iPad Pros can use a mouse or a case with a trackpad/mouse, so they could simply require that and not have to do anything to the interface.
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iPad Pro iPad has become quite useless and I regret purchasing it
- Thread starter igauravarora
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The files app thing is so true. It simply doesn't work. At least 2/3 of the times I'm trying to use it to interact with some cloud provider (dropbox, onedrive, etc.) or third-party software, it just hangs or refuses to list files. garbage piece of ****
I thought at one time I saw in Apple's developer guidelines that apps may support use of an input device/controller but could not require it; the app still had to support a touch-only interface.
Like I mentioned in that same post, I can see this being the case in the future (in Stage Manager mode or whatever replaces it).
At the moment, the iOS App Store still requires touch support.
iPads (particularly M chip models) are a really interesting proposition. I rolled with a 2018 11" as my primary computing device until this month when I flipped back to a MBP.
The battery life, from the 2018 models to present, is fabulous. In a funny way I've been unimpressed by the MBP's lauded battery life just because of how spoiled I got by the iPad.
The real key to what makes the iPad magic is modularity. That's why the 11" IMO is perfect, as it's a perfect tablet size, plus with the keyboard it makes a pretty great laptop replacement.
The biggest issue the iPad still has is mediocre external display support, along with some Magic Keyboard tweaks. If Apple could lighten the weight of the keyboard, it would make a better laptop replacement, and if they could figure out a way to incorporate data as well as power into the keyboards USBC, it would create an amazing flow.
The battery life, from the 2018 models to present, is fabulous. In a funny way I've been unimpressed by the MBP's lauded battery life just because of how spoiled I got by the iPad.
The real key to what makes the iPad magic is modularity. That's why the 11" IMO is perfect, as it's a perfect tablet size, plus with the keyboard it makes a pretty great laptop replacement.
The biggest issue the iPad still has is mediocre external display support, along with some Magic Keyboard tweaks. If Apple could lighten the weight of the keyboard, it would make a better laptop replacement, and if they could figure out a way to incorporate data as well as power into the keyboards USBC, it would create an amazing flow.
I and others have had the Files app corrupt files when interfacing with external storage formatted as exFAT.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/file-corruption-on-copy-to-external-storage.2235171/
Follow-up: I remember this directive as explicitly addressing required use of a controller for a game; it appears that Apple has eased off on the touch-only requirement -
https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/inputs/game-controllers/
It adds up perfectly fine once you know the equation: Max Tech don't have a consistent opinion because they just say whatever keeps people engaged. Watch their channel long enough and you'll see that.
They talk about throttling because it's a buzz word that draws people in.
I wonder how stringent that is. If you open DaVinci Resolve, you can touch the interface, but it's clear the thing is not designed for you to touch it. Your touch appears to be emulating a mouse.
Perhaps we haven't seen apps like this because the market just hasn't been there, given iPad's long history running iOS and not having proper mouse support until very recently?
It's hard to figure out what is best these days with everything overlapping and converging. Sometimes I feel a real need to make one device be my only device, and eliminate unnecessary choice and expense. Other times I feel like I should always be using the best tool for the job, and not to beat myself up about owning multiple overlapping devices.
I currently have a work provided 14" MacBook Pro, and a personal iPad Pro M1 11" with Magic Keyboard. My philosophy on how these devices fit in seems to change with the wind, but here are some observations:
- I definitely prefer the 14" MacBook when it comes to work, where I have to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. It doesn't matter that it's bigger and heavier - the work comes first, and it's just much better on the 14". The bigger screen is necessary due to the complexity of the work and the amount of applications I have to be switching between. The HDMI port is something I use almost every day for testing AV systems. If you get paid to do something, you should do that thing at the height of your ability on the best tool for that job.
I also use this machine for music with Logic Pro. Logic Pro doesn't run on the iPad, so that's just that. Magsafe comes in handy for not tripping over the cable in different recording situations, as does the SD card slot as you would imagine. The bigger screen is good for mixing.
- The iPad Pro in the Magic Keyboard is good on the couch or in bed, where it just feels clunky and like an overcommitment to have a bigger and clunkier 14" laptop. The Magic Keyboard doesn't get enough love for the ergonomic improvements over a folio: it props up the iPad easily in more scenarios without you having to hold it up, lets you angle the screen exactly how you want it, and most overlooked: gives it some much needed elevation. Far better for the eyes and neck, especially on a plane/train/etc.
It's also nice to be able to type when you want to - too many times I'll be using the iPad just in a folio case and happen upon an unforeseen scenario where I suddenly want to be able to type, and it's just too annoying to type at any great length on the touch screen. It just happens too often to use the iPad without the Magic Keyboard at least being within reach to snap the iPad back on to it and start typing.
In the same way the 14" MacBook is simply necessary for work, the iPad has been simply necessary for travel. The iPad really did keep me sane on the 12(!) flights I took in 2022. One leg of which was a solid 20+ hours. I think I would have jumped out the plane without it. I don't know how many people have flown economy lately, but you simply aren't using a laptop on the tiny tray tables, and even if you somehow did, someone could suddenly throw their seat back and crush your laptop screen. I don't think even the 12.9" iPad would fit on some of the economy flights I've been on lately - certainly not in the Magic Keyboard.
The internal tug of war between simplicity and eliminating choice paralysis and unnecessary expenditure - and using the best tool for the job, rages on. I can't give a solid, coherent philosophy on what setup is best for me or anyone else. First world problems I guess.
One more thing: I welcome the iPad becoming more capable of laptop-ish stuff. I don't see myself trying to make the iPad my main computer, but when I am travelling light, it would be nice if the iPad could do more in a pinch. It's not nice taking the iPad to travel light, and then being caught out just because there is this one thing you can't do, and you can't do it purely because of software. Just because something is nicer to do on a bigger laptop, doesn't mean it wouldn't be valuable to be able to actually do it at all on the iPad when that's all you happen to have with you at the time.
I currently have a work provided 14" MacBook Pro, and a personal iPad Pro M1 11" with Magic Keyboard. My philosophy on how these devices fit in seems to change with the wind, but here are some observations:
- I definitely prefer the 14" MacBook when it comes to work, where I have to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. It doesn't matter that it's bigger and heavier - the work comes first, and it's just much better on the 14". The bigger screen is necessary due to the complexity of the work and the amount of applications I have to be switching between. The HDMI port is something I use almost every day for testing AV systems. If you get paid to do something, you should do that thing at the height of your ability on the best tool for that job.
I also use this machine for music with Logic Pro. Logic Pro doesn't run on the iPad, so that's just that. Magsafe comes in handy for not tripping over the cable in different recording situations, as does the SD card slot as you would imagine. The bigger screen is good for mixing.
- The iPad Pro in the Magic Keyboard is good on the couch or in bed, where it just feels clunky and like an overcommitment to have a bigger and clunkier 14" laptop. The Magic Keyboard doesn't get enough love for the ergonomic improvements over a folio: it props up the iPad easily in more scenarios without you having to hold it up, lets you angle the screen exactly how you want it, and most overlooked: gives it some much needed elevation. Far better for the eyes and neck, especially on a plane/train/etc.
It's also nice to be able to type when you want to - too many times I'll be using the iPad just in a folio case and happen upon an unforeseen scenario where I suddenly want to be able to type, and it's just too annoying to type at any great length on the touch screen. It just happens too often to use the iPad without the Magic Keyboard at least being within reach to snap the iPad back on to it and start typing.
In the same way the 14" MacBook is simply necessary for work, the iPad has been simply necessary for travel. The iPad really did keep me sane on the 12(!) flights I took in 2022. One leg of which was a solid 20+ hours. I think I would have jumped out the plane without it. I don't know how many people have flown economy lately, but you simply aren't using a laptop on the tiny tray tables, and even if you somehow did, someone could suddenly throw their seat back and crush your laptop screen. I don't think even the 12.9" iPad would fit on some of the economy flights I've been on lately - certainly not in the Magic Keyboard.
The internal tug of war between simplicity and eliminating choice paralysis and unnecessary expenditure - and using the best tool for the job, rages on. I can't give a solid, coherent philosophy on what setup is best for me or anyone else. First world problems I guess.
One more thing: I welcome the iPad becoming more capable of laptop-ish stuff. I don't see myself trying to make the iPad my main computer, but when I am travelling light, it would be nice if the iPad could do more in a pinch. It's not nice taking the iPad to travel light, and then being caught out just because there is this one thing you can't do, and you can't do it purely because of software. Just because something is nicer to do on a bigger laptop, doesn't mean it wouldn't be valuable to be able to actually do it at all on the iPad when that's all you happen to have with you at the time.
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Yep. The problem is also the iPad's roots. You've got over a decade where the iPad ran phone software (iOS) and had phone hardware (same SoC). Even when the iPad had an X or Z series chip, more cores is nice, but you're still using phone-class storage and phone-class RAM.
It wasn't until iPadOS that it technically ran its own OS, and it wasn't until the M1 that it stopped using phone hardware. And proper mouse/kb and even proper gamepad support have only been around for a matter of 2-3 years.
It simply hasn't been much time since these things changed, and that is a lot of old baggage to overcome. I think it'll happen, but it's not going to happen overnight.
It’s the legacy and roots of the iPad that makes me feel things won’t change as much as people hope. For app developers, is the iPad lucrative enough to revamp their entire apps now that the iPad has stopped using phone hardware? Probably not - at least in the short term.
Looking over at Windows, app developers didn't bother investing into their apps to make them touch friendly or even match Microsoft‘s different design languages, because it wouldn’t create additional revenue for them.
I hope things do progress but can’t see that happening until there is evidence of a money-making opportunity for developers to make their iPad apps more functional.
What is the issue with the MBA screen? I don’t own one and would like to know.
I gave my iPad to my son who basically just uses it to watch YouTube videos and text his friends. I bought a Microsoft 13" Surface Pro 9 that is basically an iPad that can actually do grown-up work because it uses the full-fledged version of Windows 11. I feel a bit like a traitor but it's actually a very powerful and productive machine. I feel that Apple dropped the ball on iPad by making it a toy instead of a real computer. I hope that changes sometime in the near future.
IDK what is "wrong" with the screen. It just did not agree with me. I have never had an issue with any screen until the M1 Air. No issues with the iPadPro or the current M2 Air screen which replaced the iPadPro.
The evidence is there from a creative perspective since we have Affinity and Davinci (Adobe is still a major presence) adding functional apps to the iPad platform... I think the missing piece is from Microsoft.
Until Microsoft decides to port over desktop-class Office 365... we will see the iPad fall short, don't get me wrong... Microsoft is constantly trying to improve Office 365 in the mobile space. But I personally don't believe it's in Microsoft best interest to make the their Office suite on Windows just as good on the iPad platform.
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I tend to agree. I don't think the ROI for improving mobile Office 365 is there and I highly doubt that MS would do it out of altruism toward Apple. It certainly wouldn't help Surface sales.
Might have been something wrong with it. I tried out an M2 12.9" iPad Pro and there was something weird with that particular screen. It was just eye watering for some reason. It seemed to have slight pink stains if looking at a pure white background, and they would show up even just scrolling MacRumors. I returned it in the end because it was too big, but I'm sure if I had it replaced, the replacement would have been fine.
It wasn't just Mini LED - I main a 14" MacBook Pro and that display is totally fine.
I completely disagree with the philosophy of holding out exclusive features, hoping people will switch platforms. The vast majority won't, and companies are losing money by not making their services/features work with each others' OS's.
For example, allowing Androids to run Apple downloaded DRM movies and TV shows. Keeping it from Android is just lost Apple media store revenue. I do see though that Apple is bringing over the TV, Music and device apps to Windows. Looks like the old iTunes app will be dead all around pretty soon.
I don't think MS is looking for platform switching, there just isn't enough profit in it for them to pour more than they feel necessary. Making Office 365 full-up on the iPad is not going to lead to a huge increase in licenses sold; it would be a drop in the bucket to a company the size of MS. Just not their worthwhile.
And I hate that's the case.
If Microsoft wasn't in the hardware business such as the Surface Pro line, then perhaps... I could see Microsoft putting a lot of resources behind making a desktop-class Office suite for the iPad. But as of now, they are moving at a "snaillike" pace adding features to their mobile apps... never committing to it fully.
It's an issue for all large/complex applications - how much new revenue will we get vs. cost of porting and maintaining in a new environment? Do we have the in-house iOS expertise to do it or do we need to invest in training or hire additional personnel? If you can't make the business case ...
Forget iOS, I hope they would make the Mac version of Office as good as the Windows version. It's not. It's not bad, but it isn't as good as Windows Office.
I didn't realize the Mac version was also hamstrung - my laptop and desktop are Win11.