All iPads No evolution or revolution for iPadOS 18

[Digitalguy]

Good to know. I was really only speaking on what I’ve read in headlines. Longevity doesn’t really impact me too much. As soon as I hear whatever device I have is about to be left off an update I sell it for 30-40% of what I paid or trade it in to Apple.

Appreciate the honest reply (not always the case here on Macrumors). As I have said elsewhere that I don't trade-in as you get peanuts (often 10-20% of the price after a couple of years in Europe) and you cannot trade-in accessories. But I do sell before end of support if I can. Currently I am trying to sell a 2018 12.9 512GB iPad with smart keyboard for 400-500 which is around 30% of the new price (with battery at 97% and in mint condition). If cannot sell it for at least 400 (keyboard included) I am keeping it.

 

[heretiq]

Another thing is, apple has made significant strides every WWDC on iPadOS before this.

Computer, what's a computer? This suggests you don't need a computer anymore, you just need an ipad.

"I do agree that the iPad cannot do everything I need a computer to do"

Hope that helps. and just to reiterate, I have never said or suggested an ipad should do everything a mac does.

It does help. But look at the ad. I don’t see any explicit or implicit suggestion that “you don’t need a computer anymore, you just need an ipad.”

The ad is literally a kid using an iPad to FaceTime with a friend, annotate a screenshot, take a photo, draw, work on a handwritten note that appears to be a class assignment, typing something — all while on the go. And finally asking the question of “what’s a computer?” in response to a question from an adult about what the kid is doing on their “computer” — because “computer” is an antiquated term to the kid.

The only message is that the kid knows this is an iPad and it allows that kid to do those things that the ad shows — nothing more. Everything shown is classic iPad and 100% repeatable by anyone with an iPad. There is zero depiction or insinuation of anything else. So, what is the basis for the claim that the ad sets expectations that exceed the iPad capability? Serious question?

P.S. I’m excited about the advancements in iPadOS 18. What seems like subtle changes are actually significant enhancements for the iPad experience.

For example:

Take a look at Math Notes. I think Math Notes is the most magical and innovative example of applied AI that I’ve seen from anyone. You literally only need to hand write your intention and the app and OS does everything else. Write a formula from the most simple algebraic equation to integral calculus and perhaps beyond — with variables the way you would on paper — and iPadOS 18 will evaluate it and produce a result in your handwriting whether that requires numerical, symbolic or combined evaluation. This is an example of practical AI that gives us all super powers while remaining invisible.

The new Notes app inherits this and more.

The new Safari protects the web from the ruinous onslaught of ads.

The built-in, privacy protected generative AI features are a gift.

On-device AI APIs eliminate barriers for thousands of developers to incorporate privacy-respectful AI capabilities into their apps.

And more ..

Net-net: Time will affirm that iPadOS 18 is a watershed moment for iPadOS advancements that are aligned with the spirit of the iPad — but not so much for transforming the iPad into a “more Mac-like device.”

 

[KPOM]

It does help. But look at the ad. I don’t see any explicit or implicit suggestion that “you don’t need a computer anymore, you just need an ipad.”

The ad is literally a kid using an iPad to FaceTime with a friend, annotate a screenshot, take a photo, draw, work on a handwritten note that appears to be a class assignment, typing something — all while on the go. And finally asking the question of “what’s a computer?” in response to a question from an adult about what the kid is doing on their “computer” — because “computer” is an antiquated term to the kid.

The only message is that the kid knows this is an iPad and it allows that kid to do those things that the ad shows — nothing more. Everything shown is classic iPad and 100% repeatable by anyone with an iPad. There is zero depiction or insinuation of anything else. So, what is the basis for the claim that the ad sets expectations that exceed the iPad capability? Serious question?

It's not at all. People are just frustrated because of what it could be. If you can live with the limitations of iPadOS in your workflow, then you are set. But there are a few big pain points that could make it so much more useful without ruining the experience of the iPad.

The reality is that except for those of us who grew up with “desktop” computers, the iPad can do everything. Particularly if you are comfortable with your data in the cloud, your OS doesn’t really matter. Neither does on-device storage.

 

[lsquare]

Totally agree. I think all of Apple’s announcements were disappointing for this years iOS, OS, software updates for Fall. Could really care less about all this AI stuff. Plus, they are partner with a AI leader and not even doing it all themselves. I think AI is actually dumbing down people.

I can’t think of one thing software wise that was innovative. Probably most unimpressive Apple WWDC’s ever.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the AI features to be underwhelming. I get that AI is the future, but Apple should spend the time and come up with game-changing implementations. Right now, Apple should be focused on improving the OS and Stage Manager. Perhaps Mark Gurman/Bloomberg should get some blame for hyping this up so much. Maybe that's why I'm so disappointed. No major quality of life updates. It's very disappointing.

 

[HiVolt]

Hugely disappointing. iPad OS is still significantly behind Mac OS for productivity and overall capability.

Unless you’re into illustration, I’d opt for a MacBook as your main serious computing device.

My biggest peeve is getting files on and off it and accessing servers and copying and moving files is just painful.

 

[Ghost31]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the AI features to be underwhelming. I get that AI is the future, but Apple should spend the time and come up with game-changing implementations. Right now, Apple should be focused on improving the OS and Stage Manager. Perhaps Mark Gurman/Bloomberg should get some blame for hyping this up so much. Maybe that's why I'm so disappointed. No major quality of life updates. It's very disappointing.

What should AI do on the consumer side that wasn’t announced?

 

[transpo1]

After many weeks of frantic wondering...iPadOS 18 landed with a big wet thud.

Literally nothing changed about Stage Manager, multitasking, or Files app, or anything to make it work better.

I wasn't disappointed, because it's what I expect from iPadOS—of course the Apple Intelligence stuff is great, if you're on an iPad that can use it, but basically nothing happened to the iPad in particular other than...a calculator app.

Maybe next year, or maybe never.

Not an evolution, not a revolution…but at least it’s not a devolution 🤣

 

[throAU]

Apple Intelligence is worth it. You’ll get a best-in-class AI experience with the latest and greatest iPads Pros. Calculator app, too.

Remains to be seen.

If it works as advertised and people build on the potential, sure.

But it also runs on Apple silicon Macs

 

[ric22]

The reality is that except for those of us who grew up with “desktop” computers, the iPad can do everything.

"Everything"? It's a giant phone, essentially. There's not even a need for me to start listing the stuff it can't do. It's great for some things... but "everything". Duuuuude....

 

[Kal Madda]

"Everything"? It's a giant phone, essentially. There's not even a need for me to start listing the stuff it can't do. It's great for some things... but "everything". Duuuuude....

A. Some people only need and have a phone and don’t own any other computer.

B. Saying it’s just a big phone is not accurate in the slightest. My iPhone doesn’t become a desktop type interface when I press a button, or plug in an external monitor. My iPhone also does not run many of the pro apps available for the iPad that I use every day for my professional workflow. The reality of the situation is that the iPad is not “just a big phone” but a great tablet with unique software available for it that runs an OS that is similar but different from iOS which runs on the iPhone. To you, iPadOS isn’t “advanced enough” or whatever you want to argue, but to many, it’s perfectly fine. And for many workflows, it’s superior (subjectively depending on preferences and workflow) to macOS, this is why I use an iPad as my primary computer over a Mac. Not because I was hoodwinked into thinking it’s a Mac or something, but because I find the iPad far simpler and more efficient for all the different workflows I put it through.

 

[sputnikBA]

Serious question to any of you who write either snarky / impassioned / lengthy replies on what the iPad does or doesn’t need:

How many of you take the time to write in to https://apple.com/feedback ?

 

[*~Kim~*]

i think people are talking about ipad pro, not low cost ipads.
For all things that you describe (side position to mac, handwriting, etc), m4 chip or high cost of $2000 are not necessary. I think it was apple that caused this confusion to people by putting laptop cpu and raising ipad price above macbook air.

my person opinion is that apple needs to put separate ipados - current ipados for ipad mini and normal ipads and ipados pro for ipad pro.

Or move the normal iPads back to iOS and iPad OS is for the Pro line. All that iPad OS seems to have done so far is to support an A9 or A10 when iOS did not. But they can clearly get it to do whatever they like, as proven by iPad OS18 running on an A10 but not running on a A10X with extra RAM.

People reasonably thought things were changing when iPad OS came out, then when M chips came to iPad. But every time they’re disappointed.

 

[leifp]

I’m loving my 13” M4 iPad Pro and glad I got it. It‘s light, fast, functional and iPadOS 18 is going to make the best tablet available even better for my professional and personal use cases.

But I don’t get this incessant fixation on iPadOS transformation or evolution. In my opinion, expectations for iPadOS transformation and evolution signify a fundamental misunderstanding of iPad design intent. The iPad is a tablet — not a Mac. The iPad is intended to complement and coexist with the Mac not compete with it. iPadOS is purpose-built for this complementary role — so expecting Apple to change iPadOS to make it more Mac-like or to allow it to perform core Mac use cases just like the Mac is expecting Apple to cast aside its product vision for someone else’s idea of what the iPad should be. I am puzzled by this odd insistence on Apple ditching its product vision and replacing it with a crowd-sourced vision, because I don’t see the same fixation and insistence on usurping the product vision of any other manufacturer‘s product.

Finally, I don‘t understand the dissing of the iPad calculator app. Math Notes is exceptionally innovative and the most magical AI-driven app I’ve seen to date. You can literally perform higher-order math simply through writing what you want .. and having the app and OS evaluate your writing, perform symbolic and numeric calculations and rendering the results in your handwriting — without any special syntax or conventions other than simply writing what you want. How can we dismiss this as just a calculator app?

</Seriously puzzled>

iPadOS:

For myself, and I’m about to get much more explicit than I have in the past, the issues are specific: I want more control.

I love Split View! I hate Slide Over… so that feature gets no use. Stage Manager feels silly on an 11” and not much more useful on a 13” to me. And it doesn’t scale to my 27” 5K Studio monitor… a dream I’ve abandoned until Apple outright lavishes the iPad with that ability.

I want the volume buttons to behave the same way regardless of orientation (which was the case for most of the iPad’s life and is still supported in M1 iPads) and am content that the keyboard case finally has F keys (diluted by my move to the 11” form factor). A feature they removed.

Multitasking is a serious weak point; which apps have priority, when? For audio, for text input. I haven’t used Siri, ever but with the upcoming ML enhancements, I’ll give it a shot. How will that play nice in my desired setup? How much power does Siri have to fire up OS options (e.g. Split View), set up apps, and engage with what I require within those apps? Hypotheticals for another day, but I wonder about them now given Apple’s somewhat cack-handed iPadOS approaches.

Autocorrect is a mess regardless of device: fire up the OED app to check a word. Autocorrect changes the (correct) word I seek (to nonsense). Also when typing email addresses, foreign words, etc. Absolutely a place I expect Apple Intelligence to outperform in coming years as the device gets to become more and more mine. It will know my foibles and habits and correct to my preferences, not some generic mass. They’ve started down that path but even typing this post has caused me aggravations on the iPad.

And finally, VPN: as Proton (protonmail, protonvpn, et al) has mentioned, VPNs are inherently compromised on iOS. The hooks don’t go deep enough.

Okay, finally is just all that I’m discussing not the sum of all my peeves but these things are pretty low-hanging fruit. Excepting multitasking: that is so deep in the system that all changes cause cascading effects and I understand Apple’s “best efforts”.

Calculator app:

I love it! Really looking forward to that finally being on my iPad. I use it on my iPhone, on my Macs, on my calculator… *cough* I think Apple has done a great job with integrating it pretty deeply in the OS but we’ll see how I feel when it actually launches.

 

[leifp]

Serious question to any of you who write either snarky / impassioned / lengthy replies on what the iPad does or doesn’t need:

How many of you take the time to write in to https://apple.com/feedback ?

For most of my peeves, not at all. A few times, yes. When they removed the ability for me to determine behaviour of the volume buttons with orientation I certainly did…

 

[lsquare]

iPadOS:

For myself, and I’m about to get much more explicit than I have in the past, the issues are specific: I want more control.

I love Split View! I hate Slide Over… so that feature gets no use. Stage Manager feels silly on an 11” and not much more useful on a 13” to me. And it doesn’t scale to my 27” 5K Studio monitor… a dream I’ve abandoned until Apple outright lavishes the iPad with that ability.

I want the volume buttons to behave the same way regardless of orientation (which was the case for most of the iPad’s life and is still supported in M1 iPads) and am content that the keyboard case finally has F keys (diluted by my move to the 11” form factor). A feature they removed.

Multitasking is a serious weak point; which apps have priority, when? For audio, for text input. I haven’t used Siri, ever but with the upcoming ML enhancements, I’ll give it a shot. How will that play nice in my desired setup? How much power does Siri have to fire up OS options (e.g. Split View), set up apps, and engage with what I require within those apps? Hypotheticals for another day, but I wonder about them now given Apple’s somewhat cack-handed iPadOS approaches.

Autocorrect is a mess regardless of device: fire up the OED app to check a word. Autocorrect changes the (correct) word I seek (to nonsense). Also when typing email addresses, foreign words, etc. Absolutely a place I expect Apple Intelligence to outperform in coming years as the device gets to become more and more mine. It will know my foibles and habits and correct to my preferences, not some generic mass. They’ve started down that path but even typing this post has caused me aggravations on the iPad.

And finally, VPN: as Proton (protonmail, protonvpn, et al) has mentioned, VPNs are inherently compromised on iOS. The hooks don’t go deep enough.

Okay, finally is just all that I’m discussing not the sum of all my peeves but these things are pretty low-hanging fruit. Excepting multitasking: that is so deep in the system that all changes cause cascading effects and I understand Apple’s “best efforts”.

Calculator app:

I love it! Really looking forward to that finally being on my iPad. I use it on my iPhone, on my Macs, on my calculator… *cough* I think Apple has done a great job with integrating it pretty deeply in the OS but we’ll see how I feel when it actually launches.

Apple still haven't fixed this?

 

[hagjohn]

It's not at all. People are just frustrated because of what it could be. If you can live with the limitations of iPadOS in your workflow, then you are set. But there are a few big pain points that could make it so much more useful without ruining the experience of the iPad.

It is amazing how many people get so butthurt over the fact that some of us would like an option to have MacOS on an iPad.

For me, it is a huge waste of money to buy anything more than an iPad air. I'm not doing graphics or video editing and I won't be doing a whole lot of AI, so no upselling for me.

 

[richpjr]

It is amazing how many people get so butthurt over the fact that some of us would like an option to have MacOS on an iPad.

For me, it is a huge waste of money to buy anything more than an iPad air. I'm not doing graphics or video editing and I won't be doing a whole lot of AI, so no upselling for me.

I'll likely upgrade my M1 12.9 to an M4 13 just because I do some photo and video editing on it and the speed and better screen are warranted. I waited until after updates to see if anything in iPadOS would warrant going for a 1 TB model for the extra memory and core but saw nothing needing it.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

It is amazing how many people get so butthurt over the fact that some of us would like an option to have MacOS on an iPad.

For me, it is a huge waste of money to buy anything more than an iPad air. I'm not doing graphics or video editing and I won't be doing a whole lot of AI, so no upselling for me.

I can't believe I'm the one making this upcoming argument, but here goes;

I use my iPP as my primary personal computer and it works out great for me. I do not want it to become a Mac because I prefer the iPadOS experience for general computing tasks.

Adding an option to just use MacOS means developers no longer have an incentive ton make an iPad app. Moreover, they have an incentive not to make iPad apps since they can circumvent Apple's cut on software by skirting the App Store for their Mac app.

This creates a dynamic where the platform has less software made for it because it makes more business sense to make a Mac app. iPad users can just boot into MacOS to use that software.

I'm sure it would work much better for you - but at the cost of my own preferred experience. That's why iPad appreciators get defensive when this topic comes up. This idea, if implemented, is detrimental to their preference and workflow.

 

[Isengardtom]

It is amazing how many people get so butthurt over the fact that some of us would like an option to have MacOS on an iPad.

For me, it is a huge waste of money to buy anything more than an iPad air. I'm not doing graphics or video editing and I won't be doing a whole lot of AI, so no upselling for me.

No problem with “option”.

I still think it will just lead to a poor experience with poorly optimised software, but not against the option at all.

But replace iPadOS with MacOS is a hard NO for me.

 

[kard32]

I’m loving my 13” M4 iPad Pro and glad I got it. It‘s light, fast, functional and iPadOS 18 is going to make the best tablet available even better for my professional and personal use cases.

But I don’t get this incessant fixation on iPadOS transformation or evolution. In my opinion, expectations for iPadOS transformation and evolution signify a fundamental misunderstanding of iPad design intent. The iPad is a tablet — not a Mac. The iPad is intended to complement and coexist with the Mac not compete with it. iPadOS is purpose-built for this complementary role — so expecting Apple to change iPadOS to make it more Mac-like or to allow it to perform core Mac use cases just like the Mac is expecting Apple to cast aside its product vision for someone else’s idea of what the iPad should be. I am puzzled by this odd insistence on Apple ditching its product vision and replacing it with a crowd-sourced vision, because I don’t see the same fixation and insistence on usurping the product vision of any other manufacturer‘s product.

Finally, I don‘t understand the dissing of the iPad calculator app. Math Notes is exceptionally innovative and the most magical AI-driven app I’ve seen to date. You can literally perform higher-order math simply through writing what you want .. and having the app and OS evaluate your writing, perform symbolic and numeric calculations and rendering the results in your handwriting — without any special syntax or conventions other than simply writing what you want. How can we dismiss this as just a calculator app?

</Seriously puzzled>

Apple causes that confusion themselves when they advertise the iPad as being able to deliver desktop-class apps and workflows.

See here — literally starting off the page with “Desktop-Class Apps”: https://developer.apple.com/ipados/features/

 

[Stromos]

So we all know the M4 iPads are all faster and have better specs than the M1 iPads. However, are there any AI features or anything else in iPadOS 18 that will be exclusive to the M4? If not, I feel like going for a cheap M1/M2 iPad may be the better decision.

Why I just got a M2 iPad air. People say but what about the screen? My daily driver is a iPad Mini obviously I don't care about the screen.

M2 Air is my dev device now for the developer beta. It replaced an iPad 6th gen.

I still desperately hoping a new iPad Mini comes out before end of year that has a M series processor. Right now the mini pretty much gets nothing in iOS 18 of value.

 

[heretiq]

Apple causes that confusion themselves when they advertise the iPad as being able to deliver desktop-class apps and workflows.

See here — literally starting off the page with “Desktop-Class Apps”: https://developer.apple.com/ipados/features/

These are indeed historically desktop-class app features -- however, they are implemented using iPad conventions. We're in agreement, if your point is that some of these iPad feature implementations can be improved. However, it's an incredible stretch to suggest that page justifies claims that Apple caused people to expect the iPad to be more "mac-like," work like a Mac, or able to replace a Mac for all use cases.

 

[Kal Madda]

Apple causes that confusion themselves when they advertise the iPad as being able to deliver desktop-class apps and workflows.

See here — literally starting off the page with “Desktop-Class Apps”: https://developer.apple.com/ipados/features/

iPadOS can and does deliver desktop-class software. Just because a few developers have decided to artificially kneecap their iPad apps (see Microsoft Word) doesn’t mean that iPadOS can’t or doesn’t deliver desktop-class apps and workflows.

 

[heretiq]

iPadOS:

For myself, and I’m about to get much more explicit than I have in the past, the issues are specific: I want more control.

I love Split View! I hate Slide Over… so that feature gets no use. Stage Manager feels silly on an 11” and not much more useful on a 13” to me. And it doesn’t scale to my 27” 5K Studio monitor… a dream I’ve abandoned until Apple outright lavishes the iPad with that ability.

I want the volume buttons to behave the same way regardless of orientation (which was the case for most of the iPad’s life and is still supported in M1 iPads) and am content that the keyboard case finally has F keys (diluted by my move to the 11” form factor). A feature they removed.

Multitasking is a serious weak point; which apps have priority, when? For audio, for text input. I haven’t used Siri, ever but with the upcoming ML enhancements, I’ll give it a shot. How will that play nice in my desired setup? How much power does Siri have to fire up OS options (e.g. Split View), set up apps, and engage with what I require within those apps? Hypotheticals for another day, but I wonder about them now given Apple’s somewhat cack-handed iPadOS approaches.

Autocorrect is a mess regardless of device: fire up the OED app to check a word. Autocorrect changes the (correct) word I seek (to nonsense). Also when typing email addresses, foreign words, etc. Absolutely a place I expect Apple Intelligence to outperform in coming years as the device gets to become more and more mine. It will know my foibles and habits and correct to my preferences, not some generic mass. They’ve started down that path but even typing this post has caused me aggravations on the iPad.

And finally, VPN: as Proton (protonmail, protonvpn, et al) has mentioned, VPNs are inherently compromised on iOS. The hooks don’t go deep enough.

Okay, finally is just all that I’m discussing not the sum of all my peeves but these things are pretty low-hanging fruit. Excepting multitasking: that is so deep in the system that all changes cause cascading effects and I understand Apple’s “best efforts”.

Calculator app:

I love it! Really looking forward to that finally being on my iPad. I use it on my iPhone, on my Macs, on my calculator… *cough* I think Apple has done a great job with integrating it pretty deeply in the OS but we’ll see how I feel when it actually launches.

Thanks for the helpful specifics. I'm with you on Volume buttons and Autocorrect, and agree that improving the other areas you identified will improve iPadOS even though I'm personally not bothered by them. I'm optimistic that these will all see improvements in the next couple OS update cycles because they are real impediments that can be corrected consistent with the spirit of the iPad. 🙏🏽

 

[WU27f1xcCs]

How long do the surface devices get updates? And you’ll still get security updates, just not new iOS versions. But I get the fatigue part.

I’m not sure, I need to look into that and resale value.