Contrary to what you might think after reading that headline, I am not a hater. Not at all. I have actually been a fan of John Gruber’s writing and podcasting for several years and I typically agree with his point of view regarding Apple and the tech world, in general. However, I can’t say that’s the case when it comes to the iPad.
I will be the first to admit that I don’t have a great track record with predictions. That’s probably because I tend to swing for the fence a lot. No guts, no glory, right? Well, that philosophy leads to a fair amount of strikeouts. However, it will also net you some home runs, as well.
I can’t help but feel like I got one thanks to yesterday’s report from The Information that Apple will be adding a trackpad to the Smart Keyboard. Before getting into the details of that, let’s check the tape for a moment.
In what sometimes seems like another life, I was a music student and then a professional musician (for a little while) and a teacher (for longer). I was a percussionist all through middle and high school and absolutely loved it. I won some awards over the years and made several honor bands, including All State my senior year. I got scholarship offers to several schools and ended up attending Louisiana State University for four years to study music. I got a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance and then got my Masters’ Degree from Florida State after that.
The iPad Pro has some limitations when you compare it to a traditional laptop with a touchscreen and pen compatibility. I think any fan of the device who’s honest with themselves understands that. There are fewer of them than there used to be thanks to Apple’s efforts to beef up the iPad on the software side over the last three years. The release of iPadOS this summer was a another big step in this process, freeing the iPad from the hardware and software schedule of the iPhone.
If I had to pick one thing I don’t enjoy about life with an iPad, it would be using the on-screen keyboard in landscape. I much prefer to use my iPad Pro in landscape most of the time, going back to when I first started using the device a few months after it was first released. That is just a personal thing, but I know many others feel the same way. This is just one reason why I prefer to use Bluetooth keyboards with my iPad Pro.
I periodically go back and check on Apple’s iCloud.com Beta for one reason. I’ve been waiting to get access to News Publisher on my iPad for two years now. The only place you can get access to Apple’s online Content Management System for manually positing to Apple News is right here at iCloud.com, and unfortunately, it has been inaccessible on the iPad up until now. If you look at the screenshot above, this may be about to change.
One of Apple’s subtle, yet extremely useful additions in iPadOS 13 and iOS 13 is their new text selection and editing features. If, like me, you work with text often on an iPad or iPhone, then you will like appreciate how these new capabilities and gestures will speed up your workflow. Let’s get to the details.
While I love several of the new features in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, the ability to use external storage is one I keep coming back to. It opens up lots of new and interesting possibilities that will make certain tasks easier and may even change the amount of internal storage in the iPads that we buy. As such, I’ve been pushing the limits to see what works and what doesn’t.
Photo Source: 9to5Mac
A few days ago, 9to5Mac ran a piece covering a rumor that Apple may be working on an iPad with a folding screen and 5G. The rumor originated with IHS Markit analyst Jeff Lin, via Economic Daily News. It certainly sounds enticing. While Samsung and Huawei struggle to get a first-gen phone out the door, Apple zags and focuses on bringing foldable tech to a bigger device with fewer risks and pitfalls.
A little gift from Apple before the long weekend (here in the US, at least), as their latest Developer Betas for all of their OSs just arrived. These include iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, tvOS 13 and macOS Catalina. That should give all of us Apple fans (and, you know, actual developers) something to do while we’re munching on BBQ and watermelon and taking in or shooting off some fireworks this 4th of July weekend.
Before I get into this, I want anyone reading to bear in mind that I am talking about beta software in this article and ones to follow. This is not meant to be a review, but more of a changelog for anyone following along. I am definitely not throwing stones at Apple here, as development of iPadOS and iOS are ongoing, but simply relaying my experience with the beta so far.