iPad The iPad’s biggest problem is Lazy App Design

[kristalsoldier]

I probably should remember I am on a forum so people here tend to prefer to put their brands on a pedestal more than anything…

Apple vision for iPad was a larger iPhone. The industry followed. But that has run its course. I am not, in this instance, talking about macOS on an iPad or a MacBook Air. I am talking about Apple allowing iPadOS to branch itself from iOS so that applications can be created that aren’t forced to be designed around iPhone constraints. On an iPhone I would prefer very strict limits on background processes, as I noted earlier, so I have a charge as long as possible. it is stupid that my SSH app can’t keep the connection process running for more than 30 seconds if I switch to another application unless they use the “location services” hack. There are many third party applications that would be created with iPadOS tweaking its model to align with a device with a much larger battery and different uses case.

That’s my only point. Developers see iPads as larger iPhones because that is the vision Apple has shared with them.

iPadOS has yet to become its own...

I am not sure who you are referring to when you say that “people tend to prefer to put their brands on a pedestal”. If it was directed at my comment, then I submit that it was misdirected.

I am not particularly enamoured by Apple or it’s products. I use the IPP extensively since it fits my needs much better than the alternatives available. That said, I am also realistic enough to recognise what Apple has been doing and their - for lack of a better term - marketing virtuosity.

Having said that, I would also agree with you that developers likely see the iPad as a large iPhone. I also wonder if it actually suits Apple’s strategic purpose in maintaining that point of view because if they disturb the balance, then that will impact other products in their portfolio. Of course, there are some seemingly inexplicable things that Apple seems to have done with the iPad. For example, multi user capability. Clearly, it can be done without much hassle yet they resist. If Apple was truly thinking of a mass computing device (which is distinct from the common understanding of a computer), then one assumes they would have enabled this as it would allow families to buy a single iPad and share it within the family. But then again, Apple likely has their own logic and rationalisation about this. There are other examples of this that apply to the iPad

 

[kristalsoldier]

Yeah sure, Apple has a vision to sell the most products possible. They don’t have one of the most successful marketing departments for nothing. They know exactly what they are doing, and their financial performance stands testimony to that assertion.

honestly they had a vision with the iPhone , it changed the world, iPad is just an accessory by comparison.

If I look back at the history of the iPad, it seems to me that the iPad was indeed nothing more than an accessory. Thus, it was positioned between the iPhone and Mac.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I find that clipboard manager apps have helped me a lot with repetitive copy / paste actions, as well as drag and drop on iPads (with split-screen), but I think it's more an issue with touchscreen devices in general.

What app do you use if you dont mind me asking? Trying to find a private one has had me running around in circles. At the moment I use a Shortcut based solution but its not very fast or fluid.

 

[Wando64]

So, thought I have been a Mac user for years. I haven’t been an iPad user.

I had some of the earlier iPads. I bought the 1st gen and never really used it. So I kinda stopped buying them. Over the years some jobs gave me iPads to use, so I had like the 3rd Gen OG and 4th Gen. I ended up buying this one only because I job I had last year had given me one, with a keyboard, and I really liked it. It was an older iPad 12.9 with the home button and a smart folio keyboard cover. I had never used an iPad with a keyboard before. So I bought this one.

I received it two days ago. And I’ve set it up and I’m kind think it’s not so great. And this all comes down to design. People either do not, or can not design for the iPad. Part of me things no one knows how to. I don’t even think Apple has figured it out. I’m astounded at how bad some of the app design is. For a person that hasn’t used an iPad in years, I’m seeing high level brands and apps that look like they’ve still just ported their iPhone designs as if it’s 2010. Redfin, Amex, even the NYT doesn’t know how to properly use space. Google Docs, opens doc links from within the app in a browser, which then prompts you to download the app! WTAF.

A lot simple things you can do intuitively on a computer don’t work well on an iPad. In Google slides I wanted to batch select slides to delete them. On a desktop Shift, Select, click, delete. On an iPad individually select 74 slides. I have to go back to my computer to get work done in a timely manner.

All this is 100% correctable with design.

I think the best solution is to design certain apps like a interactive widget dashboard, that gives you an overview of lots of data quickly.

I also think Apple needs to set the tone and push developers to invest in designing apps properly and show them how.

Perhaps you should try aps that are not made by Google?

 

[Jsheeeeeehan]

Go ahead and write some apps then.

This is why I hate posting on MacRumors. Always someone being of no help at all. ?

 

[bsamcash]

This is why I hate posting on MacRumors. Always someone being of no help at all. ?

You would be wise to read my follow up post:

mashinhead said:
Put a lot of thought into that response did you?

Yes. So much thought that I actually started doing it myself. I started learning Swift and got with a friend to write an app. Is there a a reason you can’t do the same?

This seems pretty helpful to me.

 

[Yebubbleman]

So, thought I have been a Mac user for years. I haven’t been an iPad user.

I had some of the earlier iPads. I bought the 1st gen and never really used it. So I kinda stopped buying them. Over the years some jobs gave me iPads to use, so I had like the 3rd Gen OG and 4th Gen. I ended up buying this one only because I job I had last year had given me one, with a keyboard, and I really liked it. It was an older iPad 12.9 with the home button and a smart folio keyboard cover. I had never used an iPad with a keyboard before. So I bought this one.

I received it two days ago. And I’ve set it up and I’m kind think it’s not so great. And this all comes down to design. People either do not, or can not design for the iPad. Part of me things no one knows how to. I don’t even think Apple has figured it out. I’m astounded at how bad some of the app design is. For a person that hasn’t used an iPad in years, I’m seeing high level brands and apps that look like they’ve still just ported their iPhone designs as if it’s 2010. Redfin, Amex, even the NYT doesn’t know how to properly use space. Google Docs, opens doc links from within the app in a browser, which then prompts you to download the app! WTAF.

A lot simple things you can do intuitively on a computer don’t work well on an iPad. In Google slides I wanted to batch select slides to delete them. On a desktop Shift, Select, click, delete. On an iPad individually select 74 slides. I have to go back to my computer to get work done in a timely manner.

All this is 100% correctable with design.

I think the best solution is to design certain apps like a interactive widget dashboard, that gives you an overview of lots of data quickly.

I also think Apple needs to set the tone and push developers to invest in designing apps properly and show them how.

The 12.9" iPad Pro took WAY long to get big name apps optimized for its display. HBO Now (this was pre-HBO Max) and Facebook, in particular, took a good two years to release versions of their apps that were optimized for the 12.9" display. I believe that's improved substantially since then (seeing as I'm referring to the 2017 state of operating a 12.9" iPad Pro). But it's still not great. I think it all boils down to how common that iPad is. Developers (and Apple) have metrics on usage and who owns which iPads. Apple also keeps changing screen resolutions (only the fifth generation iPad mini is using a screen resolution that's been around from before 2017 [current 12.9" iPad Pros might have the same resolution as their home-button-based predecessors, but even then, the corners are rounded thereby making it ever so slightly different]). The solution is for Apple to slow down on introducing new display resolutions and for more people to buy the iPads they come on. Thankfully, I haven't seen this issue with the fourth generation iPad Air (which technically uses the newest screen resolution in use by a member of the iPad family).

 

[Artsketch]

I also think Apple needs to set the tone and push developers to invest in designing apps properly and show them how.

There already many good iPad apps. Try Artstudio Pro, Vectornator, Pixelmator Photo, Adobe Fresco, Procreate, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, RAW Power, Lumafusion, Photoshop and Illustrator maybe need some more development.

 

[Abazigal]

What app do you use if you dont mind me asking? Trying to find a private one has had me running around in circles. At the moment I use a Shortcut based solution but its not very fast or fluid.

Currently using Paste, though I am not certain I can really recommend it right now.

I started with Clips, then moved to Copied after Clips stopped being supported. And now, seems Copied has been dropped by the developer as well (it's no longer available on the App Store, and iCloud sync has been buggy of late). Plus, I recently had to reinstall macOS after installing a new SSD in my iMac and basically lost access to Copied.

Currently trying out Paste, but it's subscription-based, and is very uncharacteristically missing a keyboard app for the iOS versions (though the desktop versions run fine).

I am still running Copied on my iPhone but am also slowly building up my Paste library in preparation to upgrade my phone later this year.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Currently using Paste, though I am not certain I can really recommend it right now.

I started with Clips, then moved to Copied after Clips stopped being supported. And now, seems Copied has been dropped by the developer as well (it's no longer available on the App Store, and iCloud sync has been buggy of late). Plus, I recently had to reinstall macOS after installing a new SSD in my iMac and basically lost access to Copied.

Currently trying out Paste, but it's subscription-based, and is very uncharacteristically missing a keyboard app for the iOS versions (though the desktop versions run fine).

I am still running Copied on my iPhone but am also slowly building up my Paste library in preparation to upgrade my phone later this year.

Thanks for the info. Subscription based clipboard manager!! See that’s a limit for me! I don’t mind subs for some stuff but come on!
You seem to be in the same boat as me then, the options are really narrow.

 

[Abazigal]

Thanks for the info. Subscription based clipboard manager!! See that’s a limit for me! I don’t mind subs for some stuff but come on!
You seem to be in the same boat as me then, the options are really narrow.

Well, here's the website if you do ever decide to give it a whirl.

Paste – Clipboard Manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad

The new way to copy and paste on Mac and iOS devices. Paste lets you keep, search, and organize everything you copy on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

pasteapp.io

 

[cupcakes2000]

Well, here's the website if you do ever decide to give it a whirl.

Paste – Clipboard Manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad

The new way to copy and paste on Mac and iOS devices. Paste lets you keep, search, and organize everything you copy on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

pasteapp.io

Thanks I’ll take a look

 

[Slartibart]

You might like to try this shortcut ?

 

[cupcakes2000]

You might like to try this shortcut ?

This, or something like it at least, is what I use already

 

[Deguello]

You would be wise to read my follow up post:


Yes. So much thought that I actually started doing it myself. I started learning Swift and got with a friend to write an app. Is there a a reason you can’t do the same?

This seems pretty helpful to me.

It’s really not, though. Writing an app is borderline trivial. Writing a useful app — when one doesn’t have access to an API from, say, AMEX (one of the originally mentioned companies) or access to the kinds of resources reasonably necessary to code and support a realistic alternative to the other kinds of apps mentioned — is an entirely different undertaking.

 

[Kyle76]

You might like to try this shortcut ?

A little discouraging when it says updated regularly but the last update was nearly 2 1/2 years ago.

 

[secretk]

It’s really not, though. Writing an app is borderline trivial. Writing a useful app — when one doesn’t have access to an API from, say, AMEX (one of the originally mentioned companies) or access to the kinds of resources reasonably necessary to code and support a realistic alternative to the other kinds of apps mentioned — is an entirely different undertaking.

Plus it is not realistically possible for a person to re-write and improve all the apps they need to better versions . That being said coding is fun and I do believe that it can teach us a lot of skills so whoever wants to learn how to code won't waste their time. On the other hand the younger you are, the easier to learn and grasp the concept behind Software Development.

We will see if with the improved version of Swift Playground more people would try to platy with it.

 

[Ludatyk]

That’s my only point. Developers see iPads as larger iPhones because that is the vision Apple has shared with them.

iPadOS has yet to become its own...

Well, as much as I would like to agree with you. I think you are generalizing a bit much here, there’s a reason in the App Store.. we have two different versions of apps, well.. three if you want to count the Apple Watch version.

I do understand majority views the iPad as a large iPhone. But I‘ll like to defend some of the developers, developers who put in some thought behind the design of their iPad and I’m aware it’s not that many. But there are developers that see an iPad a key part of their business.

As I mention above… Apple has provided developers two different version to develop an app, one being an iPhone version and a iPad one. It’s up to the developers to figure out how they want to design for the iPad version and that’s out of Apple’s hands. If anything, you want to put blame on developers… a portion of the blame falls on consumers who don’t care to pay for “pro” apps on the iPad.

One of my favorite coding apps Coda by Panic had to stop developing for the platform… because they don’t see enough profit in putting resources behind building on the app. And to respond to your issue on SHH… why not put that app in SplitView (1/3) to keep that task going. My motto when it comes to productivity with the iPad… work within the platform not against it.

 

[itsmeaustend]

This is why I opt to use websites over apps on my iPad except in rare circumstances. I still love my iPad, but of course there’s room for improvement in the 3rd party app category.

 

[Slartibart]

A little discouraging when it says updated regularly but the last update was nearly 2 1/2 years ago.

Luckily there are more. ?

 

[AutomaticApple]

Put a lot of thought into that response did you?

Coding your own apps to overcome your own problems are fun, trust me.

 

[cupcakes2000]

This is why I opt to use websites over apps on my iPad except in rare circumstances. I still love my iPad, but of course there’s room for improvement in the 3rd party app category.

True. I use the protonmail web app on my iPad, for example. The app itself is just terrible. It’s just an iPhone port. Even on the iPhone it’s pretty bad, but workable. The web app however, is a full email app with all the bells and whistles.

 

[Shirasaki]

Coding your own apps to overcome your own problems are fun, trust me.

Yes, it’s true. But that’s not for everyone still. Programming requires a set of skills that many just don’t have or don’t bother to learn.

 

[Shirasaki]

Every time I use iPad i just think: if iPad can send and receive sms, or even make a phone call (the one that don’t need data), I probably can ditch iPhone in favour of iPad. But in no chance iPad can just outright replace my PC even if it has prolly 1/3 of the benchmark performance of my current M1 iPad Pro. PC still, with windows, can do way more than iPad Pro can even dreamt of, including managing iPad themselves. I don’t think iPad can connect to a server and manage server through wired connection, at least not yet.

Yeah, managing part is a pretty big stretch I admit, but I still see iPad as a glorified iPhone for the most part, and not a computer replacement. Apple clearly shares this sentiment, and don’t want iPadOS to become too good so that it can do everything (with poor performance sometimes). Maybe in a few years things will change, but I’d believe more about apple trying to curate their customer base to accept a new generation of computing than trying to please us 1980 dudes still liking our IBM XT desktop experience, if that makes sense.

 

[iPadified]

Every time I use iPad i just think: if iPad can send and receive sms, or even make a phone call (the one that don’t need data), I probably can ditch iPhone in favour of iPad. But in no chance iPad can just outright replace my PC even if it has prolly 1/3 of the benchmark performance of my current M1 iPad Pro. PC still, with windows, can do way more than iPad Pro can even dreamt of, including managing iPad themselves. I don’t think iPad can connect to a server and manage server through wired connection, at least not yet.

Yeah, managing part is a pretty big stretch I admit, but I still see iPad as a glorified iPhone for the most part, and not a computer replacement. Apple clearly shares this sentiment, and don’t want iPadOS to become too good so that it can do everything (with poor performance sometimes). Maybe in a few years things will change, but I’d believe more about apple trying to curate their customer base to accept a new generation of computing than trying to please us 1980 dudes still liking our IBM XT desktop experience, if that makes sense.

PC/Mac were conceived 40 years ago. More importantly it was based on a command prompt with a GUI overlay. The Mac was unique because it hidden the command prompt completely but it was still there (terminal). The OS was in direct access to the hardware which I think less than 1% or the population is interested in and therefore Mac became popular. Enter the iPad: a computer for those who only uses apps and the cloud/web. Lean, restricted and safe in comparison with PC/Macs. Good for people ranging from the old people to the very young and everyone that wants a simplified version of a PC/Mac and that is >99% of the general population or perhaps 20-30% of MR members.

Ironically, the corporate IT departments makes a large effort to incapacitate the PC/Mac to keep them safe by putting restrictions on them that are harsher than and iPad.

That being said, many app developers treat the iPad as an afterthought while other are doing a superb job. Putting an M1/16 GB in an iPad sends a very strong signal to app developers: this is not a toy and please make a better efforts and there is no reason to hold back in functionalities of the apps.

People have to learn that a good app cost money to develop and 1-10 usd for an app is not cutting it. Until used demand these ridiculously low prices we will mostly have blown up iPhone apps and the much hated subscriptions.