Clamshell mode, higher Stage Supervisor

We’re only a few days away from WWDC 2024, when Apple will lastly unveil the following variations of its working methods – together with iPadOS 18. Though I think about myself a Mac particular person, I even have an iPad Professional and I like to make use of it for particular duties. Nonetheless, there’s a number of room for enchancment within the iPad software program – so learn on as I share my characteristic request for iPadOS 18.

iPadOS 18 characteristic request: Stage Supervisor may very well be lots higher

For years, the iPad was restricted to operating only one app at a time. However for the reason that introduction of the primary iPad Professional, Apple has expanded the iPad’s multitasking capabilities. With iPadOS 16, the corporate launched Stage Supervisor – a brand new technique to run a number of apps in home windows, giving customers extra freedom to arrange their apps on the display.

However two years later, Stage Supervisor nonetheless has some foolish limitations that annoy me each time I attempt to use my iPad as a laptop computer.

For instance, Stage Supervisor solely helps you to divulge heart’s contents to 4 apps on the display. When there are 4 home windows in your iPad and also you attempt to open a fifth, one of many different home windows merely disappears. I can perceive such conduct on an 11-inch iPad, however this additionally occurs if you join the iPad to an exterior show, which doesn’t make any sense.

Trendy iPads have the identical chips as Macs, so why can’t iPads run greater than 4 apps on the identical time? I actually hope iPadOS 18 will handle this. One other new characteristic I hope to see with the replace: an choice to resize the Dock in iPadOS. Even with my iPad set to “Extra House,” the Dock remains to be unnecessarily massive on the display.

Clamshell mode

However greater than only a higher Stage Supervisor, there’s one thing I’d actually prefer to see in iPadOS 18, and that might be a Clamshell mode. For these unfamiliar, Clamshell mode is a characteristic current on many laptops that allows you to use them with the lid closed when linked to an exterior monitor.

Whereas you should use your iPad linked to a monitor, you’ll be able to’t merely flip off the built-in show to make use of the exterior monitor as the principle one. This will not be an issue for some individuals, however I’m used to working with my MacBook in Clamshell mode with a view to give attention to a single massive display – and I can’t try this with my iPad Professional.

In actual fact, having extra choices for managing exterior displays on the iPad could be nice. I’d like to see extra interface scaling choices, for instance.

Finder on iPadOS 18

Sure, iPads have already got a Information app. However let’s be trustworthy, this app is horrible for severe file administration. The Information app might be one among my greatest frustrations when I attempt to use my iPad for work, as a result of it’s so fundamental that it makes the whole lot far more complicated.

The app has gained a number of new options because it was launched in iOS 11 (in actual fact, it already existed as an iCloud Drive app since iOS 9). Nonetheless, I’d just like the app to look extra like macOS’s Finder.

I miss issues like having the ability to rename a batch of recordsdata or open a file with a selected app and edit it there with out creating a brand new copy, as a result of that’s how iOS works. And shock, Information app nonetheless can’t open DMG recordsdata, which Apple itself makes use of extensively.

Simpler technique to set up fonts

Each iOS and iPadOS let customers set up customized fonts. Nonetheless, doing so often requires utilizing third-party apps and a configuration profile. You possibly can’t simply obtain TTF and OTF recordsdata and set up them in your iPad, which is a nightmare for creators working with customized fonts of their initiatives

Please, Apple. Carry Font E-book to the iPad.

Wrap up

I may spend hours writing in regards to the lacking options in iPadOS, however proper now these are those I miss probably the most. What about you? What do you count on to see in iPadOS 18 subsequent week? Let me know within the feedback part under.