iPadOS wishlist

Tech Talk iOS
1

If you could pick 1 feature for iPadOS (presumably it would come to iOS too) which you can easily do on a desktop OS, what would it be?

I would love to have it be easier to have multiple audio sources playing. Like on a traditional computer. Sometimes I can have this work, like I’ll be watching something and for some reason I’ll also be able to scroll Instagram reels with sound, but it’s the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes if you’re lucky you can get multiple Safari windows to play video.

I can think of a lot of reasons why our mobile operating systems aren’t like this currently, but maybe the new audio mode would get toggled when using the multi windowing system.

What’s a feature you’d like?

1 Like
2

Support for multiple users. I’ve wanted that from day 1 of the iPad. Don’t want 4 or 5 tablets in the house. I want one on the coffee table that anybody can pick up, face-scan/fingerprint, and it’s your iPad with your stuff.

3 Likes
3

Android has this, at least in theory, Apple could copy them :smiley:

1 Like
4

It does. Which is one of the reasons we have a Samsung tablet instead :slightly_smiling_face:

5

The worst part about this is: Apple already has that feature, just not for regular people. It’s for organizations.

6

A commercial decision then?

Hoping some of the rumoured features of the HomePod 3 will come to the iPad too. But I suspect they won’t.

7

I’d like to hear what the other TWiT forum regulars have to say. I was anticipating more people in this thread :sweat_smile:

8

The ability to not have one audio source stop another. If I am using Airplay, don’t stop it because I happen to land on a website with a video or audio file playing. Very annoying.

1 Like
9

I think the multiple audio sources would honestly change my life. Life changing feature.

10

Not an Apple user, sorry :man_shrugging:

1 Like
11

I will add my desire for multiple users for the iPad. It would make it more useful for families; i.e., each member being able to sign in with their own Apple ID…:slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
12

What about you, @big_D ? Surely you have a feature missing from iOS that you’d love to see next year? :3

(Part of when I made this thread, I was thinking about Big D. It would be funny if he was like “oh yeah I don’t have an iPad”)

13

The other thing I’d want is for Apple to implement 3rd-party app stores/payments. Not sure if that has been done yet?

I can currently buy a book or movie on my tablet without leaving the app and having to purchase in the web browser, then return to the app. Possible because Samsung’s app store is allowed, and they allow 3rd-party payments.

14

I don’t really use my iPad enough that I have anything that I really miss.

15

I would love my iPad to run my favourite text editor (like Leo, I’m an Emacs fan). Twenty years ago I used to carry around a Psion Netbook Pro that I had compiled Emacs for and so was able to take notes using it. It would be wonderful to have the same ability on my iPad.

1 Like
16

You’d want to use emacs on an iPad on-screen keyboard? I presume you mean docked or with a real physical keyboard but I honestly think emacs or vim on an iPad sounds nuts. It feels antithetical to the iPad. But I support your desire to want it.

You could probably code something like that for iPad though. Similar to https://aquamacs.org/ which is a GUI around emacs my college professor used to live by. I think that’s something that can easily be done on the iPad / iPhone if there was a desire to do it. Maybe you could even vibe code your way through it.

17

Yes, I’m talking about using Emacs with an external keyboard. I could code a basic editor that emulated the major Emacs keystrokes but without the underlying Lisp engine (the implementation of which would violate Apple’s developer guidelines) I wouldn’t be able to run any of the wonderful add-on modes for Emacs.

2 Likes
18

I didn’t know there was a restriction about that. I suppose it makes sense because it’s running arbitrary code. I didn’t think about that.

19

I agree with the group…multiple users on one iPad! Of course, not doing that is purely Marketing - people will buy multiple iPads for the family, especially the $349 model

20

You can have an interpreter in the code, but it can only execute code in the app package, it can’t download additional code, such as add-ins.

1 Like