I mean implementing vertial multi tasking is that diffcult Apple? What about a true multi tasking? What's the point of M1 when you can only do ipad os 14 multi tasking? ??????
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iPad Pro Why do we need a more powerful iPad Pro 2021 when the OS is just iPad OS?
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Not the M1 per se but the extra RAM. How about less reloads when multi-tasking?
A while back, I had to copy data from a webpage (Safari) to Excel. I couldn't afford to restart the iPad and the RAM clearing/repsring shortcut doesn't really work. Every single time I opened Excel, it was back at homescreen and I needed to re-open the Excel document (thank goodness for Recent) and navigate/scroll to the tab/cells I was working on.
To an extent, the Mac does iPad multitasking most of the time, too (it’s called App Nap on the Mac). The primary difference is just that macOS uses a swap file when iPadOS doesn’t. Frankly, you generally don’t want an idle app sucking processor time (even just a few percent) in the background to keep a window open (say you’ve got a Finder window you haven’t used for days that’s still open), especially on an iPad or a laptop on battery power (that processor time also equals battery usage that could have been avoided). I think the principal reason iOS doesn’t use a swap file has to do with SSD longevity, energy costs of accessing the SSD and memory for a swap operation, and maximizing the storage space for user documents, apps, and media. A sleep image on a 32GB iPad (entry level for the 9.7” iPad, IIRC) means that 4-8GB would be taken up by the sleep image on top of whatever storage the OS takes up. Add a swap file on top of that, and, in heavy usage, that 32GBs turns more into 8 GBs free for media and apps.
Plus, the iPad approach to multitasking means that developers are constrained in terms of what they can do in the background, which is a Good Thing. It means that apps have to give up resources that they might otherwise hold onto due to bugs or developer incompetence (like file handlers, for instance, or held memory). Now, Microsoft can and should better optimize Excel’s and Word’s memory usage (and should take advantage of the deep linking features iOS exposes to take you directly back into the action you were performing before it unloaded, at the very least they could automatically reopen the last document, a thing iOS and iPadOS definitely support). But then, poorly optimized Microsoft software on Apple platforms is nothing new…
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Agreed. With that said, barriers for swap have eroded at least with the iPad Pros.
2015/16 iPad Pro: switched from eMMC to PCI Express with NAND Flash
2018 iPad Pro: improved SSD performance particularly random 4K writes, max storage increased to 1TB, unified memory architecture
2020 iPad Pro: 128GB base storage
2021 iPad Pro: memory and storage subsystem parity with Macs (albeit still 128GB base)
The M1 MacBook Air has a 49.9 Wh while the iPad Pro 11 and 12.9 have 28.7 Wh and 40.1 Wh respectively (36.7 Wh for 2020 12.9). Even accounting for the different battery sizes, the M1 MacBooks have excellent battery life with swap enabled. I don't think there's going to be significant energy impact on the iPads if swap does get implemented. Just can't have it enabled on lower end, low capacity iPads.
I can't discuss MacOS but my Windows laptop does not consume that much power consumption to keep apps in the background. To be honest I do prefer that because I do want to be able to switch between apps and be able to run background processes while doing something else. Otherwise I do not see the gain in using computer. I use computers because they have computation speed and power that my brain does not have. I want to take advantage of it.
Yes, but this means that essentially I can as an end user do exactly one thing at any given moment. Let's imagine that I have edited 6 minutes video in Lumafusion. I know need to export it. I will have to wait for it 6 minutes and do nothing essentially. This for me is unacceptable as a user. It is wasted time.
I can see what you are saying about tablet usage but then they should have not created apps like Lumafusion. The workflow just does not make sense as it is if we have to wait for the app to finish its work.
And as an example for simpler tasks hampered by limited background processes: downloading videos for offline from Netflix/Amazon/Disney+, etc. Also downloading comics series from my comiXology library.
I have to keep the apps open and prevent the iPad from going to standby so it can finish the downloads. iTunes apps and videos can download fine in the background and go to standby when done but there doesn't seem to be a similar API available for 3rd party apps. I think at most, background app downloads can only stay active for 10 minutes.
I also have issues with streaming videos in Safari. If I stop for a bit, the tab gets reloaded and starts the video from the beginning ...
Yep, I've had that, too.
Seriously, if I can't afford to lose data on active tabs, iPad multitasking for me is usually having two iPads open at the same time.
I post in another board where saving draft functionality does not exist. If I start typing a post and then get interrupted by something Safari tabs get reloaded and everything is lost. I resorted to write my posts in Notes and once I am ready I copy them and post them officially on the board. It sounds absurd and if I have my laptop near me, I would just go there to the post.
You guys are posting great examples of why I use my laptop more than my iPad - I can't put up with the unreliable performance.
One trick I use with forums is to click on the "Advanced" or "Preview" button. That way, it recovers whatever I've typed until that point if the tab does reload. Alas, that trick doesn't work on a lot of web forms.
Still, I prefer to use the iPad most of the time. Losing data on forms, apps, etc. isn't something I have to worry about for my typical usage (primarily reading, browsing and online shopping). Since I know the iPad doesn't do multitasking well, I just tend to avoid that unless absolutely necessary and I have no other device available. The Excel example, I was in a car (passenger) and had to reply to an email ASAP.
I'm hopeful 16GB RAM would help with that, though.
Cool trick I had not thought about. I might still forget doing it though because when I type I am lost in my thoughts and focused on what I want to write.
Man I am impressed that you managed to do that in a car. I would not be able to do it. Then again I tend to read emails on a tablet/phone but leave the answering part on my laptop
. My problem is that I am natural born multitasker. I know what people say about multitasking and tasks switching and how bad it is. Well it is not for me. I have even done tests and apparently the more I switch tasks, the better I become with those tasks which is the opposite of general population. I am easily bored and doing only thing can make me anxious and unproductive. I need stimulus to work properly and be efficient and for that some sort of multitasking works better. Listening to music, chatting with at least 2 or 3 people and reading is a normal workflow for me. Actually this is how I enter in flow by simulating most of my sensors and doing a lot of things at once.
Yeah, indeed I cannot wait to see WWDC and to hear what would come to take advantage of the RAM.
Why in general the iPad version of software is less expensive than the corresponding MacOS version? I think it is like half the price? Is it because there are less features? Is the reduction in features because the iPad is less powerful?
Now that the IPP 2021 has powerful hardware, will full features of software be available for iPad and the cost will be increased?
Now that the IPP 2021 has powerful hardware, will full features of software be available for iPad and the cost will be increased?
In most cases developing a mobile app is less expensive than its desktop/web counterpart. Well if it was in your business model to have a mobile app. Basically you would expose an API/interface to the business logic you already have created in your desktop/web app. Then you need to develop only the UI in the mobile app and to connect the UI to the API. Ideally the web/desktop UI and the mobile UI should use the same API. This is the most scalable way and it is usually what IT companies try to do long term. So this is the first reason.
Second reason is people are not willing pay a lot for mobile apps. Statistically it is proven that people are willing to pay less for mobile apps than desktop apps.
I've found this to be quite apt. ?
This is how I feel about buying apps - The Oatmeal
My feelings regarding buying apps from the app store.
theoatmeal.com
Is it more difficult and time consuming to do it the other way around as iOS version of app usually have less features than the Mac version?
A well written forum should be able to auto-save a response as a draft, IMO. A well written app should take up no more RAM than is needed at the moment, and should release it when it’s done. A well designed video player should take advantage of the PiP mode iOS supports without any hoops (I’m looking at you, Google). As a developer myself, I feel entitled to tell other developers to “get gud”, especially if your software is going to be used on memory constrained devices without SWAP memory. I feel like too many developers let Moore’s Law handle performance and memory optimization instead of learning how to properly optimize the software they write!
Yes, they really should optimize.
Alas, I've got to live with reality and for that, the 8-16GB RAM on the new 2021 Pros would help.
Speak for yourself, but someone doing field editing of photos or video may very well find that they appreciate having an M1 and 16GB of RAM combined with 2TB capacity. The type of person who uses a MacBook Pro at the office but occasionally wants a lighter device on the go, or the type of person who uses a graphics tablet for photo manipulation at the office and wants the best equivalent on set. Or a digital artist who wants to be able to pan around a large image without memory loads and wants to keep all their working files offline. There are plenty of workflows that can stand to benefit from having an M1 and 16GB of RAM, 2TB storage even with iPadOS instead of macOS. The way you work is not the way everyone else works, and no two professionals do the exact same job. (If you’re doing the exact same job as someone else, that’s a very good sign that you’re doing undifferentiated unskilled labor, for what it’s worth.)
That's because mobile apps have traditionally delivered less than their desktop app counterparts for obvious reasons. Those reasons are becoming less obvious now. I would gladly pay desktop app price for an iPad app that gave me the SAME functionality as the desktop app.
That and also in the past mobile devices had smaller screen. There are certain things that I just do not want to do on a screen that is less than 10 inch. My eyes just would not do well
. For example I have installed Notion on my phone, iPad and laptop. I use it on the phone the least. I can check the data I have entered from the phone and that works great. I do not want to add new data though as I use a lot of tables in Notion and
The first app you develop is the more expensive one. The thing is most of those companies already have a desktop app, this is why it is better to expose an API from the desktop app to use for the mobile app than to start from scratch. For example Office apps or Photoshop app. They have stared with desktop app and now they try to expose them to a mobile platform.
Lumafusion on the other hand stared with a mobile app. This is their business model and they are quite successful. They managed to create a rather nuanced and feature rich app that works great on a mobile device and takes advantage of the touch screen. To be honest I quite often I find apps that are not done properly to be used on a tablet or mobile device. It is like mini version of a desktop app with the same workflow that might make sense for a 15 inch screen with big keyboard and mouse, but does not make sense for a tablet or a phone.