I am not projecting on the community based of these forums. It seems to me the handful of people who even discus this feature reside in these forums, so I’m guessing the majority of regular users could care less. Thanks for making my point for me… 👍🏻
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iPad Why does iPadOS not feel like true OS?
- Thread starter Bubble99
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You can literally add MP3 files into VLC very easily by copying and pasting or moving them into the VLC folder in the Files app. It’s extremely easy to do on an iPhone or iPad. No PC or Mac required. And I didn’t use iTunes or iMazing either… Same method works for attached storage as well…
I can’t use VLC because the vast majority of my library was purchased from iTunes. And I can’t add tracks I’ve purchased elsewhere to my collection because Apple doesn’t give me an option to import them. I don’t want to use a PC for this because it doesn’t address the long term problem of a time when I don’t have a PC. I use my iPad for practically everything, and I like it that way.
I was referring to iTunes Store, so I misread your reply; but it doesn't fundamentally change my response. However, it has given me this image:
—definitely not Steve Jobs
Feel free to mentally add "in my opinion" to every single post of mine.
Wow. Apple can do no wrong, huh?
So, it is only conjecture on your part ("I'm guessing") that only a few people care about this. 👍🏻
The iPhone has replaced the iPod. It plays music with a number of available apps including Apple Music, Spotify, and VLC among many others… And the Apple Music app limitation we are discussing is actually likely precisely because of the iPhone’s iPod heritage. To add music to iPods, users would plug an iPod into a Mac or PC to load their music onto it. With the iPhone today, users load music onto it with a Mac or PC in the Apple Music app. It’s essentially the same as far as I can tell… As far as I’m aware, there was no way to add music into the iPod in a folder from the Files app, because the Files app didn’t even exist… In fact, the Files app has only existed for about 5 years now…
And I never said Apple can do no wrong. That’s literally making things up. Just because I disagree with a couple of your negative opinions about Apple doesn’t mean that I believe Apple can do no wrong. That is a logical fallacy and a strawman…
Yes, that is fully and admittedly my opinion and conjecture. Feel free to provide evidence to the contrary, but I have seen zero evidence that suggests this is a widely demanded feature the majority of users are clamoring for… So in absence of evidence, either one of us could be correct about this. Hence neither of us can argue with certainty that our explanation/opinion about Apple’s motives, etc. are true…
And the issue is that it is not fantastic on iPadOS because those options simply do not exist.
I sort of have, though, to the extent that the hardware can support it.
I have argued for different solutions in different contexts, but the extremely simple and safe solution is to just put the hypervisor API support back in iPadOS and let us run macOS in a third-party virtualization app. I believe that would solve a hefty 80% of the issues the "iPad sucks" crowd have. Not in an ideal way, but still.
My actual list wish is, in order of preference:
- An option to run Mac apps on iPadOS. Unlikely, and probably practically unfeasible from an API perspective, although enabling the terminal and access to the BSD subsystem shouldn't be as difficult. For this to work there also needs to be support for basic productivity features such as clipboard managers.
- A pro mode for iPadOS that enables all the macOS features that make sense, and many, many more options to customize the functionality and the user interface. (This would also allow Apple to further reduce the basic default functionality that confuses basic users and pros alike, such as the seemingly random opening of new "windows" in for example Safari and Mail.)
- Option to dualboot between iPadOS and macOS, with the option for virtualization, preferably in a first-party solution.
- Option to run macOS virtualized in a third-party app without Apple endorsement, beyond hypervisor API support. (Which they already have for macOS.)
For all these I think it is perfectly fine to require a mouse/trackpad and keyboard to be present, although I personally believe virtual devices would be sufficient for many tasks.
The one objection I give a few points for is that any of these may reduce incentive for app developers to create awesome iPad apps. The reality is though, that 15 years into the iPad's existence many apps still do not have a decent iPad counterpart, and probably never will. For others, we need to deal with sh*tty web apps, sh*tty Electron apps, sh*tty "big" iPhone apps and generally sh*tty native apps, which is also a terrible experience.
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I use one app that was iPad-first and another app that has an iPad version that isn't just a blown-up iPhone app. And even that app isn't really using the iPad screen size that efficiently. I think it's mostly apps that use the Apple Pencil that make good iPad apps these days.
If Apple developers can make iOS/iPadOS apps run on macOS, I think they can do the opposite. The problem, of course, is the 30% cut... I don't think they'd ever do it, but if they did, I wouldn't be surprised if it's limited to apps distributed via Mac App Store and opt-out by developers.
I have nothing against those ideas, though I think dual booting may be the least likely and most technically confusing of those options. I think that’s the direction Apple is moving with things. I’ve heard multiple reliable sources saying that iPadOS will be able to run Mac apps within the next couple of years. And I think that makes sense. If Macs can run iPad apps, iPads should be able to run Mac apps. It also makes sense with a foldable iPad on the way, rumors indicate that this device will be an iPad, but run Mac apps. The ability to run Mac apps natively would also make sense for the Vision Pro, and visionOS is essentially a modified iPadOS. I think there’s a very good chance this is coming.
I personally would probably not end up using any Mac apps on my iPad beyond just tinkering, since with all of the apps I use, I prefer the iPad versions over the Mac versions. But I think that would be a good option for some people.
I’m also not opposed to Apple making things easier for VM apps on iPadOS. Hypervisor could help performance, though I’d want Apple to ensure it’s implemented in a secure manner that coders couldn’t wrongly exploit to steel personal data or load malware. I think that’s probably possible, just might take some work to put safeguards in place.
I don’t agree that iPad versions of apps are “sh*t”, as I said before, I find the iPad versions of apps generally to be better, at least the apps that I use. But I understand that some apps aren’t as functional, the biggest offender I can think of is Microsoft Word. And I don’t think you’re intending to say all iPad versions of apps are like that, just some, probably ones that you’ve used for your workflow that I don’t. 👍🏻
I think one of the best options would probably be to implement hypervisor in a secure manner as you suggest. Then those who want to use another OS for some things on the iPad would have the option to. Though, without hypervisor, UTM SE in the App Store actually performs fairly well in my experience, at least with Windows 7. But this would also be good for people who have to use another OS like Windows for some work stuff, they could have access to that stuff.
I’m not opposed to any of that stuff. I think there’s ways iPadOS could become more versatile for more people. I’m just tired of some (not you) who go around trashing on the iPad constantly, claim it’s a “toy” (when many use it for their professional workflows, myself included), and advocate for iPadOS to be replaced with macOS (which would be a terrible idea IMO as absolutely nothing on macOS is actually optimized for the iPad. 👍🏻
Sorry, I absolutely did not mean that all iPad apps are bad. Some are (such as Microsoft Word, as you pointed out) and they typically show no signs of improving.
On both of these points we agree.
For Catalyst, yes. (But then you basically already have the native iPad app, so why bother.) If restricted to SwiftUI, probably. For AppKit though, I very much doubt it.
Let me ask this question. If iPadOS is not a true OS then what does a true OS
look like? Every operating system is a form of an OS so I don’t get why the question got asked in the first place.
look like? Every operating system is a form of an OS so I don’t get why the question got asked in the first place.
I'm retired now but as a s/w & h/w engineer I've used dozens of different operating systems since 1971 (even developed some) and I would not question whether iPadOS is a true OS - it is. I think the real issue is that like all operating systems, it has some features - or lack thereof - that are problematic to some people.
Exactly, there is no such thing as a “fake OS”. All OSes are real OSes. As @sparksd said, different OSes have different pros, cons, features, and lack of features that can either be helpful to people’s workflows or problematic for them depending on who they are and what they intend to do with the system. 👍🏻. iPadOS has some current limitations that can be problematic for some. I hope some of these limitations will be fixed in the future so that more people can enjoy using iPadOS without running into such problems, but for me, iPadOS is already at a place where there is really zero downside to using iPadOS for me and my workflow, and I actually prefer it over using macOS. 👍🏻.
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I've replaced my laptop with my 13" M4 Pro for my away-from-home and mobile usage around the house. Why? Because it supports all of the functionality I need/want with a laptop (I still have the laptop - Surface Pro - but it sees little use) and I enjoy using it. I also have a desktop. The iPad doesn't need to replace the laptop but for some people it can and they choose to do so.
Moderation Note
There is a stickied thread dedicated to the discussion of iPad as a laptop replacement:
iPad as a laptop replacement
I've have a MacBook Pro Retina for a year now, and quite frankly, it’s simply overkill for what I use the computer for on a daily basis. I would have been fine with a MacBook Air but elected to spend the extra cash for a nice screen. I use writing intensive programs (Final Draft, Pages, etc)...
forums.macrumors.com
Please take any discussion of that question, or similar ones, to that thread.
Please continue to use this thread for discussing why iPadOS does or doesn't feel like a "true OS", however you interpret that.
It just needs a better file system, more like Finder. I can replicate most of what I do through apps, but it's the Finder that trips me up every time.
What issues do you have with the Files app (you meant Files app, not Finder)?
Exactly, the Files app is basically similar to the Finder in just about every way. I don’t get this.
Finder on Mac Os is more robust, with full access to all file types down to root system level. Files app is more surface level and more restricted but is fine for the way iOS/iPad OS works.
Yeah, I don’t think it would make sense to open root system level files on iPadOS with the way it works, so I agree with that. I guess what I’m saying is that in terms of UI and functionality that most people tend to use both for (organizing folders), etc., both are mostly the same, with only a handful of minor differences. That’s at least my opinion. 👍🏻
I wasn’t really making a point, more just curious if it had any big limitations I was overlooking. But I agree I find it similar enough to Finder for how I use it day to day. Granted it doesn’t have things like batch renaming, but it’s pretty rare that I need that.
I usually do batch renames on my PC but FileBrowser Pro has a nice capability -
https://www.stratospherix.com/articles/add-text-to-filenames-in-bulk-on-ios.php