With its many qualities, the iPad clearly dominates the market ahead of Android models. But Apple’s famous tablet still suffers from problems that it is time to correct.
The iPad is undoubtedly the queen of tablets. Design, finish, performance, display, sound, autonomy, solidity… there is technically nothing to complain about it, especially in the latest versions of iPad Air and iPad Pro which benefit from very good innovations and powerful chips. Apart from their high price, we can only regret that Apple tablets do not have a port to expand their storage with a memory card, unlike most Android models. However, and despite its many qualities, the iPad is not perfect, far from it.
The fault lies with its operating system, iPadOS, which seriously undermines the famous “user experience” so dear to manufacturers. And if the iPad is close to a Mac in terms of performance, this is not the case in terms of ergonomics. Apple continues to sell it as an ideal tool for working, creating or having fun. But if its interface is pleasant for doing simple things, there is still a lot to do to make it truly fluid and comfortable.
Multitasking management, which allows you to juggle between several open applications, like on a computer, is a good example. The system of multiple virtual desktops requires a high level of concentration so as not to get confused and we often fail with the windows which resize randomly and which do not move in the corners… You have to juggle with windows which stack into four tabs. We saw more practical.
Managing files is also a pain, even just moving things around. And to open a file with a particular application that is not offered in the list, you have to go through a sharing option. Furthermore, iPadOS does not know how to format a simple USB key: it is impossible to save content on ordinary removable storage formatted in NTFS! It is also impossible to manage several users as Android has been offering for a long time. A practical function when sharing an iPad within a family without wanting to reveal all your personal data.
Finally, some applications are simply absent from the App Store on iPadOS, and not the least. This is the case, for example, of Instagram. To use this social network on the Apple tablet, you have to settle for the version designed for iOS and iPhones, therefore in a smaller format. As for WhatsApp or Apple’s XCode development tool which would be very useful on iPad for developers, they simply do not appear in the catalog.
As we can see, iPadOS still has plenty of room for improvement to prove itself truly convincing. Apple just needs to improve its ergonomics, including by taking good ideas from Android, to bring its system up to the level of its tablet. Let’s hope that the next version which will be presented these days at the annual developers conference (WWDC 2024) finally corrects these defects to make the iPad truly ergonomic.