All iPads John Gruber’s iPad rant

[KittyKatta]

I wonder, though, if what most folks are asking for in a “Pro Mode” actually be “training wheels“ mode? Like, “Touch is too hard for me, so make it work like something else I’m familiar with?” It would actually be more suited for the “accessibility” pane.

Is that what you think the “Pro” complaint is? That “Touch is too hard because it doesn’t work like a Mac?”

This isnt an OK Boomer situation. There is no generational divide on the understanding of iPadOS functions because non-computer kids struggle just as much as computer proficient adults. And that’s because these concepts, familiar or not, feel stapled and glued onto an OS that clearly wasn’t designed to be anything more than “A big iPod Touch”.

And that’s why Pro Mode is an option worth exploring. The OS needs to be refined in both directions. Its getting too complicated for someone simply looking for media consumption, but its too restrained for someone looking to do actual work. So allowing a simple interface option frees up the development of a Pro side to advance forward without the worry of alienating casual users.

 

[Rogifan]

I finished Gruber’s latest episode and one thing I don’t agree with him on is iPadOS needing more buttons or chrome. I 100% agree that if you’re using a keyboard or mouse you shouldn’t need to touch the screen. So modify the UI when a keyboard or mouse is attached. But outside of that I don’t need red X or close buttons to know how to get out of an app or bring a different app into split view. My concern with adding chrome and buttons is it starts to turn iPadOS into a desktop OS, and once you start doing that you might as well just be using a Mac. Or Windows.

Also I’d be curious to know how many normals, how many average users struggle with things like split view and slide over? My guess is most people haven’t heard of it and don’t use it. I have iPad users in my family and they’d give me blank stares if I mentioned those two things. IMO the complaints about this are legit for power users but overdone in general because most iPad users never experience it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Is that what you think the “Pro” complaint is? That “Touch is too hard because it doesn’t work like a Mac?”

So, I’ve read:
1. Multitasking is hard/doesn’t make sense
2. I need to be able to move pictures of files around
3. I need a mouse

Which reads like “I want this to work like a Mac”. Apple may end up making this happen for those folks and if they do, it’ll be similar to the accessibility feature that makes things easier for folks that can’t use their hands, for example. And, I don’t think it’s necessarily a generational thing, touch just doesn’t click with a bunch of folks. It just so happens that a large number of the folks very familiar with multi-touch and it’s gestures grew up in a world where multi-touch devices have always been a thing.

Its getting too complicated for someone simply looking for media consumption

Media consumption, I take that to mean surfing the web, playing videos, playing music is as easy as talking to the device. And, the touch interfaces for those activities are as simple and straightforward as they’ve ever been. When you consider that many consider the use case for an iPad is as a media consumption device first and foremost, if there was ANY difficulty with media consumption, they wouldn’t be selling well at all. And, it still feels like the “too restrained” just adds up to “not enough like macOS”.

 

[Dave-Z]

I finished Gruber’s latest episode and one thing I don’t agree with him on is iPadOS needing more buttons or chrome. [...] I don’t need red X or close buttons to know how to get out of an app or bring a different app into split view.

I didn't listen to the podcast, but I have a feeling the opinion is less of a "red X" and more a UI that hints at what parts of the screen are actionable. This MacRumors forum post editor I'm typing in right now has a button below it that reads "Post reply" and the text is surrounded by a contrasting blue background with curved corners. It's obvious to me that is a button I click to post my reply. In iOS/iPadOS this is not the case. Many actionable items look just like normal text on the screen. No different that the content I'm reading. Sometimes I scroll up for a list of buttons, other times I can tap text to bring up a menu. If I'm lucky the UI will have an ellipsis button. But none of it is intuitive. Add to this Apple changing their UI every year (it feels like) so every new, major OS update people have to go around touching all parts of the UI to see if elements actually do anything. Very little discoverability. It's only gotten worse since iOS 7.

I was all-in with Apple for years. But macOS has just become buggier as time has gone on. Now I find Debian Linux to be the macOS I always wanted. It has all the features without the bloat (and without the crazy amount of analytics Apple gathers.. seriously.. has anyone bothered to proxy requests an Apple product makes? It's nuts how much data Apple is harvesting). Windows is also nicer than macOS, in my opinion.

I tried using iPads as a primary device but the hardware quality was lacking and the software is just eons behind what a Windows machine can do. I admit Windows' tablet experience sucks, but at least you can run a real web browser.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

I’m just gonna chime in here in a devil’s advocate role. I use iPadOS as my sole (not primary, mind you, but sole as in only one) professional OS for work every day in a highly demanding executive finance environment. I do advanced and complex spreadsheets with scripting, API fetching and integration, automation, visualization and data manipulation, forecasting, dashboard creation for presentations and reports, etc.

I use a mouse and keyboard while at a desk using a 4K external monitor, and the ASK and my fingers whenever I am away from that desk, which is often.

The only reason this is possible is because of iPadOS and the accompanying desktop-by-default Safari whose user agent identifies itself as a macOS desktop browser.

Now, I use Slide Over like it is nobody’s business. All file management (Files, Documents, GDrive, PDF Expert, etc) and communications apps (Slack, iMessage, Mail.app, Skype, Facetime, etc) are always in there, as well as number crunching apps like pcalc. And the way the app picker is implemented in iPadOS makes it way more useful and simple than before, resulting in it being by far the most useful Multitasking tool on iPad. It should be brought to the Mac. Split view mostly gets used when having two websites or spreadsheets side by side.

I have become so used to the touch gestures for multitasking, and the way the mouse works in iPadOS that when I get on macOS now, I feel lost and everything feels somehow old...I clumsily get caught trying to do gestures with the mouse button held down, or move a window expecting it to slide out of view or tile perfectly to share space.

I am going to have to say that efficiency and ease of use of multitasking iPadOS is at least on par with macOS, and I am going to agree with folks here taking the view that most criticisms stem from the fact that it is not Mac-like enough, or enough like the 30+ year engrained cursor click paradigm. This is actually a strength, not a weakness, and doesn’t make it any harder to learn than a cursor based UI system. I can’t recall fumbling around trying to figure out what was interactive and what not on my iPad.

I mean in all honestly, what is so discoverable about a left click vs a right click? What intuitively tells a person, other than years and years of reinforcement, that an X button closes a window, but to actually kill a program, you need to use the application menu at the top of the screen and select quit from there, or hit CMD+Q?

I agree that iPadOS and iOS get needless tweaks and UI adjustments at times that seem to complicate rather than simply things (just take a look at Mail.app...jeez what a mess) but really, if we are being objective, what kind of interface is more of a direct extension of our human senses and natural form of interaction with the world around us - touch or pointing device + cursor?

 

[Dave-Z]

I am going to have to say that efficiency and ease of use of multitasking iPadOS is at least on par with macOS

I don't agree, I can't view any number of applications, etc. I want on my iPad. There is a fixed limit of 4 (two in split-view, one in slide over, one in picture-in-picture). I don't have that limit on my other computers.. I can tile 20 windows if I want, including placing them in any order or size.

But I want to be clear that while I do not agree with you, I am not dismissing your claim. If you are able to use iPadOS as well or better than macOS, I think that's great that you've done that and that it works for you.

what is so discoverable about a left click vs a right click?

The fact that the button is there. No, really, that's it. There's a left and right mouse button. The mouse moves the cursor and those buttons interact with whatever that cursor happens to be hovering over: one action is the left button, the other is the right button.

Before Mac's embraced a two button mouse (though they really still don't, do they? since the mouse now has no visible buttons; only detecting one click and using a sensor to figure out where the user's finger is) there was only left-click. If a user wanted to "right" click they held the Command key and clicked the mouse button (an action that still works today). So many users never used a right click because it wasn't discoverable.

that an X button closes a window, but to actually kill a program, you need to use the application menu at the top of the screen and select quit from there, or hit CMD+Q

That is also not discoverable, but only in the sense that macOS was designed that way. In most other operating systems closing the last window closes the application. Macs are different. When I did tech support I was often surprised when people called to complain something wasn't working, only for me to explain to them they had 30 open applications (without windows) because closing the window doesn't quit the application and... surprise... they had exhausted physical and virtual RAM.

Now why does X mean close at all? I think we're used to that in society as how our language(s) have developed. Similar seeing a plus sign meaning more or addition, or seeing a star means something marked as note-worthy or important, or seeing a check mark means complete or right.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

I don't agree, I can't view any number of applications, etc. I want on my iPad. There is a fixed limit of 4 (two in split-view, one in slide over, one in picture-in-picture). I don't have that limit on my other computers.. I can tile 20 windows if I want, including placing them in any order or size.

Agree to disagree here. I fully get it, and don’t want to start an argument over the point, but when was the last time you actually did anything like that with as many apps as that? Also regardless of how many windows you have open, only one is still actively interactive at any one time. You still have to click that window once to activate it and bring it into the foreground, and again to start the interaction. iPadOS has multiple workspaces you can flip through and you get notifications if something happens that needs your attention in an app you don’t have in your current workspace.

When is the last time you honestly were actively working and focused on more than 3 apps truly simultaneously (as in moving or referring to data or information between them at the same time) I used to use macOS that way, actually. Using a 4K monitor, I had Mail, Slack, Calendar, Notes, Messages, Finder, and two browser windows with lots of tabs each, all tiled in my custom way so everything fit in one desktop space. If you are not using an external monitor with at least 1440p though, there is no point, and even then, it wasn’t any faster than going back and forth between desktop spaces with the control+arrow keys...and not faster than bringing in Slide Over either when a notification slides down from the top of the screen.

The fact that the button is there. No, really, that's it. There's a left and right mouse button. The mouse moves the cursor and those buttons interact with whatever that cursor happens to be hovering over: one action is the left button, the other is the right button.

Before Mac's embraced a two button mouse (though they really still don't, do they? since the mouse now has no visible buttons; only detecting one click and using a sensor to figure out where the user's finger is) there was only left-click. If a user wanted to "right" click they held the Command key and clicked the mouse button (an action that still works today). So many users never used a right click because it wasn't discoverable.

This is a fun one, as it illustrates my point. With iOS being now 10 years old, the training wheels can be taken off a little bit, and things don’t quite need to be 100% discoverable. The Magic Mouse is a perfect example of this on macOS. Basically everyone who picks up a smartphone or tablet these days already knows that basic concepts of navigation, just like everyone knows that a Mouse has a button or buttons, and you should be able to scroll with one, even if they are invisible, with no indication that they are actually there.

Now why does X mean close at all? I think we're used to that in society as how our language(s) have developed. Similar seeing a plus sign meaning more or addition, or seeing a star means something marked as note-worthy or important, or seeing a check mark means complete or right.

Now this is truly where it gets interesting. It would be an awesome documentary to explore the origins of exactly these kinds of visual triggers that we take for granted these days as imprinted into on our brains to intuitively understand. Things like x’s and +’s and ✅ as well as stuff like ⏏▶⏺⏸⏮⏭⏹ - where they all got their start...

 

[Dave-Z]

When is the last time you honestly were actively working and focused on more than 3 apps truly simultaneously (as in moving or referring to data or information between them at the same time)

Yesterday. I used Windows 10 with my 1440p monitor. I had three terminal windows open and a browser. I used two terminal windows and the browser for reference while I worked in the third terminal cross-referencing information from the other three sources. This type of workflow is not atypical for me, and probably many others.

I know when I'm coding it's not uncommon to have multiple windows open as well. And certainly having to switch between them would be exceedingly frustrating and slow down work.

This is a fun one, as it illustrates my point. With iOS being now 10 years old, the training wheels can be taken off a little bit, and things don’t quite need to be 100% discoverable.

You would think the training wheels could come off, except that Apple in recent years keeps changing how the UI works.

Basically everyone who picks up a smartphone or tablet these days already knows that basic concepts of navigation

Sure. It's one thing to tap, swipe, and pinch. That's pretty basic with touchscreen user interfaces after 10+ years. But it's entirely another to swipe with three fingers left or pinch with three fingers twice in a row, or drag up from the bottom-left with a stylus... (Assuming you're using the latest operating system.. otherwise those don't work and the gestures are different.) It's another to know which parts of iPadOS Music are actionable. Before you used to swipe up for more options, now you tap somewhere. Apple keeps changing things beyond the basic tap, swipe, and pinch; so training wheel are very much needed.

 

[rui no onna]

This is a fun one, as it illustrates my point. With iOS being now 10 years old, the training wheels can be taken off a little bit, and things don’t quite need to be 100% discoverable. The Magic Mouse is a perfect example of this on macOS. Basically everyone who picks up a smartphone or tablet these days already knows that basic concepts of navigation, just like everyone knows that a Mouse has a button or buttons, and you should be able to scroll with one, even if they are invisible, with no indication that they are actually there.

I actually think we need a new set of training wheels. It's super annoying having to search for and watch an unnecessarily long YouTube video just to find the correct gestures for something one does not often use.

I'm just glad Apple still makes iPads with home buttons. Mom had to use dad's phone (iPhone 11) for a minor emergency and she hated not having the home button.

 

[iPadified]

Yesterday. I used Windows 10 with my 1440p monitor. I had three terminal windows open and a browser. I used two terminal windows and the browser for reference while I worked in the third terminal cross-referencing information from the other three sources. This type of workflow is not atypical for me, and probably many others.

I know when I'm coding it's not uncommon to have multiple windows open as well. And certainly having to switch between them would be exceedingly frustrating and slow down work.



You would think the training wheels could come off, except that Apple in recent years keeps changing how the UI works.



Sure. It's one thing to tap, swipe, and pinch. That's pretty basic with touchscreen user interfaces after 10+ years. But it's entirely another to swipe with three fingers left or pinch with three fingers twice in a row, or drag up from the bottom-left with a stylus... (Assuming you're using the latest operating system.. otherwise those don't work and the gestures are different.) It's another to know which parts of iPadOS Music are actionable. Before you used to swipe up for more options, now you tap somewhere. Apple keeps changing things beyond the basic tap, swipe, and pinch; so training wheel are very much needed.

I think, you move the goal post here a bit and introduces a large monitor in the equation and essentially a desktop situation. Four visible windows on a 11-13 inch screen is useless and iPadOS is designed for smaller screens. Remember where it came from: 3.5 inch screens! iPadOS may develop and in the future be the OS for the ARM based "Mac" taking large screens into account for those who needs it. If so, there is a whole new focus and everything is possible regarding windows and multitasking. iPadOS is focused on being a OS for mobile computers and >16-inch screens (I regards MPB16 as mobile) is not part of that equation.

Remember also, that AXX chips only recently did have the capacity to drive large screen monitors at all so there is also a co-development with the chips at the moment. When the AXX chips can drive higher resolution at 120Hz, I believe we will see larger iPads (or external screens) and wider possibilities regarding multitasking and window management.
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I actually think we need a new set of training wheels. It's super annoying having to search for and watch an unnecessarily long YouTube video just to find the correct gestures for something one does not often use.

I'm just glad Apple still makes iPads with home buttons. Mom had to use dad's phone (iPhone 11) for a minor emergency and she hated not having the home button.

I agree, Apple make a very poor job of having tutorials but that is true for MacOS as well. Why not build this type of support directly into the OS? All this AI, machine learning can be used to help us using the device better. Analyse the user pattern and come with some suggestions. Does not even need to go outside the device for privacy reasons.

 

[Dave-Z]

I think, you move the goal post here a bit and introduces a large monitor in the equation and essentially a desktop situation.

You have raised a fair point. I did introduce a monitor. But I don't think I'm really changing the situation much because the person to whom I was writing also uses an iPad with an external monitor:

I use iPadOS as my sole (not primary, mind you, but sole as in only one) professional OS for work every day in a highly demanding executive finance environment.

[...]

I use a mouse and keyboard while at a desk using a 4K external monitor

So my introducing more windows/applications was based on the workflow MyopicPaideia presented. I was commenting that the iPad is still limited to four applications, which my devices are not.

Four visible windows on a 11-13 inch screen is useless and iPadOS is designed for smaller screens.

Useless is not how I would describe it. Definitely not as useful as a larger screen, that goes without saying.. But on my Surface Go I often have multiple windows open. Of course I can't fit a lot on a 10" screen but what I do in those situations is layer the windows in such a way that I can quickly bring the ones I need at the moment to the front (i.e. the window edges for each application are always visible somewhere so I can click them). I can still put 2-3 in such as way as to read and interact with them and the rest are carefully positioned as I described. I still prefer this design over iPadOS because I'm in control of where the information is on the screen and how much screen real estate each windows occupies.

 

[secretk]

I actually think we need a new set of training wheels. It's super annoying having to search for and watch an unnecessarily long YouTube video just to find the correct gestures for something one does not often use.

I'm just glad Apple still makes iPads with home buttons. Mom had to use dad's phone (iPhone 11) for a minor emergency and she hated not having the home button.

The problem IMO is that they change the way the user interacts with the system with every iOS version. I agree that Windows (and most probably MacOS) were not that much more intuitive in the beginning as well. However I use one version of Windows for at least 5 years. They introduce indeed some changes but I have time to get used to them and to work with them. I have no desire to learn new iOS gestures every year. That combined with the bugs they introduce the first two to three months is quite annoying. I spend 3 months to ask myself why did they release this version at all, 1 additional month to learn the new gestures and in just few months we are back to square one. I don't see the point here. As a result I don't bother at all to learn those gestures and just do not see the iPad as anything more but complementary device. I have a lot of other things to do in my life to learn new iOS gestures every year.

And something else. I come from Software Development myself. We do not make such sudden UI changes so often. All those changes every year always leaves the impression for me that Apple has no idea where to go with iOS. That might not be true but this is how I interpret it as an end user. This is another reason for me to not want to invest time and efforts to learn truly everything iOS does and how (in terms of gestures) because I expect them to change their mind every year. It is also a factor for me to not consider iPad as primary device. I might think that iPadOS is great for me than next year they might do something that completely changes my mind. It is a risky move.

Also those changes they make affect my user experience with the apps. I see a lot of fragmentation on iOS. Developers take their time to update their apps to follow the new design language that comes with every iOS. It either happens closely to introducing the new version or does not happen at all. Every iOS app has its own design language and this confuses me quite a lot as it does not even fit the design language of the OS itself.

 

[petvas]

Everyone here is trying to concentrate on the way an iPad works. The problem is though what a device allows you to do and not if multitasking is perfectly implemented or not. The thing with the iPad is that in most cases, it doesn't offer the same set of capabilities and functionality as a traditional computer does. Start by comparing functionality in most major apps, like MS Office, Adobe Photoshop, iWork, etc..There are many limitations that make the iPad a frustrating experience if used as a desktop replacement. We are talking here about major limitations, things that people would normally do not even think that they are not possible on any computing device. The biggest issue of the iPad is not its interface, or touch, but the limited applications.

 

[Mainsail]

The iPad is a tablet. It is not a laptop. The iPad uses an operating system that is optimized for a tablet, which is a touch based device. As a tablet, multitasking is going to be more limiting than a laptop. This doesn’t mean an iPad can’t be used for productivity. It can. But, if you try to use it like a laptop, you are going to be very frustrated By the touch based UI and the limited multitasking.

My recommendation is don’t fight it. Use an iPad for light mobile productivity: reading, marking up documents/photos, taking notes, sketching diagrams, responding to mail/messages. Use a desktop for heavy productivity back at the office: creating documents, spreadsheets, videos, databases, code, etc...

If you frequently need a keyboard while mobile, get a laptop. It sucks because doing heavy office productivity on a small laptop screen is not very enjoyable, but if the job demands it, then so be it.

 

[Ubuntu]

The iPad is a tablet. It is not a laptop. The iPad uses an operating system that is optimized for a tablet, which is a touch based device. As a tablet, multitasking is going to be more limiting than a laptop. This doesn’t mean an iPad can’t be used for productivity. It can. But, if you try to use it like a laptop, you are going to be very frustrated By the touch based UI and the limited multitasking.

My recommendation is don’t fight it. Use an iPad for light mobile productivity: reading, marking up documents/photos, taking notes, sketching diagrams, responding to mail/messages. Use a desktop for heavy productivity back at the office: creating documents, spreadsheets, videos, databases, code, etc...

If you frequently need a keyboard while mobile, get a laptop. It sucks because doing heavy office productivity on a small laptop screen is not very enjoyable, but if the job demands it, then so be it.

I don't think it's just that multitasking is more limiting in iPadOS - it's just a complete mess. They've doubled down on making it gesture-based, which any UX designer will tell you has the major downside of a lack of discoverability but also left gaping holes in the logic. I could live with just having two windows side-by-side for eternity if they didn't make it a pain to deal with (and good luck successfully dismissing a slideover screen ).

But to say that it should be used for light mobile productivity is where the fundamental issue lies. I don't mind having a limited experience when I'm away from my Mac but the iPad is just this jack-of-some-trades, most certainly a master of none. I use mine daily at work for meetings but even basic things like viewing code on a website can be a PITA because of how they've designed iPadOS. Honestly, as much as I love using the thing I'm still not used to how confusing some aspects are and how likely it is I'll make a mistake when trying to use "pro" features like multi-tasking. It's just clumsy and I think they're lacking vision on what it could be.

 

[rui no onna]

I agree, Apple make a very poor job of having tutorials but that is true for MacOS as well. Why not build this type of support directly into the OS? All this AI, machine learning can be used to help us using the device better. Analyse the user pattern and come with some suggestions. Does not even need to go outside the device for privacy reasons.

Yep, built-in help tied in with the iOS version would be appreciated. The Tips app isn't comprehensive at all. That said, I would prefer multitasking to be added to context menus in addition to the existing gestures. I often feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole trying to drag stuff where I want them to be.

I dunno about Macs but on the Windows side, there are often tooltips and visual cues (e.g. icon changing) when you hover on something. For the most part, these visual cues are also similar in the Linux distros I've tried. These visual cues make it possible to muddle along unfamiliar territory. iOS, you either know the gesture or you don't.

Consider keyboard shortcuts. They make it faster to accomplish things. However, if one didn't know CTRL/CMD+C is copy and CTRL/CMD+V is paste, it's still possible to do these things via menu.

 

[Mainsail]

I don't think it's just that multitasking is more limiting in iPadOS - it's just a complete mess. They've doubled down on making it gesture-based, which any UX designer will tell you has the major downside of a lack of discoverability but also left gaping holes in the logic. I could live with just having two windows side-by-side for eternity if they didn't make it a pain to deal with (and good luck successfully dismissing a slideover screen ).

But to say that it should be used for light mobile productivity is where the fundamental issue lies. I don't mind having a limited experience when I'm away from my Mac but the iPad is just this jack-of-some-trades, most certainly a master of none. I use mine daily at work for meetings but even basic things like viewing code on a website can be a PITA because of how they've designed iPadOS. Honestly, as much as I love using the thing I'm still not used to how confusing some aspects are and how likely it is I'll make a mistake when trying to use "pro" features like multi-tasking. It's just clumsy and I think they're lacking vision on what it could be.

IPadOS is touch based. So, naturally, iPad is going to take advantage of gestures. It’s a tablet.

I have zero problems using slide over, and I use it frequently to drag and drop. I have zero problems opening a window in side by side. But, with a limited 10.2 screen, I rarely use it.

Could iPadOS be better? Sure. But, I don’t buy into some of the hyperbolic criticism (not referring to the post above). I still think iPadOS is the best tablet operating system available. If not, I would love to hear about a better one.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Analyse the user pattern and come with some suggestions. Does not even need to go outside the device for privacy reasons.

I’ve never used it, so I don’t know what content it presents, but there IS the tips app that pops up suggesting new things to try every now and then.

Update, so I just tried it and it gives 12 tips for iPadOS. Then, after the last tip, there’s a link that takes you to a webpage where it‘s actually a fairly comprehensive rundown of ALL the things.

 

[Ubuntu]

IPadOS is touch based. So, naturally, iPad is going to take advantage of gestures. It’s a tablet.

I have zero problems using slide over, and I use it frequently to drag and drop. I have zero problems opening a window in side by side. But, with a limited 10.2 screen, I rarely use it.

Could iPadOS be better? Sure. But, I don’t buy into some of the hyperbolic criticism (not referring to the post above). I still think iPadOS is the best tablet operating system available. If not, I would love to hear about a better one.

I think you missed my point - gestures shouldn't be heavily used as the primary interaction for accessing a feature. That's bad for discoverability and in my experience it leads to much more erroneous use (e.g. summoning a slideover when I'm actually trying to swipe on something in the current app, dismissing the slideover, trying again and having the two gestures conflict once more).

 

[Falhófnir]

I think you missed my point - gestures shouldn't be heavily used as the primary interaction for accessing a feature. That's bad for discoverability and in my experience it leads to much more erroneous use (e.g. summoning a slideover when I'm actually trying to swipe on something in the current app, dismissing the slideover, trying again and having the two gestures conflict once more).

Have to largely agree with this, particularly the multitasking interface is very clunky and unintuitive. I actually find it a step back from when you could pull in a second app from the side and got the scrollable list of all the apps available (though that wasn't perfect either, and I understand why they changed away from that). Think they really need to put some more thought into how to make multitasking more flexible and intuitive now they've taken the very positive step of allowing multiple instances of apps.

 

[rui no onna]

Have to largely agree with this, particularly the multitasking interface is very clunky and unintuitive. I actually find it a step back from when you could pull in a second app from the side and got the scrollable list of all the apps available (though that wasn't perfect either, and I understand why they changed away from that). Think they really need to put some more thought into how to make multitasking more flexible and intuitive now they've taken the very positive step of allowing multiple instances of apps.

Agreed.

To be honest, my only gripe with the old style multitasking is the scrollable list just had these unnecessarily huge icons and there was no way to search for an app. Adding a search bar at the top and the option for different view modes (list, icon, app preview) with ability to pin/favorite apps in the app selection would've taken care of my gripes.

I really hate how right now, you pretty much need apps to be on the dock to be able to use them in split view. Also, it's not very obvious which apps support multitasking and which ones don't.

 

[iPadified]

Yep, built-in help tied in with the iOS version would be appreciated. The Tips app isn't comprehensive at all. That said, I would prefer multitasking to be added to context menus in addition to the existing gestures. I often feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole trying to drag stuff where I want them to be.

I dunno about Macs but on the Windows side, there are often tooltips and visual cues (e.g. icon changing) when you hover on something. For the most part, these visual cues are also similar in the Linux distros I've tried. These visual cues make it possible to muddle along unfamiliar territory. iOS, you either know the gesture or you don't.

Consider keyboard shortcuts. They make it faster to accomplish things. However, if one didn't know CTRL/CMD+C is copy and CTRL/CMD+V is paste, it's still possible to do these things via menu.

I have the same experience with multitasking on iPad and it got worse from 12 to 13. They could do it better. I do not think it is worse than on MacOS which I also struggle with. That split screen mode drives me crazy.
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I’ve never used it, so I don’t know what content it presents, but there IS the tips app that pops up suggesting new things to try every now and then.

Update, so I just tried it and it gives 12 tips for iPadOS. Then, after the last tip, there’s a link that takes you to a webpage where it‘s actually a fairly comprehensive rundown of ALL the things.

I forgot about the tip app. Yes, it is fine but a more active help would be appreciated so you do not need to visit a home page.

 

[Mainsail]

I think you missed my point - gestures shouldn't be heavily used as the primary interaction for accessing a feature. That's bad for discoverability and in my experience it leads to much more erroneous use (e.g. summoning a slideover when I'm actually trying to swipe on something in the current app, dismissing the slideover, trying again and having the two gestures conflict once more).

It looks like some folks agree with you, so maybe I am in the minority. In general, I don’t find iPadOS to be excessively dependent on gestures. But, maybe that’s just me. Look at the track pad gestures for MacOS. I don’t think they are anymore intuitive. Also, you can turn gestures off on iPadOSand still have multitasking, so it seems like iPadOS isn’t dependent on gestures to the exclusion of multitasking. I suppose there could be other options for launching multitasking actions. Maybe in future releases.

 

[iPadified]

I don't think it's just that multitasking is more limiting in iPadOS - it's just a complete mess. They've doubled down on making it gesture-based, which any UX designer will tell you has the major downside of a lack of discoverability but also left gaping holes in the logic. I could live with just having two windows side-by-side for eternity if they didn't make it a pain to deal with (and good luck successfully dismissing a slideover screen ).

But to say that it should be used for light mobile productivity is where the fundamental issue lies. I don't mind having a limited experience when I'm away from my Mac but the iPad is just this jack-of-some-trades, most certainly a master of none. I use mine daily at work for meetings but even basic things like viewing code on a website can be a PITA because of how they've designed iPadOS. Honestly, as much as I love using the thing I'm still not used to how confusing some aspects are and how likely it is I'll make a mistake when trying to use "pro" features like multi-tasking. It's just clumsy and I think they're lacking vision on what it could be.

How many hours have you used windows/MacOS/Linux?

How many hours have you used iPad?

Can you make a fair evaluation?

I have used a Mac/PC much more than an iPad and I find that iPad is sometimes strange and clumsy. My daughters has been "raised" with iPads and not Mac/PC. They think a Mac is old fashion and strange.

The iPad is a master of pen and paper replacement at least compared to a laptop.
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You have raised a fair point. I did introduce a monitor. But I don't think I'm really changing the situation much because the person to whom I was writing also uses an iPad with an external monitor:



So my introducing more windows/applications was based on the workflow MyopicPaideia presented. I was commenting that the iPad is still limited to four applications, which my devices are not.



Useless is not how I would describe it. Definitely not as useful as a larger screen, that goes without saying.. But on my Surface Go I often have multiple windows open. Of course I can't fit a lot on a 10" screen but what I do in those situations is layer the windows in such a way that I can quickly bring the ones I need at the moment to the front (i.e. the window edges for each application are always visible somewhere so I can click them). I can still put 2-3 in such as way as to read and interact with them and the rest are carefully positioned as I described. I still prefer this design over iPadOS because I'm in control of where the information is on the screen and how much screen real estate each windows occupies.

True you answered an edge use case about screen size which was fair. I still think my point is valid that iPadOS never was designed or optimised for large screens (yet).

I think that if you have overlapping windows, you can just as well do a four finger sweep between apps or move between tabs in one app. I do not see the difference between a four finger sweep and finding a window and clicking on it. I actually prefer the four finger sweep as it is quicker.

A browser, excel, word and and email client showing all at the same time in 10-13 inch would be quite useless for me but perhaps you have another apps that requires smaller screen real estate. OK, my eyesight is not what it was either

 

[Dave-Z]

I think that if you have overlapping windows, you can just as well do a four finger sweep between apps or move between tabs in one app. I do not see the difference between a four finger sweep and finding a window and clicking on it. I actually prefer the four finger sweep as it is quicker.

If I four finger swipe on iPadOS I lose the window I'm currently in. For example, I'm in a terminal window changing configuration files on a server. I have two other servers in two other windows that I'm using as a reference (because the software is already installed and setup on those so I am bringing over common settings). On an iPad if I swipe over to another screen I lose the terminal session I'm in. On Windows, I can keep that same session active and focused while I move windows around.

I used an iPad as a primary device for 13 months. I finally stopped when my iPad exhibited the unresponsive touch issue and light bleed issue. At that time I moved to a 2-in-1 Windows machine. I would never look back. For me Windows provides such a better experience for actually getting things done. Their tablet mode sucks, for sure, but I only use that for casual surfing and ebooks; for those it works great.

I'm going to agree with the posters above who said that it doesn't appear Apple has a clear direction with iPad and/or its user interface. It changes every year and it's a mess. Gestures are simply not discoverable.