iPadOS may bridge the tablet-laptop gulf

With large phones becoming perilously close to small tablets, the need for tablets has been diminishing. Now if tablets could get some basics right, they would stop being something to watch Netflix on and give laptops some real competition. But so far, the world’s top tablet, Apple’s iPad, has been missing features that true laptop users can’t do without. It still does.

But now, with Apple’s launch of a tweaked iOS called iPadOS, the iPad edges closer to becoming capable of being used as a laptop while still retaining its essential tablet-ness. It’s also made the iPad more Android-like, but Apple knows how to launch long-existing Android and Microsoft features as if they were just dreamt up in Cupertino a mere few weeks ago.

IPadOS builds on iOS and adds features that are right for the larger screen of the tablet. First, the Home screen itself will be a busy space, packable with more apps and widgets that can be pinned to the screen. One can now fully ignore the fact that Apple once would barely acknowledge the word ‘widget’.

An entire category of these features facilitates multi-tasking — on steroids. You can drag and drop links, photos, text etc from one window to another by just selecting and pulling it over from one to the other. A split view and slide-over will let users use apps such as email clients and two windows of Microsoft Word side by side.

Now that the whole range of iPads support the Pencil, its uses are going to increase with the ability to very quickly markup documents and use a new expanded tool palette, just perhaps edging closer to justifying the high cost of this accessory.

Finally, amazingly, one will be able to plug in a USB drive on the iPad and work with more real Folders which will actually be shareable now. SD cards or connecting to an SMB server will also be supported from the Files app.

iPadOS

One didn’t expect to see these features but now a new Column View will show high-resolution previews and help users navigate directories and use Quick Actions such as mark up, rotate and create PDF and even use local storage, zip and unzip, and new keyboard shortcuts. Now isn’t that notebook-like?

A bouquet of text editing related features is also coming with iPadOS. Support for custom fonts, dark mode, and floating keyboard, for example.

Users will also be able to sign in to apps and websites using the Apple ID, which no doubt they will consider a lot safer than other sign-in options. iPadOS will be available this fall as a free software update for iPad Air 2 and later, all iPad Pro models, iPad 5th generation and later and iPad mini 4 and later.

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