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Apple in 2009: Web browsing on a desktop is cumbersome and painful Apple in 2019: We've brought the desktop browsing experience to the iPad I mean I get it, th

Apple in 2009: Web browsing on a desktop is cumbersome and painful Apple in 2019: We've brought the desktop browsing experience to the iPad I mean I get it, they're maturing the platform. But window snapping and home screen widgets seem very "Windows Vista". That combined with the new swipe keyboard and finally adding storage support... it really just seems like playing catch up for things that have existed for over a decade now. I would personally never use a device for professional work unless I had full control over the software on that device. Being locked in by the app store is still a non-starter for me.

zapzupnz 7y ago
> it really just seems like playing catch up At the surface level, it does. However, at the implementation level, I think Apple is slowly reimagining all of these things for a new paradigm — and the new paradigm has needed time to evolve slowly, for Apple to see what directions its users and developers wanted to go in, and to take the time to decide how to do things. For example: the sidebar on Vista was next to useless because (A) its widgets didn't tap into any data people wanted, (B) the widgets weren't the right size to show any useful information, and (C) didn't fare any better on Windows 7 because they were buried under windows. iOS widgets, on the other hand, directly tap into applications, can come in variable sizes, have a somewhat uniform presentation style, and one visits the Home screen many more times than one clicks the Show Desktop button on Windows. Windows Vista gadgets and OS X Dashboard widgets seemed to be little toys, the styling to look like a little desktop accessory being more important than their actual utility. The way that iPadOS integrates Today Widgets with the home screen is more like putting useful information directly at users' disposal. Pair this with widgets like Shortcuts, Launch Center Pro, or Pythonista, and you also have a means for quickly starting workflows. iPad's multiple windows isn't really window snapping in the same sense as on Windows. That's just an implementation detail. The actual concept, at least as of iPadOS (as opposed to iOS 11 and 12), is more like macOS' Spaces or Mission Control. All in all, to appreciate something, you have to appreciate all the little details. To me, Today Widgets on the Home screen have the potential to offer productivity improvements similar to Alfred. I'm sure there'll be apps with widgets specifically crafted to take advantage of this.
- pathartl 7y ago
  I completely get what you're saying. Thinking about it more now, I was pretty off. Yeah, those were the reasons that Windows widgets failed and Dashboard Widgets on OS X were always hidden which made them pretty unusable. But, on Android I've got a ton of options for widgets and I still don't use them. I think the only useful one I've really found is weather. Maybe that's because I don't use my calendar. Just going through the list of the ones I have available, I don't see any that really bring any value to what I'm doing. What's replaced what I've used widgets for in the past is more context-aware tasks. I've got tasks in tasker for doing things like when I plug into the headphone jack, either my podcasts app or music app pops up (depending on which was accessed last). Obviously I'm more of a power user, but I really think iOS/iPad OS could benefit from a workflow subsystem. Things like activities in Android and the AppleScript system in macOS are insanely powerful for professional users. Unfortunately, it seems like most Apple apps in macOS seem to be doing away with AppleScript API's.
  - kristofferR 7y ago
    You haven't heard of Shortcuts I guess? Read this and the following pages: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-12-the-macstories-review/9/#content https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-12-the-macstories-rev... With iOS 13 it gets added as a default app and the shortcuts can be run automatically by triggers, so it's like a more user friendly and natively integrated version of Tasker. It seems like the triggers in iOS 13b1 are Time of Day - Alarm (Stopped or started) - Apple Watch workout - Arrive/Leave Location - Connect to CarPlay - Airplane Mode - WiFi - BlueTooth - Do Not Disturb - Low Power Mode - NFC Tag - Open App (ex. “When I Open Reddit”)
  - zapzupnz 7y ago
    iOS/iPadOS does have a workflow subsystem, which is how the now built-in Shortcuts and Siri Shortcuts work. What Apple needs is to offer more triggers for intents to be used like, as you say, a device being connected.
- Nullabillity 7y ago
  > iOS widgets, on the other hand, directly tap into applications, can come in variable sizes, have a somewhat uniform presentation style, and one visits the Home screen many more times than one clicks the Show Desktop button on Windows. Android has supported exactly this since 1.5 (2009). > The actual concept, at least as of iPadOS (as opposed to iOS 11 and 12), is more like macOS' Spaces or Mission Control. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about here. Multiple workspaces aren't exactly a new innovation, and Mission Control just seems to be a fancier but less usable variant of alt+tab.

zapzupnz 7y ago

> it really just seems like playing catch up At the surface level, it does. However, at the implementation level, I think Apple is slowly reimagining all of these things for a new paradigm — and the new paradigm has needed time to evolve slowly, for Apple to see what directions its users and developers wanted to go in, and to take the time to decide how to do things. For example: the sidebar on Vista was next to useless because (A) its widgets didn't tap into any data people wanted, (B) the widgets weren't the right size to show any useful information, and (C) didn't fare any better on Windows 7 because they were buried under windows. iOS widgets, on the other hand, directly tap into applications, can come in variable sizes, have a somewhat uniform presentation style, and one visits the Home screen many more times than one clicks the Show Desktop button on Windows. Windows Vista gadgets and OS X Dashboard widgets seemed to be little toys, the styling to look like a little desktop accessory being more important than their actual utility. The way that iPadOS integrates Today Widgets with the home screen is more like putting useful information directly at users' disposal. Pair this with widgets like Shortcuts, Launch Center Pro, or Pythonista, and you also have a means for quickly starting workflows. iPad's multiple windows isn't really window snapping in the same sense as on Windows. That's just an implementation detail. The actual concept, at least as of iPadOS (as opposed to iOS 11 and 12), is more like macOS' Spaces or Mission Control. All in all, to appreciate something, you have to appreciate all the little details. To me, Today Widgets on the Home screen have the potential to offer productivity improvements similar to Alfred. I'm sure there'll be apps with widgets specifically crafted to take advantage of this.

pathartl 7y ago
I completely get what you're saying. Thinking about it more now, I was pretty off. Yeah, those were the reasons that Windows widgets failed and Dashboard Widgets on OS X were always hidden which made them pretty unusable. But, on Android I've got a ton of options for widgets and I still don't use them. I think the only useful one I've really found is weather. Maybe that's because I don't use my calendar. Just going through the list of the ones I have available, I don't see any that really bring any value to what I'm doing. What's replaced what I've used widgets for in the past is more context-aware tasks. I've got tasks in tasker for doing things like when I plug into the headphone jack, either my podcasts app or music app pops up (depending on which was accessed last). Obviously I'm more of a power user, but I really think iOS/iPad OS could benefit from a workflow subsystem. Things like activities in Android and the AppleScript system in macOS are insanely powerful for professional users. Unfortunately, it seems like most Apple apps in macOS seem to be doing away with AppleScript API's.
- kristofferR 7y ago
  You haven't heard of Shortcuts I guess? Read this and the following pages: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-12-the-macstories-review/9/#content https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-12-the-macstories-rev... With iOS 13 it gets added as a default app and the shortcuts can be run automatically by triggers, so it's like a more user friendly and natively integrated version of Tasker. It seems like the triggers in iOS 13b1 are Time of Day - Alarm (Stopped or started) - Apple Watch workout - Arrive/Leave Location - Connect to CarPlay - Airplane Mode - WiFi - BlueTooth - Do Not Disturb - Low Power Mode - NFC Tag - Open App (ex. “When I Open Reddit”)
- zapzupnz 7y ago
  iOS/iPadOS does have a workflow subsystem, which is how the now built-in Shortcuts and Siri Shortcuts work. What Apple needs is to offer more triggers for intents to be used like, as you say, a device being connected.
Nullabillity 7y ago
> iOS widgets, on the other hand, directly tap into applications, can come in variable sizes, have a somewhat uniform presentation style, and one visits the Home screen many more times than one clicks the Show Desktop button on Windows. Android has supported exactly this since 1.5 (2009). > The actual concept, at least as of iPadOS (as opposed to iOS 11 and 12), is more like macOS' Spaces or Mission Control. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about here. Multiple workspaces aren't exactly a new innovation, and Mission Control just seems to be a fancier but less usable variant of alt+tab.