Apple's Finally Making the iPad More Like a Mac (For Multitasking, at Least) (cnet.com) 15
Apple brought its iPad tablet a bit closer to the Mac computers in spirit on Monday at WWDC 2022, announcing new features for its iPadOS 16 software that add better multitasking features. From a report: The new changes to the iPad represent another key shift to the device, aiming to advance the "pro" capabilities of Apple's tablets. While Apple's added to the power and capabilities of its iPads, the software has been criticized by many reviewers, including us at CNET, for not offering enough functionality. [...] Apple also has a collaborative workspace app called Freeform, coming later this year, that will work like a giant whiteboard. Invited collaborators could can start adding stuff at the same time.
iPadOS 16 is also aiming to make better use of more advanced iPads that feature Apple's M1 chip. Metal 3 promises better graphics, but Apple's also aiming to add more desktop-like features in apps: Some will have customizable toolbars, and the Files app looks like it's finally getting a little more versatile for file management. M1 iPads are getting display scaling to create an effectively larger-feeling display, allowing more app screen space (but with smaller text and images). There's also free-form window resizing, along with external display support. Both features have been overdue on iPadOS. Stage Manager, a MacOS feature that's coming later this year, is also on iPadOS. The result looks to be windows that can overlap and be different sizes, just like a Mac.
iPadOS 16 is also aiming to make better use of more advanced iPads that feature Apple's M1 chip. Metal 3 promises better graphics, but Apple's also aiming to add more desktop-like features in apps: Some will have customizable toolbars, and the Files app looks like it's finally getting a little more versatile for file management. M1 iPads are getting display scaling to create an effectively larger-feeling display, allowing more app screen space (but with smaller text and images). There's also free-form window resizing, along with external display support. Both features have been overdue on iPadOS. Stage Manager, a MacOS feature that's coming later this year, is also on iPadOS. The result looks to be windows that can overlap and be different sizes, just like a Mac.
needs full finder for files! (Score:3)
needs full finder for files!
It is improved... (Score:1)
needs full finder for files!
I forget exactly what they did but they had a number of enhancements for the Files app.
Re:needs full finder for files! (Score:4, Insightful)
needs full finder for files!
You are correct; I've been trying to use an iPad Pro as a serious contender for a replacement PC (tall order for me) and the big "missing" things are:
1) File System - revamp what you need to and give us proper (If only restricted) access
2) "Get Over" us not being able to copy any part of the UI and paste (e.g. network settings) you can work around this with a screenshot
3) Terminal . . . . sed,awk,grep,cut,tr and for god's sake: command line mail!
So close and yet so far away (Score:2)
Apple is sure going to an awful lot of effort to make sure that you can't get the "real OS X" experience on iPad nor the "real iOS" experience on MacOS.
What a shame.
Re: (Score:3)
Apple is sure going to an awful lot of effort to make sure that you can't get the "real OS X" experience on iPad nor the "real iOS" experience on MacOS.
What a shame.
By continually bringing them closer together?
You can already get a tablet experience on a desktop, and a desktop experience on a tablet. They all kind of suck. Microsoft has been very active in this area, and it's not easy. Google has played in the desktop/mobile crossover space a bit too, I guess that's what you'd call ChromeOS. All around, it's been a lot of two steps forward one or two steps backward.
Re: (Score:2)
If Apple, Microsoft and Google stopped trying to make sold hardware into a monthly service fee we would be there already. It's not enough for them to sell you a product. They want to eat their cake and have it too.
Re: (Score:2)
Product differentiation. The iPad brings with it intrinsic security and ease of use. Macs bring flexibility, even if one desires to get a marksmanship medal at foot-shooting.
It would be nice if iPadOS apps ran better on Macs... or more developers allowed their stuff to run on M1/M2 Macs. That way, developers could focus on those apps, and it would work on a wide range of hardware. There are many apps out there which are just fine being in their own bubble/jail, and don't need to care about saving to a u
Can you run xcode on it? (Score:2)
No?
Then still nothing like a mac.
Why that specific? (Score:2)
Can you run xcode on it?
Is that the right question though?
Or is the better question, "can you develop Apps from it to put on the App Store", and the answer is yes you can [apple.com].
It makes sense to me that a development tool used on a different platform would have a different name and mode of operation.
Re: (Score:2)
Definitions (Score:2)
Mac still can't properly multitask.
I only took 20 years to get over HFS+ at the filesystem level. APFS finally has a copy on write feature. Perhaps in another 20 years the systems will multitask properly.
Re: (Score:2)
What is this definition of multitasking that Mac OS can't do?
Comparing my Macs to Windows 10, Mac OS multitasking is far better at keeping the computer responsive under load.
Windows is especially braindead when it comes to file I/O: the combination of OneDrive and antivirus programs can make the computer completely unresponsive when copying lots of files.
It's mobile so... (Score:2, Informative)
We can introduce features that all the major GUIs had 30+ years ago and say "New! Innovative!"
Except you still can't load your own programs without Apple's Blessing(TM) and going through the "app store" to do it.
About time (Score:2)
I love my iPad Air. I'm glad they're bringing this Stage Manager thing to it. But as I remarked to my partner during the keynote,
"My iPad is, like, at least two-hundred THOUSAND times more powerful than the original Mac. And I'm pretty sure that could have more than 4 windows being managed at the same time."
There's so much to work with on an iPad with an M1 inside it (I was likely under-hyperbolizing, honestly), it just feels like they're not trying very hard. Virtually every 'new' feature for the iPad was