Apple's Preview of the New Direction for Its Tablet Lineup: iPadOS
Apple has been marketing the iPad as a budget alternative to their laptops, but it's never truly lived up to that promise. Sure, it's fast enough for browsing, light enough to carry around, and has a long battery life. But when the work gets tough, we all tend to reach for a "real" computer. Apple seems to be working on changing that, though, as evidenced by the news that iOS for the iPad is now known as iPadOS.
The change in name wasn't the only big move for the iPad. With the new iPadOS comes tighter control of the app grid, allowing users to pin widgets on the home screen like on Android devices. Slide Over, the multi-tasking feature, now lets you switch between apps like in normal app-switching mode. Split View also gets an update, allowing you to split the view with the same app, making it possible to have two instances of the same app on the screen.
But the most significant change is the move towards desktop browsing. No more mobile versions of websites. You'll automatically load the desktop version instead. This also means a download manager when downloading content from Safari and support for custom fonts.
In terms of input, users can now cut and paste content with a three-finger pinch, and Apple has improved the latency of the Apple Pencil, reducing it from 20ms to just 9ms. Apple has also added an SDK for the Pencil, allowing third-party developers to develop their own functions for the device.
Although the enrichment data isn't directly applicable to this article, it's worth noting that the new iPadOS is set to introduce several key changes compared to iOS, particularly focusing on app functionality, desktop browsing, and input features. The "Writing Tools" available across various apps, improved Siri functionality, refined handwriting in the Notes app, and new capabilities for the Apple Pencil are just a few examples of what's to come.
The shift towards iPadOS is seen as Apple's attempt to position the iPad as a more powerful alternative to laptops in the future. This tech upgrade includes features like tighter control of the app grid, improving multitasking, and moving towards desktop browsing. Surprisingly, the new iPadOS will also feature a download manager and support for custom fonts in Safari. Rutherford, a technology enthusiast, has confirmed that the iPadOS update will greatly enhance the user experience, particularly with improvements in input features and Apple Pencil functionality.
