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iPad Pro IPadOS - yuck
- Thread starter csjcsj
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You think that’s confusing? Wait until you have to unlock a door and then open it. It will make your head explode.
I really really want iPadOS to get proper multi-user support with fast-user-switching, just like macOS has.
Currently, my wife and I both have Macbooks. But we really don't need two laptops. We could easily share one laptop and one iPad. But iPadOS prevents this. I would love to have us sharing a combo of a Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro, but without multi-user support, it can't happen.
What is the holdup?
Currently, my wife and I both have Macbooks. But we really don't need two laptops. We could easily share one laptop and one iPad. But iPadOS prevents this. I would love to have us sharing a combo of a Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro, but without multi-user support, it can't happen.
What is the holdup?
Umm... I don't think this will be happening anytime soon. The magic of the iPad is the fact... you can just pick it up and use it. Apple gives the option to allow multiple TouchID and Alternate FaceID options. But the idea of having to login with AppleID for multi-user support is something I don't see happening.
If anything... I would like the ability to have Multiple Audio Outputs, that's something that's missing. If you start of a song in the Music app... and then start up a video in Safari, it completely pauses the song. I want the ability to have the song playing the background while a video plays in Safari. That's what I'm anxious of seeing.
Who says you have to login with the full AppleID each time? Have you used fast-user-switching on macOS? They don't call it 'fast' for nothing.
You can just set-up two users, assign a touchID or faceID or pin to each user, and you can still have the pick-it-up and use it experience.
The point is more about apps and settings. I pick it up, and I get my app layout, my wallpaper, my apps logged in with account credentials, my safari bookmarks and history, my imessages, my emails, etc. My wife picks it up, and gets all that stuff for her.
What you mention is a cool idea, but macOS is such a mature OS. The fact that AppleTV can do it, perhaps...I can see coming in the future.
But I'm just not holding my breathe for it, I think there is so much more we need from iPadOS than multi-user support. Heck... I set it up for my family to use, but they barely use it for the AppleTV... granted I'm not sharing my iPad with anyone nor will I want to lol. So, I guess I can't relate...
Yep.
Even if I don't share my iPads, I'd appreciate multiple profile support for separate personal and work profiles.
My mom has the LTE iPad and my dad's is wifi only so he borrows hers when they're out and about (e.g. hospital waiting room) or on vacation. She gets pretty annoyed when dad closes browser tabs on her iPad so at the very least, a guest mode would be appreciated.
Besides, isn't multiple profiles already supported for education? I expect the only reason the iPad doesn't support multiple profiles outside of edu is because Apple wants us to buy more iPads (one for each household member).
It's a bit different on iPad than on AppleTV though. iPad is so much more personal. You don't have Safari bookmarks or open tabs on AppleTV, you don't really login to messaging apps, email apps, or social media apps on AppleTV.
Well, I think you unintentionally answered the reason why it hasn’t happen yet.
iPadOS is now even better since the last update fixed the ultra annoying App refresh bug.
Having useful Google Apps at the ready + my Universal Harmony remote controls & Weather App that syncs locally (not with Apple’s incorrect source) means I’m going about things much more efficiently.
Having useful Google Apps at the ready + my Universal Harmony remote controls & Weather App that syncs locally (not with Apple’s incorrect source) means I’m going about things much more efficiently.
Ok, but Macs are equally (if not more) personal. Yet they have proper multi-user support and fast-user-switching.
I keep reading the argument that Apple just wants people to have one iPad per person so they sell more, whereas multi-user support would cause fewer iPads to be sold.
But I actually think not having multi-user support is currently holding back sales. Some famillys want an iPad, but see no good way to share it so they buy a Surface or other PC instead.
You’re literally trying to make the argument for adding multi-user support so that you and your wife do not have to purchase two iPads while saying that adding such support won’t negatively affect the number of iPads sold. That makes no sense. How is it that you know that the number of people going to other multi-user supporting platforms outnumber people such as yourself?
This is a subjective thing but when I hear the word families I think of parents with kids. I know many families and have never seen them sharing a Surface with their kids. The Surfaces that I have seen in settings where I’ve been working with families belong to the parents and aren’t typically shared with their kids because they are more productivity centric devices. I see many families sharing phones, iPads and Android tablets though which are all more geared towards entertainment and consumption.
An addition to that... kids normally don't like to share because would rather have their own device.
But I get @oneMadRssn point. Surface and other PC's have Multi-User support... so if some family is in the market to buy a Surface or a iPad, they would rather go with the Surface due to that feature. Although, I still feel is a niche feature.
And the fact that feature isn't on the iPad... it's not drastically hurting their sales.
Selling 1 iPad is better than selling 0 iPads, right?
We're now 7 or 8 generations of iPads in - I think by now anyone that wanted a personal iPad has already purchased one. This is reflected in the data, which shows sales of iPads have plateaued (or are even on a bit of a decline). This usually means Apple is selling iPads to existing iPad users as upgrades, but probably isn't bringing in new iPad users.
They've clearly been turning iPadOS into more of a full-fledged desktop-class OS. Multi-tasking has been improved, they added USB drive file-access, network file access, there is even pseudo-mouse support now. The logical next step is multi-user support.
You're right it's subjective, and not what I had in mind. Kids should get their own devices, for cleanliness reasons if nothing else.
But I see many households where the two (or more
) adult partners share a single personal computer. It might not be a "Surface" brand device, that was just an example of a tablet/laptop brand I gave. But it is super common for two or more cohabiting adults to share a single personal computer/laptop. By "personal," I mean it's not the computer they're given at work.When those folks are shopping for an upgrade/update, shareability is a concern. iPads are simply not sharable. The 12-inch iPad, the size most competitive to ultrabooks, starts at $1000. It's not reasonable to say "just buy two of them." Apple is trying super hard to convince people that iPads are a replacement for laptops, because that is how they can sales of iPads to grow again. Well they're not going to convince many people if there is no proper multi-user support.
Of course they would. However, they usually don't have the financial means to buy an iPad on their own so whether they have to share the "family" iPad depends on whether they're gifted one by their parents (or grandparents, etc).
Mom and Dad sharing their iPad(s) with potentially non-kid friendly content with their kids is a good reason to have multi-profile. Yes, there's restricted mode on iOS but multi-profile with fast user switching would be much nicer.
That said, I don't think the Surface is even on most people's radar. What I've seen is mom and dad have the iPad while the kids get $25-50 Amazon Fire tablets which sometimes go unused because the kids like mom and dad's iPad better.
Yeah the privacy, restricted content and restricted purchases side to ME are better reasons for Apple to consider multi-user support than the potential productivity of shared users of a mobile device. I'll never need it but I'm all for multi-user support for others.
I’ve seen this as well.What I've seen is mom and dad have the iPad while the kids get $25-50 Amazon Fire tablets which sometimes go unused because the kids like mom and dad's iPad better.
Are you referring to the name change to “ipadOS”? Because unless I’m missing something, that’s all it is—a name change. Yes, there are new iPad-specific features with this iOS version, but as usual. iPad has been getting unique features in iOS basically since the beginning. (And it’s still iOS.) This is simply a continuation. The name change is superficial, nothing fundamentally different as far as I can tell.