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The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

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Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#201

Post by wlesieutre »

CarlRJ wrote: post #145
cactus2093 wrote: post #126

Good points in the article. I also find the model names weirdly confusing, how did the iPad become the smaller, less powerful variant when the Air still exists? They did this with MacBooks too, though I think the tiny one may be discontinued now. And why is the iPad peripheral system such a mess? The released the pencil 2 which is a significant usability improvement and had every indication of replacing the pencil 1,…

IIRC, the Pencil 2 requires different (and likely more expensive) support in the screen, as well as docking to the side of the iPad and charging magnetically - both of which raise the costs for the iPad. And then the lower cost models wouldn’t be so lower-cost any more. It does feel like they could have thought ahead a little better on that, though. FWIW, the Pencil 1 isn’t a -bad- stylus - it was hugely praised when…

Docking to the side and charging magnetically doesn't just require magnetic charging hardware, it requires a redesign of the iPad to not have curved sides. So far that's only the 2018 iPad Pro.

I had figured this would spread to the other iPads ASAP because of the Pencil 2, but they seem happy to drag it out for a couple of years.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#202

Post by dredmorbius »

The tablet form-factor, battery-life, screen display, and wifi connectivity make it a potentially incredible tool -- yes, between a phone and a laptop, but also able to instantly convert between protrait and landscape modes, be tossed in a bag, propped up on a lap.

With the addition of a folio-type keyboard and self-supporting tip-up mode, there's little the device cannot do from a set of basic laptop functionality. And yet it's still a fully-capable touch device.

Where failure enters is in the accessories and peripherals (especially keyboards), and of course, the OS and apps.

At which point I think I'm going to end up re-writing the rant I'd composed nearly three years ago, so I'll just link it:

https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/lqgtwy_rhsfbdh5cdxb1rq

TL;DR:

1. Standardise form factors so keyboards Just Freaking Fit.

2. Offer a true and robust shell and Linux userland, with filesystem access.

3. Provide real apps with full keyboard support.

4. Uncripple the OS.

I'm looking at PineTab and Purism's tablet offerings with interest.

2-in-1 laptop designs ... might work, though the additional hardware and fragility strike me as large liabilities.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#203

Post by geerlingguy »

davedx wrote: post #152
Maakuth wrote: post #14

> How would anyone ever figure out how to split-screen multitask on the iPad if they didn’t already know how to do it? I actually recently got my first personal iOS (okay, iPadOS) device and this is how I feel about many of the UI features. Touching some side of the screen triggers this or that surprising feature and I'm struggling to undo what I did to get back to the business. Maybe what's needed is good old RTFM,…

> struggling to undo what I did to get back to the business You'll love this one: to undo (don't think it works for everything, but it does for typing), shake your device rapidly from side to side.

There’s a gesture for it now, too... but I have no idea what it is. Something like swiping three or four fingers down or across or diagonally. Definitely not discoverable.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#204

Post by trey-jones »

Ten years ago this was a good reminder that what I want is not necessarily what the majority want. Make that "definitely not what the majority want". I thought the iPad was a stupid idea that I had no use for. I still feel mostly that way (though I think it could be handy for easy page turns in music).

Obviously I was wrong about it being a stupid idea, and I'm happy to own that. I've built several apps specific to iPad over the years, and I'm going to start another one today.

I _do_ also think that iOS has fallen behind Android in several important ways in the last 2 or 3 years. Not in every way, but things like the Keyboard on iOS drive me crazy. Can't speak for iPad OS. Today will be my first experience with that.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#205

Post by brianwawok »

qmmmur wrote: post #199
apexalpha wrote: post #143

This is excellent. My grandma (89) uses an iPad and iPhone. She can use both these devices exactly because of the simplicity mentioned in the article. 1. Open app by tapping it. 2. Close it by tapping the physical button. (rip) That's it. And that's why my grandma can use it. The first and only device she comfortably uses to this day. People in our (tech) communities tend to overestimate a users ability with technolo…

Let me recount an experience I heard second hand of a researcher developing user interfaces for research tools. Keep in mind the target audiences are people with PhD's and who have to comb through lots of data in order to do their job. They struggled with _double click_ as a concept. How fast, not moving the mouse in-between clicks etc, etc. Some people are really virginial when it comes to anything other than doing…

I know people who have been web developers for a decade, that double click hyperlinks.

If something works when you do it... you just get a habit of it.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#206

Post by nickpeterson »

qmmmur wrote: post #199
apexalpha wrote: post #143

This is excellent. My grandma (89) uses an iPad and iPhone. She can use both these devices exactly because of the simplicity mentioned in the article. 1. Open app by tapping it. 2. Close it by tapping the physical button. (rip) That's it. And that's why my grandma can use it. The first and only device she comfortably uses to this day. People in our (tech) communities tend to overestimate a users ability with technolo…

Let me recount an experience I heard second hand of a researcher developing user interfaces for research tools. Keep in mind the target audiences are people with PhD's and who have to comb through lots of data in order to do their job. They struggled with _double click_ as a concept. How fast, not moving the mouse in-between clicks etc, etc. Some people are really virginial when it comes to anything other than doing…

That's a great point. I think technical users underestimate how much of what they 'understand' is really intuition from years of struggling through computers.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#207

Post by Someone »

cactus2093 wrote: post #126

Good points in the article. I also find the model names weirdly confusing, how did the iPad become the smaller, less powerful variant when the Air still exists? They did this with MacBooks too, though I think the tiny one may be discontinued now. And why is the iPad peripheral system such a mess? The released the pencil 2 which is a significant usability improvement and had every indication of replacing the pencil 1,…

”but that was years ago and they keep releasing new pencil 1 only devices”

Apple doesn’t really release new budget devices; the case may change, but once technology has advanced enough to release an improved top-end device and parts prices for the existing product have fallen enough, they package the parts of the former top-end device in a new lower-priced device.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#208

Post by _ea1k »

trey-jones wrote: post #204

Ten years ago this was a good reminder that what I want is not necessarily what the majority want. Make that "definitely not what the majority want". I thought the iPad was a stupid idea that I had no use for. I still feel mostly that way (though I think it could be handy for easy page turns in music). Obviously I was wrong about it being a stupid idea, and I'm happy to own that. I've built several apps specific to i…

Aren't keyboards (finally) replacable on iOS, though?

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#209

Post by falcolas »

irrational wrote: post #176
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> having heard how easy Apple device are to supposed to be to use That was a rule for very good reason, and it will take some time to erode, but it’s definitely not as true today as it once was. It’s no consolation, but the first iPad - from the era of usable Apple design - was much better. Not in terms of power or weight, of course, but the OS didn’t have all these weird mystery-meat controls, gestures, broken multi…

Is multi-windowing really broken? I've found it incredibly useful for taking notes in the right window while the book/article I am reading in in the left window. It seems to just work for me.

It’s changed. With the last iOS update, the gestures changed slightly - they used to start with a slide over that could be docked, and moved to a split and/or dock based on the position on the screen.

Individual app’s capabilities also vary based on whether they are windowed or not. For example, you can’t airplay out of YouTube unless the app is full screen (even though once you’ve moved it to your Apple TV, you can switch away freely).

Discoverability is also crap. You have to dig into the manual (which you have to “buy” for free) to get the full details of the feature.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#210

Post by [deleted] »

have_faith wrote: post #179
jeromegv wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad is a 20 BILLION dollar a year business. Let's not get crazy on "mediocre" sales, this is one of the most popular product line of all companies combined. Did not get as high as some people were expecting but this is far from mediocre. Source: https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/01/fun-with-charts-a-decade-...

Of course, you can only call it mediocre when comparing to the standout product lines. On it's own it's still a successful product. People have such high expectations for every one of their lines that some merely succeeding quietly is questioned. Says a lot about their success as a business.

[deleted]
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