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As I am trying to put my iPad Pro 12.9 to more productive use, the single most limiting thing is, that the files application does not have access to all apps do
by _ph_ 9y ago
As I am trying to put my iPad Pro 12.9 to more productive use, the single most limiting thing is, that the files application does not have access to all apps document storage. E.g. I cannot move a movie file from iCloud to the TV app or vice versa. Nor can I easily move other files from app to app. Nor can I copy files from and to external media connected via USB. Images are special cased as apps can access the photo library and you can drag and drop them, but real file access via the files app would be more flexible. Fixing this should be possible without a conceptual change of the app concept and would enhance the productive use immensely.
As a developer of course there is the other big limitiation: the constraints of developing software on the iPad. For me, this is the main distinction between a device and a computer: the ability to program it. Due to the app store and its rules, iOS is a very secure and stable environment. This makes the iOS platform very attractive, and I think it was the right approach to start with a restricted environment and remove some restrictions over time. So I do think it makes sense to limit distribution of apps to the app store, but the restriction on what apps can do on the device should be reviewed, even if that blurs the lines to the app store. An environment like termux, which still could be completely sandboxed, would increase the usability of the iPad a lot. Or even, going completely crazy, a whole Linux VM in an app sandbox. On the other side, having a full blown IDE for creating and locally running iOS applications would be a huge step forward.
The hardware itself leaves little wishes - except perhaps for a small overwork of the smart keyboard to have that additional row of function keys (less urgent) and of course the escape key. And little improvements of the ergonomics of the cursor and the return key. While the non-programmers users probably can live with the current layout, I am really surprised that Apple is ignoring the needs of any programmers so thoroughly.
- simonh 9y ago>On the other side, having a full blown IDE for creating and locally running iOS applications would be a huge step forward. Are you aware of iOS Dev environments such as Pythonista? It’s even possible to take a Pythonista app, copy it into an XCode template and release it on the App Store, though of course that has to go via a Mac.