iOS Pro Features in 12.2

[The Samurai]

Pretty much all the reviews say that the software is holding the new iPads back, this coupled with ‘rumours’ that major iPad features were put on hold when iOS 12 was launched due to last minute changes with the focus being on stability rather than additions of new features.

With this in mind, what Is the likelihood we can realistically see some of the major features people on here are asking for:

Mouse / trackpad - I’m guessing this would be hard to Implement on a .2 or .3 updated, rather requires a major overhaul of the entire system.

Final cut / pro apps - I’m guessing that if Apple even remotely had something in the works, they would have previewed it at the Brooklyn event. They most likely don’t have anything ready and the earliest we could see it would be WWDC.

Advanced File system - YES! So this is something they could roll out in .2 seen as they already have a file system in place (albeit a ****** one). Add USB support in and I’m sure apple could shut up many people (including myself), until wwdc at lease . For the love of god Tim, don’t keep us holding till wwdc and then expecting us to be wow’ed.

Desktop-class Safari - again, this wouldn't be a ground shattering move for the iOS team to simply create an app whereby it doesn't load mobile sites by default. Perhaps a simple switch in the current safari that you can toggle between desktop or mobile?

Your thoughts?

 

[Lobwedgephil]

I don't think we will see any new features until iOS 13.

 

[Aluminum213]

Expect nothing till next fall

 

[haruhiko]

Pretty much all the reviews say that the software is holding the new iPads back, this coupled with ‘rumours’ that major iPad features were put on hold when iOS 12 was launched due to last minute changes with the focus being on stability rather than additions of new features.

With this in mind, what Is the likelihood we can realistically see some of the major features people on here are asking for:

Mouse / trackpad - I’m guessing this would be hard to Implement on a .2 or .3 updated, rather requires a major overhaul of the entire system.

Final cut / pro apps - I’m guessing that if Apple even remotely had something in the works, they would have previewed it at the Brooklyn event. They most likely don’t have anything ready and the earliest we could see it would be WWDC.

Advanced File system - YES! So this is something they could roll out in .2 seen as they already have a file system in place (albeit a ****** one). Add USB support in and I’m sure apple could shut up many people (including myself), until wwdc at lease . For the love of god Tim, don’t keep us holding till wwdc and then expecting us to be wow’ed.

Desktop-class Safari - again, this wouldn't be a ground shattering move for the iOS team to simply create an app whereby it doesn't load mobile sites by default. Perhaps a simple switch in the current safari that you can toggle between desktop or mobile?

Your thoughts?

Mouse / trackpad - no
Final Cut Pro - possible
Advanced File System - just expand the files app to support external storage and we are all happy.
Desktop-class Safari - The decision to load mobile version websites are from the websites actually, some even detect your screen resolution to force down a mobile version even when you choose to load desktop version.

 

[akash.nu]

There’s one thing I’d like to point out. Mouse / trackpad is legacy input method and I’m in favour of apple coming up with a better interaction method to really make the iPad what it is, NOT a computer replacement. When Steve jobs revealed the iPad, he categorically said it’s a device in between a phone and a traditional computer.

Given that, I’d like Apple to rethink iOS for iPad, the way they’ve done it with watchOS and tvOS.

 

[The Samurai]

There’s one thing I’d like to point out. Mouse / trackpad is legacy input method and I’m in favour of apple coming up with a better interaction method to really make the iPad what it is, NOT a computer replacement. When Steve jobs revealed the iPad, he categorically said it’s a device in between a phone and a traditional computer.

Given that, I’d like Apple to rethink iOS for iPad, the way they’ve done it with watchOS and tvOS.

Yeah I can agree with what you say here but like text selection, you can use the trackpad-like feature using the spacebar to easily move between text, im sure they could do a version of their smart keyboard that has a trackpad built in and whilst im not saying it should be used widely, perhaps in the cases of writing large chunks of text or for the likes of during final cut / movie editing - the cursor option should be there on an app basis at least.

 

[richpjr]

I don't think we will see any new features until iOS 13.

^This.

 

[Donka]

Mouse / trackpad - no
Final Cut Pro - possible
Advanced File System - just expand the files app to support external storage and we are all happy.
Desktop-class Safari - The decision to load mobile version websites are from the websites actually, some even detect your screen resolution to force down a mobile version even when you choose to load desktop version.

This. A single repository that apps can share that has access to external drives - would literally transform the iPad!

 

[sdwaltz]

For most interactions with the iPad, touch screen is the best.

That being said, word processing and working with things like spreadsheets and powerpoints would be vastly improved by a mouse cursor. Why they can’t give the option is beyond me, has been for a long time, and always will be until they change.

That’s what holds the iPad Pro back in my eyes.

 

[Koh Phi Phi]

As much as I would like those features, I do not expect any of them any time soon, except maybe a few Pro Apps here and there.

PS: there are ZERO chances to see any of that in a .X iteration of iOS 12

 

[PBG4 Dude]

For most interactions with the iPad, touch screen is the best.

That being said, word processing and working with things like spreadsheets and powerpoints would be vastly improved by a mouse cursor. Why they can’t give the option is beyond me, has been for a long time, and always will be until they change.

That’s what holds the iPad Pro back in my eyes.

The second Apple allows mouse is when we the tablet portion of iOS sidelined in favor of what people are most comfortable with today. I want iOS to grow up, not see MacOS slimmed down. MacOS was made for a different set of interaction rules.

That said, something has to done because once a keyboard is attached it instantly turns the iPad into a “gorilla arm” device. https://www.wired.com/2010/10/gorilla-arm-multitouch/

 

[Koh Phi Phi]

The second Apple allows mouse is when we the tablet portion of iOS sidelined in favor of what people are most comfortable with today. I want iOS to grow up, not see MacOS slimmed down. MacOS was made for a different set of interaction rules.

That said, something has to done because once a keyboard is attached it instantly turns the iPad into a “gorilla arm” device. https://www.wired.com/2010/10/gorilla-arm-multitouch/

The problem here is, quite simply, human ergonomics: a touch-exclusive device requires, obviously, to wave your finger/hand/arm constantly. That is OK for passive activities (net browsing, media consumption, etc), but active activities ultimately deliver the painful gorilla arm syndrome.

This is even more accute when handling workflows that require precision: text editting, excel sheets, dropdown menus, etc.

The ONLY solution, other than a trackpad/mouse, that I can think of is something similar to the touchpad in the Apple TV remove control... which is anyway a simplified trackpad anyway. Other that that, I cannot think of anythig else.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

The problem here is, quite simply, human ergonomics: a touch-exclusive device requires, obviously, to wave your finger/hand/arm constantly. That is OK for passive activities (net browsing, media consumption, etc), but active activities ultimately deliver the painful gorilla arm syndrome.

This is even more accute when handling workflows that require precision: text editting, excel sheets, dropdown menus, etc.

The ONLY solution, other than a trackpad/mouse, that I can think of is something similar to the touchpad in the Apple TV remove control... which is anyway a simplified trackpad anyway. Other that that, I cannot think of anythig else.

This is where Apple needs to step in with a solution so amazing, yet so simple that everyone scratches their head thinking, “why didn’t I think of that?” They did it with popularizing the original mouse and again with touch-only phones.

 

[gnomeisland]

I think the only one of these were are likely to see before iOS 13 is external storage, but since that will be such a big deal to the iPad Pro users, I suspect Apple will hold it back. Bigger splash for iOS 13 which should be a very feature-heavy/iPad-centric update. I really, really doubt we will see full mouse support unless Apple switches to a hybrid iOS/Mac OS experience like Samsung Dex or the new Google Slate.

 

[sdwaltz]

The second Apple allows mouse is when we the tablet portion of iOS sidelined in favor of what people are most comfortable with today. I want iOS to grow up, not see MacOS slimmed down. MacOS was made for a different set of interaction rules.

That said, something has to done because once a keyboard is attached it instantly turns the iPad into a “gorilla arm” device. https://www.wired.com/2010/10/gorilla-arm-multitouch/

Your second paragraph there is my primary point. The gorilla arm situation is very real and is quite a hindrance to interacting with an iPad while the keyboard is attached, which I presume for most people will be when they're working with word processing and spreadsheet applications.

I suppose I'm using a mouse pointer as my example because it's all I know - if Apple can come up with a better solution than a mouse pointer or a finger, then I'll absolutely listen. They certainly need to do something, because iOS in its current state doesn't allow for proper work to be done efficiently. The processing power is there and even the applications themselves are there; we just need an alternate way of interacting with the applications.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Would you believe that Apple offers a device that supports all that and much more? And you can buy it TODAY?

Call us at 1-800-MACBOOK-PRO to find out more!

 

[secretk]

Would you believe that Apple offers a device that supports all that and much more? And you can buy it TODAY?

Call us at 1-800-MACBOOK-PRO to find out more!

True but it does not have touch screen. And the thing is that we need touch screen and the option to not have gorilla arms situation when we use hardware keyboard. So Macbook Pro is not a solution to the problem mentioned above.
[doublepost=1542823437][/doublepost]Honestly I don't see Apple allowing real usage of external storage (without an app, dongles etc). Apple's whole marketing relies on the fact that customers will pay for more storage. You can see it in all of their devices - laptops, phones, tablets. It's what they do. Allowing external storage would remove the market for 1 TB iPads for example.

Of course I would love to have it, but I don't see them doing it anytime soon. It's not about technical problems, it's about marketing.

I hope that they improve the file system, but I am not sure about this too as I don't think that they want to expose the system files or want to give that much control for the end users.

I want to be able to really use Bluetooth. My computer does not see the iPad via Bluetooth. I do not want to use WIFI or iTunes. I want to send files to my iPad via Bluetooth, just like I am doing it with my phones.

I want enhanced apps on the iPad - better office suite for example. Also Development tools on the iPad. Not just Xcode, but other IDE tools as well.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

True but it does not have touch screen. And the thing is that we need touch screen and the option to not have gorilla arms situation when we use hardware keyboard. So Macbook Pro is not a solution to the problem mentioned above.

You don't want, and wouldn't buy, such a device.

You want something that will work with a pointing device and a touch screen. These two input methods require two completely different UIs.

So you want a device that works with both types of input. We know from Surface that the result is an interface that is mediocre at both things.

Something we haven't tried yet is having a device with sufficient R&D to actually be good as a combo device. This thing would be so expensive that it would cost the same or more than a separate laptop and tablet. Would you buy it? No, you wouldn't.

I have a Mac, and an iPad. Both serve different purposes. And that's it.

 

[secretk]

You don't want, and wouldn't buy, such a device.

Actually I personally would, but I am different type of user. I do not care about tablets. Never had, never will. I don't use them for consumption media. I use them for two things - handwriting and for digital art. In that sense I never care about true tablet experience in the best sense, I care about being able to use good stylus. I do care about trackpad and physical keyboard though because I type a lot. I also want multitasking. Like I said most people are not like me though.

You want something that will work with a pointing device and a touch screen. These two input methods require two completely different UIs.

So you want a device that works with both types of input. We know from Surface that the result is an interface that is mediocre at both things.

I have not used Surface device but based on what I have read it's mediocre tablet. That's what said everywhere so I am willing to trust this assessment. However I don't care about this as I don't need true tablet experience. What I need is a device where I can use stylus with OneNote. And having an app for digital art.

With Surface though I can install all of my Development tools environment that I want because it's desktop Windows. And that is something I want to have.

Something we haven't tried yet is having a device with sufficient R&D to actually be good as a combo device. This thing would be so expensive that it would cost the same or more than a separate laptop and tablet. Would you buy it? No, you wouldn't.

It would be quite expensive device. You are right about this. However it's not like I did not pay a lot for my laptop. I have regular iPad so I did not pay that much for it. However if I combine the money I would supposedly pay for laptop and new iPad Pro I am so willing to give that money for such device. As it is now I would not buy iPad pro because I don't see the point in paying that much. Like I said I am not for true tablet experience as I don't care about it. I use touch screen for very specific purpose. And as powerful as iPad Pro is, I don't have the apps to use it as a pro device. Not for me. I need apps that do not exist in iOS.

I have a Mac, and an iPad. Both serve different purposes. And that's it.

As of now I am in a similar boat. Only for me it's Windows laptop and a regular iPad. And yes they do serve different purposes. Ideally in the future I would like to have one device that could do both and pay only for this device.

 

[Koh Phi Phi]

You don't want, and wouldn't buy, such a device.

You want something that will work with a pointing device and a touch screen. These two input methods require two completely different UIs.

Absolutely NOT true.

Android has been supporting mouse and touch forever, both off the same UI, and it works fine. There are zero reasons as of why a floating coursor would not work on a mobile OS. Again, play around with an Android tablet and a bluetooth mouse, and you will see for yourself.

 

[840quadra]

Hoping that Rene with iMore is correct and some of those features are added. Overall I am relatively happy now, but would love direct connected drive and mouse support added.

 

[otozuz]

Just wanted to mention that multiple reviews talk about the Apple Pencil being the evolution of the mouse for iPad.

 

[Koh Phi Phi]

Just wanted to mention that multiple reviews talk about the Apple Pencil being the evolution of the mouse for iPad.

Apple Pencil coupled with the Apple keyboard case causes gorilla arm syndrome.

Steve Jobs himself explained it best: https://www.wired.com/2010/10/gorilla-arm-multitouch/

Here is the key snippet from that article:

"We've done tons of user testing on this," Steve Jobs said in Wednesday's press conference, "and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo, but after a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off."​

 

[Arran]

Mouse / trackpad - I’m guessing this would be hard to Implement on a .2 or .3 updated, rather requires a major overhaul of the entire system.

It's intriguing that you can attach a second (non-touch) display via USB-C. Maybe mouse support is in the works? Or maybe not?

I guess Apple could stop at simple screen-mirroring. That would be fine for presentations. It would certainly make quite a few people I know happy.

Who knows where it's going?
[doublepost=1542862303][/doublepost]

Desktop-class Safari - again, this wouldn't be a ground shattering move for the iOS team to simply create an app whereby it doesn't load mobile sites by default. Perhaps a simple switch in the current safari that you can toggle between desktop or mobile?

I'm guessing that's existed for a long time. Just never released.

 

[otozuz]

Apple Pencil coupled with the Apple keyboard case causes gorilla arm syndrome.

Steve Jobs himself explained it best: https://www.wired.com/2010/10/gorilla-arm-multitouch/

Here is the key snippet from that article:

"We've done tons of user testing on this," Steve Jobs said in Wednesday's press conference, "and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo, but after a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off."​

Totally agree. I was thinking more like the Microsoft Surface inclination or a Wacom display.