yip, you both totally right! Amazing! It's just flakey uploading if the files are huge so assumed it didn't work at all. Thanks!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Work Fails on iPad — a list.
- Thread starter erasr
- Start date
-
- Tags
- working on ipad
- Sort by reaction score
Copying and pasting some formulas from on to the other was precisely my purpose...
I don't even split screen on my 28in monitor, I use 2, but I cannot carry my monitor with me when I am not at my desk 😅
I even brought a 15.6in USB C monitors to make things easier, but that didn't work well either, it drains the battery of the iPad very quickly and for some reasons stage manager refuses to run 2 instances of the same app in different screens... Again only remote desktop saved me.
I have been forcing myself to bring the iPad pro instead of a laptop to try if I can get away with it, especially now that I got a 16GB RAM M1 (found a great sale on a brand new 5G 11" totally maxed out at $799)
I even installed Windows 11 on ARM virtualized with UTM on it using the hypervisor feature (I may write a post on my experience with that at some point) for times where iPadOS does not cut it... But I want to give priority to iPadOS whenever possible...
Tl;dr - how much of user frustration comes from user error?
In larger cases (e.g. photo editing, coding) I simply haven’t bothered to learn proper behaviour for using the iPad. Which is a bit silly and entirely on me… the tools exist. But I prefer a desktop for those elements (my MBPro is attached to a dual 32” monitor setup) and every attempt to replace a desktop with an iPad (yeah, I’ve been that silly) has faltered before I got to using Pixelmator et al. With that out of the way…
Although there are not yet many examples on this post, they embody my own frustrations with the iPad as a “workhorse” (makes it extra silly that I sprung for the 1TB M4 11” model but hope dies last…) and those relate specifically to use cases between apps - sharing data, posts, etc. Some of these might be fixed by now! I gave up on that mode of working the iPad… so I guess that’s also on me, kind of.
Attaching the iPad to my Studio Display results in an always on display, even when I put the iPad to sleep. To each their own, but I don’t enjoy having my displays on 24/7… and scaling the iPad to 27” doesn’t result in more real estate, just in a larger version of my iPad screen (or didn’t; although Apple didn’t mention anything at WWDC, iPadOS 18 might resolve some or all of these issues).
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, Split View and Slide Over (SVSO) are an all-or-nothing package, and I hate Slide Over… but those are ultimately fixed by Stage Manager (SM). Except the loss of screen real estate on an 11” iPad is a bit much for my taste. Now that I’ve typed that, I’ve also turned SM back on and will give it another try. They did change how one engages SVSO in iPadOS 17, so perhaps it won’t frustrate me anymore by engaging SO when I want SV… but I’ll only figure that out if SM frustrates me into turning it off again…
In larger cases (e.g. photo editing, coding) I simply haven’t bothered to learn proper behaviour for using the iPad. Which is a bit silly and entirely on me… the tools exist. But I prefer a desktop for those elements (my MBPro is attached to a dual 32” monitor setup) and every attempt to replace a desktop with an iPad (yeah, I’ve been that silly) has faltered before I got to using Pixelmator et al. With that out of the way…
Although there are not yet many examples on this post, they embody my own frustrations with the iPad as a “workhorse” (makes it extra silly that I sprung for the 1TB M4 11” model but hope dies last…) and those relate specifically to use cases between apps - sharing data, posts, etc. Some of these might be fixed by now! I gave up on that mode of working the iPad… so I guess that’s also on me, kind of.
Attaching the iPad to my Studio Display results in an always on display, even when I put the iPad to sleep. To each their own, but I don’t enjoy having my displays on 24/7… and scaling the iPad to 27” doesn’t result in more real estate, just in a larger version of my iPad screen (or didn’t; although Apple didn’t mention anything at WWDC, iPadOS 18 might resolve some or all of these issues).
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, Split View and Slide Over (SVSO) are an all-or-nothing package, and I hate Slide Over… but those are ultimately fixed by Stage Manager (SM). Except the loss of screen real estate on an 11” iPad is a bit much for my taste. Now that I’ve typed that, I’ve also turned SM back on and will give it another try. They did change how one engages SVSO in iPadOS 17, so perhaps it won’t frustrate me anymore by engaging SO when I want SV… but I’ll only figure that out if SM frustrates me into turning it off again…
I’m not quite sure the Mac just adapted to the user either. Any platform has its own learning curve, and those who are stuck in the modalities of one platform and unwilling to escape and learn a new one often will struggle with transition.
I bought a 15.6 portable monitor as well but I use it paired with the laptop.
If I know I need to do Excel work that goes beyond minor edits, I don’t even bother with the iPad. I’ll bring my laptop + USB-C monitor. I only need to do that on the rare occasion I have to work while on vacation though. Most of the time, I can get away with just the iPad (no hardware keyboards even).
Yes. Here is a video with a quick demo:
At Last! You Can Now Create Pivot Tables in the Excel for iPad App (youtube.com)
Did the PC adapt to us, or did we adapt to the PC, to the point where trying to get used to a different way of working on the iPad now seems cumbersome because we are already so used to the idiosyncrasies of the desktop?
that's my point, I want to stay open and since I like the iPad I want to learn and give it a chance, even if that means frustration. I don't want to be closed in any ecosystem. That's why after being on Windows for 20+ years I bought a used 11" Macbook air in 2018 and a couple of Retina Macbooks in the last couple of years (all for cheap), as well as a M1 Mini. I didn't move away from Windows and I don't intend to, but I have been learning to use MacOS.
Similarly in 2020 I bought a used iPhone SE to try iPhone after being on Samsung since the Galaxy S1 (after moving from Nokia). Again I am fine on Samsung but at least I have experience with iPhone.
iPad it's the contrary, it's my main tablet platform, but I bought several Android tablets in the last couple of years and while some workflow has moved to them, iPads remain my primary tablets.
So I'll continue to try and give the iPad a chance periodically, including as a laptop replacement, and if it does not work, I'll keep using them for more tablet stuff.
Me too, most of the time I'll bring my cellular Thinkpad Nano, especially if I have to run a Windows only app (cannot risk remote desktop not working due to poor internet), but for work things where that's not required, I want to give the iPad pro a chance (see my post above). It's also a excuse to learn it better and to discover its shortcomings when it comes to work.
Syncing Fonts with my Mac so that files (Keynote, Word, Photoshop, etc) can be edited and shown to clients. So painful I just don't.
I mean, I’m not convinced Teams isn’t a buggy mess on Windows or the web. (And, of course, it clearly is on iOS.) Basically, it’s Slack for Microsoft shops (the new Skype for Business), the only reason to use it is if your business is still whole hog enmeshed in the Microsoft ecosystem. Skype for Business seems a little more reliable in my experience, though! (I should know, I have to use both!)
It is funny that most people’s complaints I’ve read so far are Microsoft-centric. It’s like they support iOS just enough to be able to say “oh yeah, you can totally use our apps on the most popular smartphone platform” but really don’t care about being a good platform citizen. (Still, it’s better than Google’s iOS support…)
the issue was copying and pasting between 2 files while having only the iPad, not between devices
why is copy/paste such a disaster on ipad? i can’t copy/paste between projects in canva on ipad; no problem at all on mac. i’ve emailed canva and they say its due to an apple software restriction. come on apple… let me actually get some work done on this thing.
The only thing I can't do on my iPad Pro is Excel, only because all my spreadsheets need to talk to an SQL server.
Besides that, I can do everything else. Even access our inventory system via a 5250 Emulator.
Besides that, I can do everything else. Even access our inventory system via a 5250 Emulator.
And I can run two (I think up to 4) games simultaneously and they are all doing their own work just fine. Switching back and forth is also smooth. For mobile games requiring constant internet connection, stage manager is a breeze for farming. It’s incredible.
iPad cannot handle file picker situation well if at all possible. I have several cloud storage providers I use, and for some bizarre reason, I can’t just browse through folders, tap it and add files into mail, safari, or another app. It’s just doesn’t work. It feels like Apple is riding a fine line of making iPadOS infinitely closer to macOS without turning it into macOS.
Oh and because iPad is ultimately classified as a mobile device, I can’t get past some desktop websites captcha check and thus can’t access or progress further. Devil is always in details.
Oh and because iPad is ultimately classified as a mobile device, I can’t get past some desktop websites captcha check and thus can’t access or progress further. Devil is always in details.
For the latter bit, I keep iCabMobile around because I can change the user agent string, which usually forces the desktop site to work. It IS absolutely ridiculous, though, that mobile websites are so broken. And it’s no fault of Safari, web developers are just that lazy for some reason.
M1 11" iPP owner here. The title of this thread caught my eye and then I saw there were 45 posts to it. I was curious and hoping to find 45+ different problems/issues with solutions...
But, there aren't and as kc9hzn said, it's only a few and them seem to be mainly Microsoft connected. If you're on this site, I'm assuming you're at least MacOS and iOS proficient and likely have skills using other OS'es as well, especially Windows. A lot of the frustration "seems to me", to be not knowing or not willing to learn how to use iOS better, the way you likely have Windows or MacOS... Each OS has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and we either learn or teach ourselves work arounds that allow us to do the things we want to do with our devices... Is there resistance to this with iOS?
I'm not saying that the iPP/iOS IS a complete laptop/desktop replacement, but I've not yet found anything I can't do with my iPP, that I wanted to... And if I couldn't figure out how to do it on my own... I researched a method and have always found one.
I do agree that iOS functions are limited or work differently compared to MacOS... I am looking forward to iOS 18, and hoping that narrows the gap. Of course being a long time Apple User: Hope Springs Eternal
Coachingguy
But, there aren't and as kc9hzn said, it's only a few and them seem to be mainly Microsoft connected. If you're on this site, I'm assuming you're at least MacOS and iOS proficient and likely have skills using other OS'es as well, especially Windows. A lot of the frustration "seems to me", to be not knowing or not willing to learn how to use iOS better, the way you likely have Windows or MacOS... Each OS has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and we either learn or teach ourselves work arounds that allow us to do the things we want to do with our devices... Is there resistance to this with iOS?
I'm not saying that the iPP/iOS IS a complete laptop/desktop replacement, but I've not yet found anything I can't do with my iPP, that I wanted to... And if I couldn't figure out how to do it on my own... I researched a method and have always found one.
I do agree that iOS functions are limited or work differently compared to MacOS... I am looking forward to iOS 18, and hoping that narrows the gap. Of course being a long time Apple User: Hope Springs Eternal
Coachingguy
Personally I am not giving up trying and I am willing to learn, but I can understand that not everyone has the patience that I have with all the limitations from iPadOS or thrid party apps, especially when it comes to getting work done...
For me one of the main "workarounds" is remote desktop to make up for missing software etc, I guess some people will say it doesn't count or it's cheating, but without that I would have given up trying to work from iPad for a while already....
I am more interested in things people do with iPad Pro, workflows, and how it is adopted. I remember a post by some iPad app developer who used tools to bypass Mac. I have adopted the same workflow, and my iPad test pad no longer needs MacBook Pro to edit code or run tests. Overall I love working on myipad Pro with out being tied to my desk, its just more portable.
In the era of cloud computing, most laptops log in to a SAAS app or developer workspace in the cloud. Most of the apps that used to be client server, heavy clients have become Saas. Ofcourse if your work depends on legacy, its an issue.