iPadOS’ Safari web browser now allows richer, more Mac-like browsing. It feels like the “real browser” I’ve wanted on my iPad for years. This change won’t be obvious in every instance, but I appreciated being able to open up Google Docs, see tracked changes in a document and make edits just like I do on a MacBook. Sort of. I say “sort of” because the iPad’s touchscreen imposes some odd compromises at times. Between using the touchscreeen with my fingers and typing on Apple’s smart keyboard folio case, making edits still feels like performing surgery with mittens on. That became more apparent when I tried things cutting and pasting sections or adding links.
It seems like a strong step forward, but maybe not the full step. We’ll know more when the final version arrives in the fall… I wish I could say iPadOS has solved all my iPad problems, but it hasn’t so far. What it does, however, is already better than what iOS 12 could do.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote early this month:
When people ask us why we grab our MacBooks over our iPad Pros for work, it’s first and foremost because of text selection. Text selection, Cut-Copy-Paste, and precise cursor control are little things, but they’re make-or-break when it comes to accuracy and speed. (Recall Apple’s Toby Paterson struggling a bit to select a word on an iPad for several seconds during the iPadOS demo during [the] WWDC keynote.) For us, the MacBook has always won the Who’s Coming Out Of The Backpack Race simply because of text selection, Cut-Copy-Paste, and precise cursor control.
We look forward to iPadOS’ improvements in that area, among many others, and to iPadOS improving throughout its beta period!
I use an iPad pro quite a lot when away from home. I did have the Apple cloth type keyboard as well, but it developed a fault so I don’t use that (Aple wouldn’t fix it).
Instead, when I want to do ‘work’ I use a small (Apple) BT keyboard. Text selection is very easy with this as I can use Shift with the cursor keys to select text. It’s what I tend to do on the desktop too. It’s a proper keyboard with good keys, so it does work very well. but stays in the bag when I’m just browsing, whereas the Apple cloth / cover keyboard is there all the time, adding weight and bulk.
Looking forward to being able to use a mouse later in the year too!