS. iPadOS will continue to be optimized for touch-first interaction paradigms, while macOS will continue to be optimized for desktop first interaction. This is why I think it would be a terrible idea to run macOS on an iPad, it would be a horrendous experience (but that’s really what a lot of these reviewers are clamoring for and that’s why they hate on iPadOS so vehemently). But just because they will continue to be separate OSes with unique interaction optimizations does not mean they will not become more unified in features and app ecosystem. visionOS is quite a bit different in optimizations than iPadOS, but iPadOS apps Are able to run natively on visionOS. Same is true with macOS. Just because the OSes offer distinct optimizations does not mean they can’t share a common library of apps, and OS features. Apple’s already doing this with most of their devices, macOS is the outlier due to it’s legacy code. Apple seems to be replacing and modernizing several of these areas in macOS though since the transition to M-Series chips. I think it stands to reason that Apple will continue to create better unity and cohesion between their devices. In fact, that’s one of the primary advantages of Siri and Apple Intelligence…

I think that the lack of Stage Manager on the iPhone makes sense, because iOS is a phone and has a much smaller screen. Perhaps they could add just the external monitor aspect, but the battery drain could be pretty dramatic. And USB-C is still relatively new on the iPhone, and iOS lacks any kind of window paradigm, iPadOS had a foundation to build on with SplitView and apps that support multiple instances. These would all have to be added into iOS as well to make this work on iOS, which would likely weigh down iOS, for a very niche use-case. I doubt there are that many people out there wanting to use their iPhone hooked up to a monitor to use as their computer, at least at this point. With more CPU power, better thermal management, etc., I’m sure it might eventually be a thing.

And the iPad Mini does have the A17 Pro, and it also runs iPadOS, so it could be able to run Stage Manager. But maybe some changes need to be made for Stage Manager to support the iPad Mini. Maybe iPadOS 19 will bring Stage Manager support to the A17 iPad Mini. Who knows. In that case as well, Stage Manager doesn’t make much sense on that size screen, so that too would likely be a specialized implementation that wouldn’t create stages on the native screen, but would on an external display.

 

[gwhizkids]

Ok. I’m sorry I brought up the Gurman thing.

Could you guys take that level of discussion to another thread?

 

[Kal Madda]

Ok. I’m sorry I brought up the Gurman thing.

Could you guys take that level of discussion to another thread?

Nothing to be sorry about. 👍🏻. Thanks for sharing, I thought it was really interesting. I’m sorry if you think I’m upset about it or something. I’m not upset in the least, I enjoy this topic, and I’ve been enjoying my conversation with @Realityck about this, though it is probably off-topic, so probably should be wrapped up or moved to a separate thread or conversation. 👍🏻🙂

 

[Realityck]

About 14 hours to go for iOS/iPadOS 18.3 beta, that is if it’s shortly after Monday 10 a.m. PST.

 

[pw5a29]

Hopefully we see some real iOS enhancments in iOS 18.3 rather than AI only

 

[redbeard331]

Yup, so we patiently wait till Monday. 😁

Maybe difficult for some. aka @JFLECHUGA @redbeard331 @Kal Madda @gwhizkids @Realityck
🤣

Patiently we wait for 18.3 to drop TODAY, or we burn….some more incense.

 

[gwhizkids]

Nothing to be sorry about. . Thanks for sharing, I thought it was really interesting. I’m sorry if you think I’m upset about it or something. I’m not upset in the least, I enjoy this topic, and I’ve been enjoying my conversation with @Realityck about this, though it is probably off-topic, so probably should be wrapped up or moved to a separate thread or conversation.

No. It’s a good discussion. It’s just too much and on an obscure, partially unrelated topic.

 

[gwhizkids]

Patiently we wait for 18.3 to drop TODAY, or we burn….some more incense.

View attachment 2462884

Am I supposed to be the young lady with the Gwidda tshirt? Or the strange looking individual depicted on the shirt?

 

[john991]

@gwhizkids says 85% today! I sure hope @gwhizkids is right, it’ll not be good if it doesn’t come today, as Apple starts “drifting” tomorrow. 😜

 

[Kal Madda]

Patiently we wait for 18.3 to drop TODAY, or we burn….some more incense.

View attachment 2462884

I’m gender-swapped? 😂🤣

 

[Kal Madda]

Me anticipating today’s iOS 18.3 Beta 1 release:

 

[dannyyankou]

I know it’s shortly before the holidays, but iOS 19 development is already rumored to be falling behind. Apple’s going to want to push 18.3 out quickly.

 

[gank41]

I know it’s shortly before the holidays, but iOS 19 development is already rumored to be falling behind. Apple’s going to want to push 18.3 out quickly.

That's because they're spending way too much time with AI trying to make it so that there's pretty cats and cartoon people instead of fixing the numerous bugs still present, along with the new ones being created.. So much emphasis on AI.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I was strongly leaning towards jumping off the beta train assuming that 18.2 RC would finally have stable battery life but given how it's still in the dumpster, I might as well keep going.

 

[Kal Madda]

That's because they're spending way too much time with AI trying to make it so that there's pretty cats and cartoon people instead of fixing the numerous bugs still present, along with the new ones being created.. So much emphasis on AI.

I think that may be a little oversimplified. They’ve rolled out quite a few nice features and improvements aside from AI in 18. 👍🏻

 

[Kal Madda]

I think 18.3 beta 1 is coming today! 👍🏻. Only about 4 hours left! 👍🏻

 

[kirbysmartsdawg]

I think that may be a little oversimplified. They’ve rolled out quite a few nice features and improvements aside from AI in 18. 👍🏻

I agree with you for the most part, but it sure does feel like AI has been all Apple's focused on and the bugs are starting to pile up. While there are some nice features of iOS 18 and AI, the AI has taken the forefront but with little true everyday beneficial features. At this point AI is mostly a gimmick with a few features being fairly useful. I tink that 18.3 needs to focus on getting some of these issues fixed and then Apple can pick back up on adding new AI features in 18.4. Let's at least get a solid version of iOS 18 before more AI is added.

 

[Kal Madda]

I agree with you for the most part, but it sure does feel like AI has been all Apple's focused on and the bugs are starting to pile up. While there are some nice features of iOS 18 and AI, the AI has taken the forefront but with little true everyday beneficial features. At this point AI is mostly a gimmick with a few features being fairly useful. I tink that 18.3 needs to focus on getting some of these issues fixed and then Apple can pick back up on adding new AI features in 18.4. Let's at least get a solid version of iOS 18 before more AI is added.

Personally, I haven’t run into hardly any bugs at all on iPadOS 18 betas. Everything has been working smoothly on the betas for me. And my iPhone is on the public version of iOS 18.2, and I haven’t run into a single bug on my iPhone the entire iOS 18 rollout. I don’t see where these bugs are piling up…

I also don’t think that most of the Apple Intelligence features added so far are gimmicks. Image Playground and accompanying Genmoji is probably the only Apple Intelligence/AI feature in iOS 18 that I would label as gimmicky or impractical. Everything else is very useful. The Writing Tools are very useful for proofreading and highlighting grammatical errors in my writing. Photo CleanUp is very useful for getting rid of unsightly objects in my photos, or other tourists that were in my photos. Summarization is very handy for getting more information at a glance. All of these AI features are very useful for productivity. I wouldn’t call any of those a gimmick…

 

[kirbysmartsdawg]

Personally, I haven’t run into hardly any bugs at all on iPadOS 18 betas. Everything has been working smoothly on the betas for me. And my iPhone is on the public version of iOS 18.2, and I haven’t run into a single bug on my iPhone the entire iOS 18 rollout. I don’t see where these bugs are piling up…

I also don’t think that most of the Apple Intelligence features added so far are gimmicks. Image Playground and accompanying Genmoji is probably the only Apple Intelligence/AI feature in iOS 18 that I would label as gimmicky or impractical. Everything else is very useful. The Writing Tools are very useful for proofreading and highlighting grammatical errors in my writing. Photo CleanUp is very useful for getting rid of unsightly objects in my photos, or other tourists that were in my photos. Summarization is very handy for getting more information at a glance. All of these AI features are very useful for productivity. I wouldn’t call any of those a gimmick…

I guess mostly is the wrong word. The most “exciting” features thus far have been gimmicks. The Genmoji and Image Playground. You are right the other features are rather useful, but not overly note worthy. The Genmoji was the first standout features that no one else is doing. Writing tools and summarization are all standard in AI these days. The real AI Apple trick hasn’t come yet.

As far as bugs, my email is a complete mess. Any time I am on WiFi none of emails will load, I get the CC button UI that stays on the screen even when I am done with the camera, battery still seems to be a miss, and just some more small things. I am glad you haven’t had issues, but I sure have. Oh I almost forgot, my pictures when I sent them in iMessage the recipient couldn’t see them.

I am excited for 18.3, and I hope we get maybe 1 new AI features, but my hope is that the focus would be on cleaning up iOS 18.

 

[gwhizkids]

Personally, I haven’t run into hardly any bugs at all on iPadOS 18 betas. Everything has been working smoothly on the betas for me. And my iPhone is on the public version of iOS 18.2, and I haven’t run into a single bug on my iPhone the entire iOS 18 rollout. I don’t see where these bugs are piling up…

I also don’t think that most of the Apple Intelligence features added so far are gimmicks. Image Playground and accompanying Genmoji is probably the only Apple Intelligence/AI feature in iOS 18 that I would label as gimmicky or impractical. Everything else is very useful. The Writing Tools are very useful for proofreading and highlighting grammatical errors in my writing. Photo CleanUp is very useful for getting rid of unsightly objects in my photos, or other tourists that were in my photos. Summarization is very handy for getting more information at a glance. All of these AI features are very useful for productivity. I wouldn’t call any of those a gimmick…

While I wouldn’t call these things gimmicky, clearly they still need polishing (my daughter’s cat should not have two tails for example).

Right now Apple is at the “throw features at the wall and see what sticks” stage of rolling this out. It will get better and stuff that has little uptake will be (quietly) deprecated.

On a tool by tool basis:

Genmoji: I think Genmoji are here to stay.

Writing tools: Writing tools may get better but I don’t think Apple wants to put Grammarly out of business so that may not get a lot better. But just adding the ad hoc “Describe your change” was a big change from 18.1 to 18.2 and I would expect changes of similar scope as we go forward.

Image Playgrounds: this is fun and a good add if you accept it for what it is. In other words, don’t expect photo realism.

Image wand: This could be much better. Right now it’s just another window into Image playground, using an image as a prompt rather than words. Some more realism (within reason) would be appreciated here.

Photo cleanup: great tool. Saves trips into more advanced image editors.

Summaries: had potential but so far it’s been hit or miss. Too many summaries in grouped notifications are useless. By