iPad Pro The new iPad Pro is practically perfect. What could Apple do to improve it?

[jclardy]

I bought the M4 and it is the perfect iPad. But it would be even better if it could become my only mobile workstation, and not just a Mac companion device.

Hardware wise:
- Magic Keyboard needs a notch - the M4 version is so much easier to open, but with a small notch you could open it with one hand.
- Remove the camera bump. Just do a simple back camera for scanning documents - nobody wants the camera bump.
- Magic Keyboard should have magnets to support portrait orientation in addition to landscape (Removing the camera bump will also allow for a cool "turn in place" motion to exist.

Software wise:
- Background tasks. I don't care how - but this is the one spot where iPadOS completely sucks. I shouldn't have to guess whether an app can process something in the background, and then jump back into it repeatedly to make sure it doesn't hit its arbitrary background execution limit and get killed off. Give apps an entitlement to ask the user for proper background tasks, and put icons for them in the giant status bar that is 95% empty. Make it "Pro" iPad's only if you have to.
- Notifications - put them in the corner, make them smaller, and more organized. Also let me swipe them to access the options for them without having to swipe down into the notification shade.
- Terminal: terminal access should exist when you put iPadOS into developer mode.
- Xcode: Swift Playgrounds works great, and it works great on multiple year old 2GB RAM iPads. Give us full Xcode, and limit it to M4 iPad and up. Instant sales boost for iPad.

The rest:
- The App Store rules need to be reduced to allow for IDE's to exist on the platform. It is insane that VS Code just can't exist on iPadOS because there is a blanket "no code can run unless it was submitted to the App Store" rule.

 

[subjonas]

I would like some features back that were taken away—headphone port, thicker bezels, home button, and Touch ID.

I might like a bigger 15” or 16” option but only if Sidecar improves to be much more Cintiq-like.

I’d also like a convertible model of iPad with a built-in keyboard. Detaching isn’t much more convenient to me than converting, and comes with too many trade offs I don’t want.

 

[subjonas]

This will inevitably turn into a discussion about iPadOS (with some users wanting a port of macOS).

So right you were. People can’t help themselves it seems.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

I absolutely love my new M4 iPad Pro.

Great screen, great speakers, fast, light, Apple Pencil Pro is a game changer.

I just don’t know what they can do to make iPad any better?

Suggestions?

I have the 11” and the only thing they could do to make me love it more hardware-wise is make a smaller version. An iPad mini pro or even the 9,7” of the original iPad would make it more practical. I have a Mac when I want a keyboard etc, I just want my iPad to be a tablet.

 

[Ta_whirimatea]

No camera bump

Sync with Apple watch
Apple fitness app to be able to view workouts (run routes etc) like garmin connect / strava etc. show maps & metrics etc. sucks on a 13PM screen

All the workouts on my watch /iphone & I can’t view a single one on iPad. Health details in ❤️ app only.

 

[subjonas]

Personally I would love the original 9.7” size with modern advances. The mini is too small to be my nearly everything device and the 11” is just a bit too unwieldy. Won’t happen, unless the mini grows to that size… (from 8.3” to 9.7” is also likely a step too far…)

Screens only ever get bigger and bigger it seems, so I’d say an eventual 9.7” Mini is not far-fetched.

 

[snak-atak]

What they need to do is leverage the iPad hardware to create a large, lightweight, wall mountable device running some form of iPadOS / tvOS hybrid. Imagine a 65-85” iPad to watch movies/streaming or FaceTime or Zoom with families and friends using the built in camera. Or double as a conference room display for presentations.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I have the 11” and the only thing they could do to make me love it more hardware-wise is make a smaller version. An iPad mini pro or even the 9,7” of the original iPad would make it more practical. I have a Mac when I want a keyboard etc, I just want my iPad to be a tablet.

The rumored iPhone sizes are closer than ever to one ha

 

[redcarlsen]

Hardware wise, it is peak design. Nothing else is really needed at this time.

I mean, it still have a freaking camera bump…

but as others keep mentioning, software. I wish it was less bloated, had actual mouse support, and a real file browser.

 

[User #07242024]

A similar or better version of Samsung DeX for both iPadOS and iOS.

 

[thefourthpope]

Generally a case will negate that issue. Now if you use the iPad naked sure it's an issue.

Well, yeah. But this thread isn’t about what we can add to the iPad to make it perfect.

I use skins for better grip without increase thickness or weight.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

I mean, it still have a freaking camera bump…

but as others keep mentioning, software. I wish it was less bloated, had actual mouse support, and a real file browser.

Pretty much everything here is wrong.

The camera bump is necessary, and completely fine. It is NOT a problem that needs solving.

iPadOS is the opposite of bloated, so I can't even reconcile that comment.

It has the exact kind of mouse support that is appropriate for something that was bolted on to a Touch-first operating system so that keyboard use was more practical.

It has the exact kind of file browser that is appropriate for an OS that has no root file system access, terminal access, or unix shell. I do wish the Files app was less buggy and had fewer compatibility issues. But since I do not wish for an entire different operating system, that is the limit of what is possible.

 

[oakrrl]

All my previous IPP were 10.5 or 11” but the 13” is light enough it’s *almost* perfect for my every use - displaying/editing photos, writing/reading documents, web browsing, emailing. But while it’s now manageable lying on a couch or on a bed, it’s still a bit awkward. If it were foldable and could become an iPad mini at such times, that’d be terrific - but I don’t think folding screens are quite ready yet.

Also, as long as we’re fantasizing - if the screen’s inbuilt keyboard could have some form of Haptic feedback which would let me touch type by giving the illusion of actually depressing keys to mimic an actual KB, that would be fantastic. But Apple and other companies have been working on this for a long time, and as far as I know nobody has quite managed to do it without degrading screen display and reliability.

 

[muzzy996]

I understand the point you are making here, but that doesn’t hold up given the ability to share apps or subscription under Family Plan.

I do this quite a lot with my family… it helps to save money that way. I recall when they implemented this feature… not too many devs were willing to add this to their apps. Who can blame them? As you mention.. it gives up some of their revenue. But nowadays, nearly all apps have this feature.

Yup, I'm a family plan user as well. I suppose Apple could restrict profile creation on a device to only users who are on a family plan with app sharing enabled, but would they? Would be nice if they did, but they will have to consider the impact to their revenue stream in both the reduction of hardware sales and in app sales. Their strategy for controlling abuse of app sharing by forcing the main family plan organizer to pay for everyone's purchases is a fairly effective one so who knows, maybe this will happen eventually.

 

[Pezimak]

I absolutely love my new M4 iPad Pro.

Great screen, great speakers, fast, light, Apple Pencil Pro is a game changer.

I just don’t know what they can do to make iPad any better?

Suggestions?

Give me an M4 OLED cellular model for free, that would improve it. 😁

But otherwise it’s the usual software requests, proper file manager etc. just make the pro a bit more pro but not a Mac, keep it iPad.

 

[Ludatyk]

Yup, I'm a family plan user as well. I suppose Apple could restrict profile creation on a device to only users who are on a family plan with app sharing enabled, but would they? Would be nice if they did, but they will have to consider the impact to their revenue stream in both the reduction of hardware sales and in app sales. Their strategy for controlling abuse of app sharing by forcing the main family plan organizer to pay for everyone's purchases is a fairly effective one so who knows, maybe this will happen eventually.

I think multi-user support on the iPad is a pipe-dream… enabling app sharing via Family Plan doesn’t hurt Apple much, that’s why it’s implemented.

And it’s not as if I’m defending Apple here, but their revenue stream would be severally impacted… I honestly don’t see why would they do it. I get it from a customer satisfaction perspective… but will that really add additional sales? Most folks hold onto their iPad… don’t upgrade much.

I can imagine a scenario where a household of 2 kids or maybe a couple buy one iPad (use multi-user account to share)… and hold onto it for 3 to 4 years, nope… can’t envision Apple missing out on an opportunity to buy an additional iPad.

 

[NVDA]

I’m coming from an 11” 2018 iPad Pro, and the speakers on my new iPad are much better.

Fuller, richer sound.

The 2018 11 inch Pro has much better speakers, most people agree with this. They don't have a tinny sound.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

The 2018 11 inch Pro has much better speakers, most people agree with this. They don't have a tinny sound.

My new iPad sounds better (to me.)

 

[Fraserpatty]

Another usb port would just be excellent. I use my rear camera, so the bump is fine with me.
we are all different. I’m glad I have the M2 because I do use the wide angle lens, though I know others don’t.

 

[Elusi]

I think it’s high time to revise the USB-C port placement. I know I/O isn’t spreading to any other of the sides due to pencil, keyboard and aesthetic reasons. But at the side it is on right now, make it two ports and place them to the left and right side of the speaker grills.

And, the big one, software shouldn’t be able to get killed in the background. I can not do serious work swapping back and fourth between apps only to discover that the render paused or the document got closed. I am not saying put macOS on it, but it needs to adapt some philosophy from there. Make it a toggle or something.

 

[heretiq]

I absolutely love my new M4 iPad Pro.

Great screen, great speakers, fast, light, Apple Pencil Pro is a game changer.

I just don’t know what they can do to make iPad any better?

Suggestions?

I think you nailed it with the “practically perfect” characterization. I’m personally enjoying my M4 iPad Pro and doing extraordinary things with it.

As an example: this week I used it to prototype two huge enhancements for an app we’ve developed in just 3 days. Everything from design to working code was developed on the iPad Pro using Swift Playgrounds.

The code was copied to my MacBook Pro, dropped into Xcode code and wired into existing app logic and worked perfectly. The experience of prototyping two complex features while leaning back on my couch with my feet up far exceeds doing the same using my MBPro. And because of the iPad single-app focus paradigm, I was twice as productive as I would have been doing the same thing while hunched over a keyboard and distracted by multiple windows, notifications, etc.

I share this example to underscore my belief that the iPad Pro is a perfect compliment to my MacBook Pro for what I do and am happy with it as it is. Any enhancements that Apple throws at it in iOS 18 and beyond is a bonus.

 

[richpjr]

I absolutely love my new M4 iPad Pro.

Great screen, great speakers, fast, light, Apple Pencil Pro is a game changer.

I just don’t know what they can do to make iPad any better?

Suggestions?

IMO, the speakers are far from great. Adequate would be a much better description.

 

[melodibit]

This will inevitably turn into a discussion about iPadOS (with some users wanting a port of macOS). I don’t think anyone will argue iPads have best-in-class hardware, but everyone would benefit from software improvements. What constitutes an improvement? That’s the million dollar question; it’s different for everyone.

User control over URL behavior in two cases:

1. App Seizure: Just because I have the Yelp app installed doesn't mean I never want to visit Yelp's actual website. I hate that installing an app means I can no longer visit the website in Safari. Many developers don't even implement all of the options in their app, which means there is functionality you literally can't access on your iPad unless you uninstall the app just so you can get to the website. This is insane.
2. In-app browsers: So many apps default to opening URL's in the ****** in-app mini browser. I just want to open the damned URLs in Safari without having to make two additional clicks to get there. Unless you have a damned good reason to run it in-app (e.g., you're using the rendering engine for the app's own interface, or you're presenting a cropped authentication prompt), don't! I want websites opened in my web browser! Apple can enforce this through their App Store approval process.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

The rumored iPhone sizes are closer than ever to one ha

The screen areas of iPhones and iPads are nothing alike; diagonal only gets you so far without knowing the aspect ratio

 

[ric22]

Adding rigidity and reinforcement where the USB port is would be nice. A little titanium there could be easily introduced, and that would protect the one weak spot on the device.