Every time a new iPad Pro is released, the reviews repeat the same narrative: powerful hardware, hamstrung software. The M4 reviews have been no exception.
This gap isn’t because of a lack of effort on Apple’s part. The company has continually developed and pushed iPadOS forward in the nine years since the iPad Pro debuted. But the general consensus among reviewers is that there’s still a lot of work to do.
But what, exactly, would that work look like? How might the iPad’s software finally make good on the potential of its hardware?
Federico Viticci at MacStories has attempted to answer exactly those questions.
What needs fixing in iPadOS
Viticci has been at the forefront of iPad-first computing for a very long time. He loves the iPad. But he also recognizes the platform’s shortcomings, especially in the software department.
So in anticipation of another wave of iPad Pro reviews repeating the same old story, he prepared a story outlining what exactly it means to him that the iPad’s hardware is let down by iPadOS.
Top comment by Exotica
I love iPad but I agree on the need for Apple to augment/revamp iPadOS. I will add:
1)iPadOS needs a files/finder app with the ability to unmount media and format media. Apple gives us a thunderbolt port for connecting various peripherals incl. fast pcie nvme storage. But if the nvme device you connect is completely empty with no partitions or file systems, you can’t use it with iPad. You need to connect to a ‘computer’ first and format the drive. So why doesn’t iPadOS have this basic feature that has been included in operating systems for decades?
2), there is no unmount media option to safely end all disk i/o and unmount a drive. Without this option, you run the risk of disconnecting a drive while a write operation was still ongoing, increasing the risk of data loss. Again, ‘unmount media’ has been a standard feature of operating systems for decades yet iPadOS doesn’t have it. Why?
3) Apple doesn’t need to bring macOS to iPad per se. but the free form window management and traffic lights (🚥) should come to iPadOS. The way to open/close or minimize/maximize apps in iPadOS is much more clunky than macOS. Why? The traffic lights are a great intuitive window management feature on macOS. So Apple should bring it to iPad as well.
4) multiple simultaneous audio sources like on macOS should come as well. There’s no reason why a m2 (or soon m4) should be limited to one audio source at a time.
I could add much more. but I think the above 4 items are self explanatory.
I highly recommend checking out the full story, but here’s an overview of the table of contents to get a glimpse of what all he takes issue with in iPadOS:
- Missing Apps
- Not-So-Desktop-Class Apps
- Files: A Slow, Unreliable File Manager
- Audio Limitations
- Multitasking: A Fractured Mess
- Spotlight
- Lack of Background Processes and System-Wide Utilities
- Inefficiency by a Thousand Cuts
I agree wholeheartedly with all the pain points Viticci highlights. They’ll impact different people to varying degrees depending on your computing needs, but they all reflect the reality that many basic functions of macOS are just not possible on the iPad—not even with an M4 chip.
Building software that lives up to the iPad’s potential
Viticci’s conclusion sums it up well:
With new iPad Pros nearly upon us, it’s time to admit that iPadOS is not an operating system of the same caliber as Apple’s new hardware. iPadOS has been the victim of erratic updates over the years, with features that were meant to “reimagine” desktop computing only to get not even halfway there and be left to languish for years. Once again, I am not suggesting that the solution is to put macOS on iPad and call it a day. I’m saying that if that’s not in the cards, then Apple should consider all the ways iPadOS is still failing at basic computing tasks. I’d be okay with iPads running iPadOS forever. But if we passively accept that this is as good as an iPad can get, I strongly believe that we’ll play a role in letting Apple squander the greatest computer form factor they’ve ever created.
What are your thoughts? What are the biggest software limitations you experience when using an iPad? Let us know in the comments.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments