All iPads No evolution or revolution for iPadOS 18

[kard32]

And one of those developers is Apple, like with the Files app.

And…we’re back to where the conversation has been this whole time. Ugh.

 

[Kal Madda]

And one of those developers is Apple, like with the Files app.

And…we’re back to where the conversation has been this whole time. Ugh.

And the Files app has the majority of the features found in Finder. There’s only a few minor differences like setting a default app for opening a certain file type. Otherwise, they’re practically the same…

 

[cczhu]

I have both 16 inch M1 MBP and 11 inch iPad Pro. I'd like to use iPad as my main "computer" for short trips. But it's too much of a promise at the moment. iPad is only good for consuming contents and replying emails. The moment I have to organize my files, the Files app feels so clumsy compared to Finder. Not to mention, it's hard to run programing scripts on iPad, which is part of my work.

So I always bring my MBP with me. But iPad has essentially the same hardware and it's much more portable than MBP, ideal for trips. It's a shame, I cannot take advantage of it or as least didn't find a good way to do it

 

[kard32]

And the Files app has the majority of the features found in Finder. There’s only a few minor differences like setting a default app for opening a certain file type. Otherwise, they’re practically the same…

Okay I’ll point out a quick two. On Files, I can’t set up multiple Google Drive or multiple Office 365 accounts to access via the sidebar. Also, I can’t just double click a file to open it. I’d have to somehow guess which app would be able to open it via a share sheet.

There are dozens other differences I’m sure others have already pointed out here and elsewhere. Please stop gaslighting people. These are two very different apps.

 

[heretiq]

I have both 16 inch M1 MBP and 11 inch iPad Pro. I'd like to use iPad as my main "computer" for short trips. But it's too much of a promise at the moment. iPad is only good for consuming contents and replying emails. The moment I have to organize my files, the Files app feels so clumsy compared to Finder. Not to mention, it's hard to run programing scripts on iPad, which is part of my work.

So I always bring my MBP with me. But iPad has essentially the same hardware and it's much more portable than MBP, ideal for trips. It's a shame, I cannot take advantage of it or as least didn't find a good way to do it

I don’t get this. If you use iCloud documents your file structure is identical. Add a folder on the Mac and it’s reflected on Files on the iPad. Do the same on the iPad and it’s reflected in the Mac. Further, Shortcuts work the same on iPad and Mac. What am I missing?

 

[Kal Madda]

Okay I’ll point out a quick two. On Files, I can’t set up multiple Google Drive or multiple Office 365 accounts to access via the sidebar. Also, I can’t just double click a file to open it. I’d have to somehow guess which app would be able to open it via a share sheet.

There are dozens other differences I’m sure others have already pointed out here and elsewhere. Please stop gaslighting people. These are two very different apps.

Two minor and niche differences does not equal “very different”. It’s not gaslighting to point out the reality that most of the important features of Finder are in the Files app. Heck, the UI is practically identical.

 

[Kal Madda]

I don’t get this. If you use iCloud documents your file structure is identical. Add a folder on the Mac and it’s reflected on Files on the iPad. Do the same on the iPad and it’s reflected in the Mac. Further, Shortcuts work the same on iPad and Mac. What am I missing?

Exactly. 👍🏻

 

[Kal Madda]

I have both 16 inch M1 MBP and 11 inch iPad Pro. I'd like to use iPad as my main "computer" for short trips. But it's too much of a promise at the moment. iPad is only good for consuming contents and replying emails. The moment I have to organize my files, the Files app feels so clumsy compared to Finder. Not to mention, it's hard to run programing scripts on iPad, which is part of my work.

So I always bring my MBP with me. But iPad has essentially the same hardware and it's much more portable than MBP, ideal for trips. It's a shame, I cannot take advantage of it or as least didn't find a good way to do it

What’s clumsy about using essentially the same UI in Files, and navigating through folders and files like in Finder? They’re practically the same, the UI is nearly identical, and most of the important functionality is there in Files. I regularly work with an iPad as my primary computer, and accessing files in Finder on my Mac is the same. There aren’t a ton of extra features I can find there in Finder that Files doesn’t have.

 

[TheWraith]

It’s not gaslighting to point out the reality that most of the important features of Finder are in the Files app. Heck, the UI is practically identical.

I mean, this is absolutely untrue. Files is like a watercolor sketch compared to portraiture art. Files chokes on all kinds of things the Finder handles easily. They are the same like my old Apple //e and my M3 MBA are the same—they are both computers.

 

[richpjr]

I mean, this is absolutely untrue. Files is like a watercolor sketch compared to portraiture art. Files chokes on all kinds of things the Finder handles easily. They are the same like my old Apple //e and my M3 MBA are the same—they are both computers.

This article (cited many times in this forum) highlights some of the pain points with Files:

Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn’t Get the Basics Right

Let me cut to the chase: sadly, I don’t have a new iPad Pro to review today on MacStories. I was able to try one in London last week, and, as I wrote, I came away impressed with the hardware. However, I didn’t get a chance to use a new iPad Pro over the past

www.macstories.net

 

[Kal Madda]

I mean, this is absolutely untrue. Files is like a watercolor sketch compared to portraiture art. Files chokes on all kinds of things the Finder handles easily. They are the same like my old Apple //e and my M3 MBA are the same—they are both computers.

They are much closer than that. There’s only a few niche features that Finder has that Files doesn’t. They’re mostly the same.

 

[sparksd]

They are much closer than that. There’s only a few niche features that Finder has that Files doesn’t. They’re mostly the same.

For me, the biggest issue is the inability to set default apps for opening specific file types.

 

[Kal Madda]

This article (cited many times in this forum) highlights some of the pain points with Files:

Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn’t Get the Basics Right

Let me cut to the chase: sadly, I don’t have a new iPad Pro to review today on MacStories. I was able to try one in London last week, and, as I wrote, I came away impressed with the hardware. However, I didn’t get a chance to use a new iPad Pro over the past

www.macstories.net

And his claims about the Files app being buggy and unreliable are merely his experience, not reality. Many of us have used the Files app without encountering any such problems. I use the Files app nearly every day for my workflow, and have never once run into any such problems. (And that’s even running beta versions of the OS).

The ability to select a default app for opening a certain file type is nice and all, but you can choose which app you open a file in very easily in the Files app by using the share sheet. It’s not the nightmare where you have “no control” over where your files open as he makes it out in his iPadOS hit-piece…

 

[Kal Madda]

For me, the biggest issue is the inability to set default apps for opening specific file types.

And I think that would be a nice feature to add, and I hope the do add it, but it’s pretty easy for me to select the app I want to open a file with from the share sheet. 👍🏻. I don’t view the exclusion of this minor feature as a major difference that makes them “very different” as some are trying to claim.

 

[sparksd]

And I think that would be a nice feature to add, and I hope the do add it, but it’s pretty easy for me to select the app I want to open a file with from the share sheet. 👍🏻. I don’t view the exclusion of this minor feature as a major difference that makes them “very different” as some are trying to claim.

True - "want" would be a better word than "issue".

 

[heretiq]

I mean, this is absolutely untrue. Files is like a watercolor sketch compared to portraiture art. Files chokes on all kinds of things the Finder handles easily. They are the same like my old Apple //e and my M3 MBA are the same—they are both computers.

While this sounds clever, I have no idea what it means. My recollection is that portraiture means something along the line of “the art of making portraits.” How is this analogy even applicable to file management? Can you provide some specifics to illustrate and support this rather sweeping and puzzling generalization? 🤔

 

[richpjr]

And his claims about the Files app being buggy and unreliable are merely his experience, not reality. Many of us have used the Files app without encountering any such problems. I use the Files app nearly every day for my workflow, and have never once run into any such problems. (And that’s even running beta versions of the OS).

You are lucky. I run into it copying large files to/from external storage. The lack of a progress indicator makes it worse so you can't tell if it is working or frozen.

 

[sparksd]

You are lucky. I run into it copying large files to/from external storage. The lack of a progress indicator makes it worse so you can't tell if it is working or frozen.

Why I use FileBrowser Pro as a file manager. Among other things, it shows copy progress.

 

[joloriquelme]

I still cannot understand why so many people are expecting something that it will never came.

The iPad is NOT a Mac. Or a PC. And it will never will.

They are completely different devices. The iPad is a TABLET TOUCH MOBILE device, with a GUI designed to work with your fingers touching the display, like the iPhone.

The MacBook is a traditional laptop, designed to work with a keyboard and a mouse.

You DON'T NEED AN IPAD (of any kind) if your Mac or PC is doing the job fine FOR YOU, and viceversa, unless you want a complementary portable device.

That's why I have a bulky and heavy 14" MBP, but also a lightweight 11" M1 iPad Pro in my bag. Because I know they are different devices, for different purposes. I use the Mac most of the time, and I pick the iPad in certain cases.

Steve Jobs' 2010 vision is still the current Apple vision for their devices, especially the iPad. The press and the youtubers/influencers are trying to sell to you another story, and you are buying it (and Apple, also, is trying to make profit of your empty hope, offering you a pointless M4 SoC).

 

[richpjr]

The iPad is a TABLET TOUCH MOBILE device, with a GUI designed to work with your fingers touching the display, like the iPhone.

And yet Apple has given this touch device a keyboard, mouse support and external monitor support so it can be used like a more traditional computer without touching the screen at all.

 

[heretiq]

This article (cited many times in this forum) highlights some of the pain points with Files:

Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn’t Get the Basics Right

Let me cut to the chase: sadly, I don’t have a new iPad Pro to review today on MacStories. I was able to try one in London last week, and, as I wrote, I came away impressed with the hardware. However, I didn’t get a chance to use a new iPad Pro over the past

www.macstories.net

I like and deeply respect Federico, but his experiences with the iPad is a case study in what to expect when you use the wrong device for the job.

The most telling indicator is Federico's dependence on the Magic Keyboard to be productive on the iPad. This is a clear indicator that he needs a laptop and not a tablet.

I get and appreciate the aesthetic appeal of the more elegant iPad / Magic Keyboard combo — but utility not aesthetics should be the decision criteria if your goal is to be productive.

I have the new 13” M4 iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard and love it; but I use the iPad exclusively as a tablet with Apple Pencil and/or the soft keyboard — so the Magic Keyboard is used as a stand 80+% of the time and as a keyboard for less than 20% of the time.

I think whether the iPad is used primarily as a tablet or a laptop is the determining factor of iPad User Experience: Use it as a tablet and be happy 80% of the time, use it as a laptop and be happy 20% of the time.

The moral of this story is to choose the right tool for the job and don’t blame Apple for the consequences of your choice. 🙏🏽

 

[heretiq]

And yet Apple has given this touch device a keyboard, mouse support and external monitor support so it can be used like a more traditional computer without touching the screen at all.

No, lol. Apple provides these accessories to provide supplemental input methods — they do not change the fact that the iPad is a tablet.

 

[iPadified]

Are super feature rich apps on iPad even desirable or would it ruin the intent of the computer experience?

I have always wanted to a have desktop word on iPad and definitely do not like the 365 web version. In reality, if I analyse which features I use, current Word for iPad works to write reports and scientific manuscript (with pictures and tables) so why complicate iPad Word further? Where in the user spectrum am I? Low end, medium end or high end? I do not know.

In my view, iPads should address the functions for medium to low users and leave to high end users for the Mac. Conversely, high end users should recognise what they are and accept the major may not have their needs.

Note, some "low end" users make lots of money so low end does not mean "not work".

 

[lsquare]

Are super feature rich apps on iPad even desirable or would it ruin the intent of the computer experience?

I have always wanted to a have desktop word on iPad and definitely do not like the 365 web version. In reality, if I analyse which features I use, current Word for iPad works to write reports and scientific manuscript (with pictures and tables) so why complicate iPad Word further? Where in the user spectrum am I? Low end, medium end or high end? I do not know.

In my view, iPads should address the functions for medium to low users and leave to high end users for the Mac. Conversely, high end users should recognise what they are and accept the major may not have their needs.

Note, some "low end" users make lots of money so low end does not mean "not work".

Addressing some of the complaints about stage manager would go a long way to appease people.

 

[yabeweb]

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.

People were hoping the same when M1 came out, then when iPad m2 came out…