One recent thing that i hate about latest iPadOS is the automatic readable mode for websites.. you cant just put readable mode on all sites :|
The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
241–250 of 617 posts
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
> iPads have complete market dominance in the world of the kiddies. Hence it can almost be fitting to categorize them as toys.
I use them for real work. Taking notes (the split windows view is awesome for this - notes app in one window and the book in the other), reading, creating illustrations and other artwork, etc. I don't think they are a toy at all. I have a desktop computer and a couple of high end laptops, but I still reach for the ipad most often.
I have a very different take. I am much faster with a keyboard and keyboard shortcuts, and I hate glossy screens. Every time I use an Ipad this brings my productivity down compared to having an actual laptop. Honestly I cannot say I have seen people do real work on an Ipad. Just browsing and very short messages.
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
My favorite pet peeve is trying to edit URLs in the address bar in Safari. Just trying to get the cursor to the end of the address field a an error prone chore. Often the text is select and there’s no way to unselect it. Then of course it doesn’t help when you want to remove some components of the URL that Safari helpfully autocompletes back to the URL you jus visited.
Force touching on the keyboard gives your finger control over the cursor more like a touch pad on a computer. It works really well on the iPhone, not sure if it's available on iPad. But yet again, one of those feature you just have to know about to use.
Use three fingers on keyboard for same effect on devices without force touch.
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#244This is a very good take on the subject. I love the iPad, I use it all the time. It's an unbelievably good piece of hardware with a number of really good software applications. It is a surprisingly good thinking and note-taking tool, it's the best tool (period) for reading datasheets (or any large PDF documents), it is a great music workstation if you connect a MIDI keyboard and/or an external USB audio interface. Bu…
> The worst thing is that the forced over-simplification of the UI features did not make it easier to use for beginners. I can see many people (including myself) struggling. So we have been forced into a "compromise" with all the downside, but none of the upside.
I wholly disagree, at least at the beginning. When the original iPad was released, I remember seeing multiple viral videos of two-year-olds being given iPads and instantly figuring out how to use them. At the time, this was surprising.
I think we've forgotten just how simple iOS was in the Steve Jobs era. You had a grid of objects, and when you tapped an opbject, your device became that object until you transformed it back with the home button. There was no control center, no notification center, and no app switcher—even when Apple added "multitasking" in iOS 4, it took the form of a little bar, not a new view.
I'm not ready to say Apple should get rid of Notification Center, because it's pretty darn useful. But I would like a single kill switch in Settings which turns all these features off. Then I could enable it for my grandmother.
The iPad, for its part, should be simpler than the iPhone, because simplicity is the iPad's reason for existence. Laptops exist because they are (and continue to be) the most efficient way to get things done. The iPhone exists because it's a relatively capable device that fits in your pocket.
And the iPad exists so you can browse the web and watch Netflix in a focused and leisurely way. iPads also make these tasks accessible for people who are not familiar with computing and will be more comfortable a simpler environment.
By attempting to make the iPad as capable as a laptop, Apple is taking away the iPad's very real original use-case in service of a use-cases for which the iPad is inherently ill-suited. And for what? To compete with a class of product which Apple already makes?
2010 iPads were great at what they did, and 2010 Macs were great at what they did. I legitimately don't understand why 2020 Apple is now on a mission to conflate these two product lines. Even if Apple succeeds at making the iPad as capable as a Mac, what will all their work have accomplished?
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#245I bought my first and only tablet, an iPad, two years back. I havent't much used it since then. I bet it would be great for reading and watching videos, but the moment I want to type something, I just become needlessly irritated and switch back to my MacBook Pro.
It's not just typing on a touch screen; that's awful, but then I bought a keyboard. But using the Dvorak layout, Scandinavian letters and Japanese input in my daily life makes iPad just not cut it. It's not a flexible device like a PC is. I still haven't been able to type the way I'd want to.
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
My favorite pet peeve is trying to edit URLs in the address bar in Safari. Just trying to get the cursor to the end of the address field a an error prone chore. Often the text is select and there’s no way to unselect it. Then of course it doesn’t help when you want to remove some components of the URL that Safari helpfully autocompletes back to the URL you jus visited.
This is one of the reasons I don't understand why there are so many iPhone/iOS fanboys... are they actually never experiencing these kind of frustrating bits of iOS or are they just ignoring them? Because I experience them all the time. Only reason I haven't switched back to Android (yet) is that I love the form factor of the iPhone SE.
I felt this rather acutely at work where I was strongarmed into giving up my Linux desktop for a MacBook. When I ask how a Mac-loving coworker solved a OS problem, I'm met with blank stares as if they've never recognized it as a drawback, let alone wished for a solution. Multi-monitor support is a particular pain point for me; there just seems to be so much missing and I can't understand why.
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#247> The iPad at 10 is, to me, a grave disappointment.
The biggest disappointment to me is that I can't buy a Macbook that converts into a tablet. I've never owned a tablet, and my wife never replaced her 1st generation iPad, because there's just too much overlap between tablet and phone; and between tablet and laptop.
And, as far as multitasking goes: When I do serious work that requires that kind of multitasking, I need a keyboard and mouse. Furthermore, I'll probably be sitting in a chair, at a desk, with a giant monitor... Multitasking is just an absurd use case for a "tablet." Instead, it shows that "tablet" and "laptop" just need to converge to be the same ^%#$ device.
Windows tablets might suck, but at least you don't have to own two devices!
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
So you think you know better than Microsoft and Adobe? Have you thought that they may know their customer base better than you do?
Microsoft or Adobe can afford to make a billion dollar mistake.
Why would Microsoft keep developing a product for 7 years if there were no interest?
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#249This 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…
I'm kinda jealous of your experience.
My dad (early 80s) struggles with tech in general, including the iPad and iPhone. Many in his peer group use touchscreen devices with fewer issues.
This is what I noticed from trying to teach him how to use the interfaces:
1 - He refuses to mentally process what the icons represent and ignores the text label below them. I thought switching them to Chinese would help, but he'd struggle with some of the terms, as they were unfamiliar to him. For a person his age and background, "address book" is more meaningful than "contacts".
2 - He wants to memorize locations and steps as opposed to using intuition via #1. This sometimes helped, but there would be occasional pitfalls, i.e., an unintentional gesture pulls him out of what he's doing and then he just doesn't doesn't know how to get back.
I tried switching him to an old school feature phone (one of the newer Nokia remakes), but even that's a struggle, as there's simply too much UI, and I notice rocker buttons confuse the hell out of him. Many of these devices are marketed to seniors (and pretty much have the same interface and functions) but I don't think they were really tested with seniors.
My dad doesn't have or use the Internet, and he's starting to get left behind as large companies are trying to move away from snail mail for things like bills, etc.
Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10
#250Good 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…
I bought an Air 3 with Pencil 1 and yeah it was okay. Went back the very next day to upgrade to a Pro with Pencil 2.
It really is that much better of an experience. Just the ergonomics of magnetic storage and charging make a world of difference. And the pencil feels natural in your hand instead of like a stylus.
Sure they’re still not on the level of a circa 2010 Wacom Intuos – damn I loved that thing – but there’s no comparison. Pay the extra $300 to get a Pro with Pencil 2 if you can.
Now I’n thinking of getting a keyboard as well because the unimaginable is happening - my 2017 MBP feels cumbersome compared to the iPad. Only for Very Serious Work.