My first review on the public beta iPadOS 13 focused on dark mode. This review will talk about everything else coming in iPadOS 13. I am most excited about the sharing features added to productivity apps. Their presentation is great. They help us accomplish more with much less effort. These features make the iPad a serious productivity tool. One that can easily replace laptops for a lot of users.
Markup tool
Is great! It is now easier to access, making it more useful. I can see productivity levels soaring sky-high! You can now access the markup tool in almost all productivity apps that work with almost any kind of document.
I have had an unhealthy relationship with Apple for a while now. The iPad Pro 2018 is a massive waste of money in my opinion. It’s made me consider other brands for going paperless. A project that’s taking me very long to start. But when Apple turns around and pulls out an iOS update like this one, I just go running back into their open arms and forgive their sins.
I was really hoping that iPadOS 13 would be terrible so I could stay mad at Apple and finally get the courage to purchase an Android tablet! But no, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening anytime soon.
Browsing in Safari
I both love and hate the desktop browsing experience in Safari. I love it because now I can reply to my messages on Facebook without getting a notification to download their Messenger app! That feels good. It really does look and feel like browsing on a laptop!
A lot has been added to the browser. My favourite features are the download capabilities, Markup, and Translate features. I can now get a full desktop experience right on my iPad!
Downloading is not a new feature in Safari. For years, I have been using Safari to download documents. I guess a dedicated download button is helpful. I’m struggling with locating my files after downloading, though. I am starting to miss the old setup.
At the moment, Safari has the most bugs. Pages take too long to load. Navigation has a resistance I can feel. It’s almost tangible! The app is constantly freezing in the middle of tasks. Overall, browsing in Safari has been the biggest pain!
Photos app
It’s alright. However, I prefer the old setup. Maybe I am still adjusting to the new look. Two weeks to adjust, though? I doubt I will ever like this setup. The new features added are great, though. They can’t be ignored because they are just fantastic! We get more editing options in iPadOS 13. Could this be the end of third-party photo editing apps?
I mostly take photos of documents and app screenshots. Not much editing is needed on those, so I haven’t used these new features that much. This will probably always be my least-used feature.
Floating keyboard
Most of us are very excited about it. It’s a great feature, but let’s stop acting like it’s a groundbreaking discovery. Android has had this for decades now! Celebrating it just makes us look bad. It gives Android fans stuff to talk about, so let’s just keep our cool and pretend it’s nothing. But behind closed doors, well, that’s a different situation!
I have been considering buying a keyboard for my iPad for a while now. I thank God I didn’t waste my money! This feature has made me question if I even need an external keyboard.
This floating keyboard goes anywhere on my screen. It is tiny and fluid. Pleasant to use. But I stopped using it because it requires a lot of brainpower at this point. I freeze in the middle of a word, and I just don’t remember how to spell any more! Anyone else feel like that?
This feature puts my spelling abilities in test mode, and I don’t like it! I am not using it much these days until I am mentally prepared. But it’s definitely made me decide not to buy a keyboard, even if I don’t use the swiping feature. Typing with one hand is still cooler and faster.
At this point, the issues I’m having with the floating keyboard are personal. Otherwise, Apple nailed this one!
I love the dedicated emoji button! I was tired of scrolling through all my languages just to get to my emojis. Emojis are special, they deserve their own dedicated button.
iPadOS mouse support
Some of you guys asked me to try out the mouse support feature. I am still working on that. By working on that I mean, I am trying to find out why a touch screen (a very sensitive touch screen with Apple Pencil support) requires a mouse.
I finally found a use for a mouse on the iPad!
Honestly, it makes no sense to me. The Apple Pencil is very accurate. The iPad screen is not large enough to use the iPad a metre away from me. Why do I need a mouse again? I can’t see how a mouse is useful on an iPad. Can’t see it.
Split-view support for the same app
Ingenious! I can’t wait to use this with third-party note-taking apps. This means we can finally stick to using one app for all our note-taking needs! The overlapping window is not very useful if it deactivates my main window. Not very ‘multitasky’ I feel.
It’s much easier to navigate through the overlapped windows in iPadOS 13. I suppose I could just appreciate that. It’s not as brilliant as Apple made it seem, though. At least not for me; it isn’t. I’ve never been a huge fan of the feature anyway!
