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iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

techcrunch.com

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Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#111

Post by nsxwolf »

notadoc wrote: post #44
wildmusings wrote: post #6

It seems like so much core functionality is hidden behind gestures and 3D-touch. What a change for the company that shunned even the right click for many years because it hid functionality.

Even the smartest and most technically capable people I know are confused by 3D Touch, almost all of whom eventually turned it off. What is it for? Why is it better than an alternative or a long press? How does it make anything better or more intuitive? How is it predictable in any way? iOS has been consistently confusing and less intuitive ever since iOS 7, and iOS 10 and iOS 11 are only more so particularly the loc…

I hate things that have a different function for long press vs. 3D touch. It wasn't until 3D touch came out that I noticed I had always been applying pressure during a long press, and that led to a lot of confusion. Still does.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#112

Post by madeofpalk »

notadoc wrote: post #58
bennyg wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3D touch on the keyboard to move the cursor around makes up for every grievance I ever had about it to begin with.

I like that too, but how many users know about that? 0.5%? Is it obvious and intuitive?

Might not be entirely obvious and intuitive, but it's not required as well. I mean, iOS did without it for 10 years.

People complain about iOS not being for 'power users', but when they add features in like a secondary click or more fine-grained control, people complain about it not being obvious. How obvious is right clicking on a computer to bring up special features?

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#113

Post by twiceaday »

grogenaut wrote: post #107

lol the discussion at the bottom of the article is about why macos isn't on ipad, reminds me of when people said it was impossible to put macos on x86. My $.02 is that macos has a lot of bloated garbage hanging around and iOS is likely more slim for the task. However I'm sure it's got it's own garbage after 10 years.

a much better question (that has the same answer) is why dont macbooks have touch screens. its definitely not because of hardware limitations.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#114

Post by FreezerburnV »

0xCMP wrote: post #45

I think I'm going to sell my existing 9.7" to get the new 10.5" to get a bit more space to work with on this new version of iOS. I can't wait until I can really use iOS the way I use my mac. Which at this point really is based on either mobileOrg getting better or some app coming out where I can easily manage a rich personal knowledge base/wiki on the iPad.

Have you found/tried Trunk Notes before? It's literally a wiki, with light scripting capability. There's also Editorial, which includes Python for scripting, though I'm not sure how well it will work as a wiki/knowledge base.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#115

Post by rhinoceraptor »

notadoc wrote: post #76
rhinoceraptor wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many computer users can operate a command line interface? It's not obvious or intuitive but obviously very powerful.

You really think the command line is of comparable complexity to simple text selection?

No, but but these are non-discoverable features, generally only used by enthusiastic users who have a deeper knowledge of the system they are using.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#116

Post by seanwilson »

quink wrote: post #10
wildmusings wrote: post #6

It seems like so much core functionality is hidden behind gestures and 3D-touch. What a change for the company that shunned even the right click for many years because it hid functionality.

You mean the company that has you dragging disks into the trash for about three decades now?

I've always found installing apps on desktop completely unintuitive as well. You double-click a downloaded package, see a window containing the app icon (...why?), drag and drop the icon into your app folder usually with no feedback after then you have to manually launch the app e.g. using cmd+space. Why not just have a "do you want to install this app?" dialog when you click on the app file the app launches after?

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#117

Post by ggpsv »

tambourine_man wrote: post #106
ggpsv wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I see very little appeal in working with iOS as a professional software developer. Both from a form-factor to OS perspective, I'd feel very limited and would not be as productive as I can be with a Mac or PC.

Yes, but I imagine using a physical keyboard while coding on iOS. I think I'll always prefer a mouse for a lot of things, but who knows.

Even so my concern is more about how one could possibly set up in iOS the local environment needed for developing (terminals, local packages, browser extensions, tools, finder, etc).

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#118

Post by notadoc »

madeofpalk wrote: post #112
notadoc wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that too, but how many users know about that? 0.5%? Is it obvious and intuitive?

Might not be entirely obvious and intuitive, but it's not required as well. I mean, iOS did without it for 10 years. People complain about iOS not being for 'power users', but when they add features in like a secondary click or more fine-grained control, people complain about it not being obvious. How obvious is right clicking on a computer to bring up special features?

> How obvious is right clicking on a computer to bring up special features?

Well considering that most mice have 2 or 3 obvious physical buttons I would say the right-click on a mouse is pretty obvious. It has also be deeply ingrained in every Windows user since Windows 3.11 (maybe earlier?)

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#119

Post by cakedoggie »

hendersoon wrote: post #18
simonh wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only really important question is whether it does anything better than other tablet operating systems. For the iPad, that's what really matters - becoming the best tablet OS it can be. Anything else would be a distraction.

Microsoft would disagree, and they have been astonishingly successful with the Surface Pro line. The iOS11 desktop features are a vindication of Microsoft's original Windows 8 vision. Microsoft didn't /execute/ on that vision particularly well in either Win8 or Win10, but the convergence between handheld and desktop does offer some tangible advantages. It isn't all marketing BS.

> Microsoft would disagree, and they have been astonishingly successful with the Surface Pro line.

No they haven't at all. Microsoft have never outsold the iPad. Last year they had a 26% drop. There sales topped out at a billion.

They have been incredibly unsuccessful by every measurement possible, apart from creating a great device.

Re: iOS 11 turns the iPad into a different machine

#120

Post by notadoc »

rhinoceraptor wrote: post #115
notadoc wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really think the command line is of comparable complexity to simple text selection?

No, but but these are non-discoverable features, generally only used by enthusiastic users who have a deeper knowledge of the system they are using.

I would say that wanting to select text efficiently and effectively is not limited to enthusiasts. I get what you're saying, I just don't think it applies to a lot of the enigmatic UI/UX of post-Jobs (post-Forstall?) iOS.
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