In June at WWDC Apple announced iOS 11 – new operating system for iPhone and iPad. According to the developers, the update should bring the tablet functionality to laptops. The new OS has got an advanced dock in the style of macOS and improved multitasking Windows 8 style. These changes have made the iPad more versatile, but complicated the development of the device. According to Tom Warren from The Verge, iPad running iOS 11 will not be able to become a full-fledged laptop replacement.
Dock
Dock in iOS 11 holds more apps and is used to control and task switching. Panel you can easily call from anywhere in the OS, regardless of the task being performed.
Users who are accustomed to iOS 10, can encounter difficulties when running multiple applications. The fact that the new OS algorithm changed — now you need to click on the application icon on the panel and, while holding, move it to the screen in a Split View. Thus you can open two apps next to each other in split-screen mode. You can read the book and take notes or look up a location in Maps, browsing web sites with Safari.
Similarly, you can use the Slide Over, placing the application window on top of the open program. It allows you to interact with the second program, not turning from the screen first. The window of the second program extends from the edge to be able, for example, to quickly check text messages or answer email.
You can only open three applications at the same time: two in split screen and floating window.
Multitasking
If a floating window open on top of the other two applications, interact with them quite difficult. In the upper part there is a special control for movement. Missing, the user opens the notification Center, which now more resembles the lock screen. To close one of the applications, it is necessary to draw the left border and slide to the right side of the screen. To open have to pull the right edge to the left. Pretty confusing process.
To start a floating window, you must drag the app to the boundary between already running programs. Otherwise, it will simply replace one of them. All this is reminiscent of the implementation of the split screen in Windows 8.
Of course, you can not use these functions, as, for example, some users do not use the shortcuts in macOS and Windows. But if Apple wants to convince users that the iPad Pro is a full laptop replacement, the company will definitely need to modify multitasking.
The split screen in Windows 8
Touchscreen vs keyboard and mouse
Apple believes that users will use the touch display simultaneously with the keyboard and the Apple Pencil. On this keyboard, no trackpad, so that the control interface have to touch the screen. There are special shortcuts that can make things easier, but the lack of a mouse will seem very unfamiliar to users accustomed to the laptop.
We can assume that eventually Apple will add to the keyboard and pen mouse. However, this seems unlikely because the software platform is iOS focused on the touch screen.
“A complex set of gestures in iOS 11 will only become more difficult, as Apple will introduce new features, abandoning the mouse support. If the company is indeed considering the iPad Pro as a replacement to a laptop, she needs to rethink the keyboard and software implementation of gestures. Apple need to prove that the touch screen can really replace a bunch of keyboard and mouse to work with a professional. Why users must learn a complex set of gestures and swipes on the iPad instead of having to make a couple of clicks?” – asks the journalist.
