Even with the very first iPad, both the press and customers were unanimous: Basically, the device is an iPhone with a large screen. The hardware of iPads has become more powerful over the years, but the limitations of iOS (or later iPadOS) largely remain. Although Apple is marketing the iPad as a device for creative people and “content creators”, the reality is different: many often encounter the limitations of iPadOS even with “normal” tasks.
One of the weaknesses of iPadOS is the lack of flexibility to work with multiple apps. Although two apps can be placed next to each other, the process is cumbersome and is only intended for two programs, regardless of the screen size.
Notes on “Multitasking Mode”
Steve Troughton-Smith discovered a very interesting hint about an upcoming feature in the public WebKit repository: Apple developers adapted WebKit to a new “multitasking mode” in the operating system.
WebKit is the framework that enables websites to be displayed in macOS, iOS, iPadOS and watchOS and is used in Safari as well as in third-party apps.
Introduced probably in iPadOS 16
It seems like Apple will probably introduce a special mode in iPadOS 16 to allow floating and larger windows on a desktop – similar to macOS. It is still completely unclear how this function will be implemented in concrete terms, but freeing iPadOS from one of the limitations of iOS could be a step in the right direction. Especially on larger iPad models or when external screens are connected, such a feature could be a significant improvement.
iPadOS 16 zur WWDC 2022
Hardly any valid information about the upcoming iOS and iPadOS versions has surfaced. Apple will show iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to the public for the first time at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2022 on June 6th. The keynote for WWDC 2022 will take place at 10 a.m. local time (7 p.m. German time) and, as usual, MacTechNews.de will report on all the innovations.