May 15, 2024 07:00:00

'iPadOS has many issues that Apple needs to solve,' says heavy iPad users, who want to see improvements

The iPad, a tablet developed by Apple, was

first released in 2010 and is widely used for a variety of purposes, including work and entertainment. However, Federico Vitich, a gadget writer who is a heavy iPad user, lists the problems that remain unresolved, saying that 'iPadOS still has many problems that Apple needs to improve.'

Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn't Get the Basics Right - MacStories
https://www.macstories.net/stories/not-an-ipad-pro-review/

Vitic has been a heavy iPad user for over 10 years and has written many articles about the iPad, but he has never written a comprehensive article about the problems with the iPad and iPadOS. In this article, Vitic lists the problems with iPadOS as follows:

◆1: Lack of apps
The simplest of the various problems with iPadOS is that there are many apps that can be used on macOS and iOS but cannot be used on iPadOS. Some apps that can be used on other Apple devices, such asCalculator , TextEdit , Preview , and Journal , cannot be used on the iPad. The iPad is an expensive device that costs over 200,000 yen for the high-end model, and considering that it has been 14 years since its release, it is natural to want this gap to be filled.

◆2: Some apps have lower performance than their Mac versions
Even if an app is available for the iPad, it may be inferior in terms of functionality to the macOS version. For example, the iPad's mail app cannot create smart mailboxes like the Mac, and the Music app does not support smart playlists . In addition, Mr. Vitic expressed dissatisfaction with the iPad's shortcut and dictionary functions, saying that they are insufficient.

◆3: The 'Files' app is unreliable and slow
Vitic, who has looked at various apps so far, points out that the 'Files' app in particular needs a fundamental rethinking in terms of design and performance. According to Vitic, the iPad's File app is less reliable than the macOS file manager

Finder , and when you try to copy or move a file, the operation often stops or is canceled. Copying, cutting, and moving files are basic operations for a file manager, and Vitic says it is unforgivable that the iPad's File app cannot even do this.

Other issues cited by Vitić include 'the transfer speed is not displayed when moving or copying data, making it difficult to tell at a glance whether the transfer is working,' 'quick actions cannot be customized like in macOS,' 'smart folders cannot be created,' and 'default apps cannot be set for opening specific file types.' The last point in particular is a serious problem, and Vitić argued that if Apple sells an iPad with sufficient storage, it should provide a file app that can perfectly manage storage.

4. The audio system has limitations
The audio system of iPadOS has limitations such as 'cannot play multiple audio streams at the same time' and 'cannot record local audio during a web call.' On a Mac, you can play YouTube or Twitch videos on mute while listening to podcasts or music on the same Mac, but on an iPad, playing one will stop the other. In addition, the latter is said to be a major obstacle when recording and distributing podcasts in the form of multi-person conversations.

◆5: Multitasking functionality is fragmented and confusing
Although Apple has offered multitasking functionality on the iPad for many years, it releases a new multitasking UI every two to three years and starts a new cycle without improving it. At the time of writing, the latest Stage Manager still has various problems, such as 'only four windows can be used at a time,' 'cannot register frequently used window combinations as presets,' 'there is a bug that accepts keyboard input while the wrong window is active,' 'cannot create a new window for the frontmost app,' and 'there is no way to quickly preview all windows in the workspace.'

Some iPad users may think that since the iPad is developed by Apple, the world's most advanced hardware developer, it is difficult to achieve a multitasking experience better than that of the iPad in the form of a tablet or smartphone with current technology. However, according to Vitić, the folding smartphone ' OnePlus Open ' released by Chinese manufacturer OnePlus is equipped with a multitasking UI called 'Open Canvas' that is more sophisticated than the iPad. You can see what kind of multitasking operations are possible with the OnePlus Open in the video below.

Multitasking tips with the OnePlus Open | Unlock Performance - YouTube


Vitic argued that Apple could design innovative, high-performance tablet-first multitasking features if it wanted to, and that Apple should implement the changes to multitasking in iPadOS from the top down.

◆6: Spotlight's app search function is hard to use
A high-performance device needs a fast and reliable app launcher, but iPadOS' Spotlight suffers from slow and inconsistent performance. Vitic complains that Spotlight's app search function often doesn't show apps that he's sure he's installed, the search box doesn't appear properly, and he can't type.

◆7: Tasks cannot be progressed in the background
The latest iPad Pro is equipped with Apple's M4 chip and 16GB of RAM, but if you switch screens while exporting a video in a video editing app, the export is still canceled. Even though the specifications are inferior, the Mac can run tasks such as exporting files in the background, but the high-performance iPad does not support this function, said Vitich.

8. Poor support for backup tools
iPadOS does not support built-in backup tools like Mac's Time Machine , nor does it support third-party backup tools. For photographers, illustrators, YouTubers and other creators who are heavy iPad users, not being able to use convenient automatic backup tools is a fatal weakness.

◆9: The lock must be released even when an external display is connected
Users can connect their iPad to an external display to work on a larger screen, but they must keep the iPad unlocked and open while working on the external display. Although there are workarounds , they are not optimal, and Apple should officially support screen off when connecting an external display in iPadOS, Vitich argued.

Although Vitic has been listing the problems with iPadOS at length, he is also a heavy iPad user who has been using the iPad for more than 10 years since he first touched the iPad on his hospital bed. Vitic highly praises the iPad as 'the best computer Apple has ever made,' and because he wants it to get better, he urges Apple to face the real problems head-on and make improvements.

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• Discord | 'Tell me what annoys you about using an iPad!' | GIGAZINE
https://discord.com/channels/1037961069903216680/1240234725944328243