iPad software and hardware are now a mess – they need to go back to basics
We are days away from iPadOS 16.1 Debut for iPad, side by side New iPads It’s been announced, but it still looks as if the entire product line is in a bit of a meltdown.
Without looking like a character in a TV series, a broken watch is appropriate twice a day, and it’s as if the iPad streak is now faltering, confused as to what it is, who it is, and what it wants to be.
I have already explained how the stage manager Should be delayed until iPadOS 17 At least, that hasn’t changed. But with the introduction of the redesigned entry-level iPad, the iPad is even more powerful M2 iPad Proand new but confusing accessories and adapters for some iPads, I’m now wondering – what’s the point of the product line, and who it really is in 2022?
Back to the beginning
I’ve always liked the idea IPAD. It’s a blank canvas where you can create or consume just about anything you want. Back in the day, you could choose between an iPad and ipad mini – No more, no less.
I’ve used a lot over the years, like helping me through a year in university for example, but there was always a cliff edge where I could reach the limit of what the program could do.
Small improvements such as support for external storage in the . format have been granted iPadOS 13 Or even widgets format iPadOS 15 Help push the edge of the cliff away, but theater manager And the confusing hardware assortment makes me imagine I’d be hanging on the edge of a cliff by now if I were just an iPad, similar to Clocktower’s dangling Doc Brown in Back to the Future.
Resize the Apple Camera app in Stage Manager. When you make it smaller, the camera view is inverted. iPadOS 16.1 RC. pic.twitter.com/bcRZq1sA5NOctober 20 2022
In fact, there are also iPad enthusiasts who have had enough, like the tweet above showing their frustration with Stage Manager once again, to the limit they’ve now reached. Recommend a Surface tablet (Opens in a new tab).
However, imagine that you are waiting for Amazon Black Friday event For the iPad, where do you start choosing from within the product line?
You have one iPad with a camera designed for landscape orientation which also has great color. The iPad mini now has a much higher price tag but is a year old, hardly taking advantage of iPadOS 16. Finally, you get access to the iPad Pro line, and you have the power of the M2 chip with hardware designed specifically for photographers, but its highest is the 2TB model for $2,399 / £2,199 / AU$2,499.
And that’s not to mention the differences in the accessories, the latest iPad keyboard case is much better than what the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro offers. You can now fold it up like a smart case, and there finally Line up function keys so you can quickly access volume and keyboard lighting controls, but that’s nowhere to be found for the iPad Pro.
So you now have an accessory for a lower-priced iPad model that is much better than the one that can only be used for iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
If this all sounds confusing, it is because it is.
Let’s start again
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, legend has it that he went straight to the whiteboard and drew a square, plotting four categories to help simplify the entire Apple product line, as it was so ubiquitous in the mid-1990s.
The iPad can fit each of those squares, and then some, to the point where the shape turns into an octagon.
Let’s start over – imagine going to the “iPad” in the Apple Store, and instead of being brought to a bunch of different models, you are given a three-question test.
- What do you want to use your iPad for?
- Do you prefer touch or keys?
- What is your preferred display size?
This goes back to The Three Clicks Rule Developed by Steve Jobs When he set a task for the iPod development team. Anyone interested in buying an iPad will know exactly what they’re getting, and the best thing is that every size from 7.9 inches to 12.9 will have the same specifications as the boxed hardware.
This way, everyone wins. An iPad should appeal to everyone, so bringing the benefits of what ProMotion Display offers to ipad mini For example, it should be standard. The only difference a user needs to look at is how much storage they think they’ll need and whether they need a cellular option.
This will also be true for peripherals—the keyboard for both the regular-size iPad and iPad Pro can feature foldable options and a functional description, and it’s just one accessory that can fit most sizes of iPad if you decide to upgrade in the next 18 months.
When it comes to software, it’s a different ball game. Some want a version of macOS, while others want more improvements to iPadOS.
I say, let’s combine the two. Even with iPadOS supposed to be separate from the iPhone software, it still look Like iOS, which is why some users were puzzled by the arrival of Lock Screen tools iOS 16but not in iPadOS 16.1.
This message is still confusing to some users, and Stage Manager has the potential to confuse users even more. Instead, I suggest that iPadOS has been redesigned, starting with version 1, and some features are available to use once the tablet is connected to the keyboard.
The tablet was arguably working at its best when it first came out, and for me, its downward spiral started iOS 7When it was clear that Apple was in such a hurry to finish iOS 7 on the iPhone, the iPad variant resulted in an incomplete release when it debuted in 2013.
The iPad can work, it just needs to focus
Again, I love the iPad – always. But we are at a point where it is so confusing That choosing a model is a challenge now, along with peripherals Only work with certain models.
Let’s see a reset, something that lets you know it is completely separate from the iPhone, in both hardware and software.
Only then, for me anyway, is the iPad able to fly and be its own thing, rather than living in the shadow of Apple’s other successful products.
#iPad #software #hardware #mess #basics
