IOS and iPadOS have come a long way in terms of their design, but when working with files they are still heavily compromised when compared to macOS. We can’t help think that the generation of children who are growing up with touch screens will expect the same functionality from the other devices around them. Apple has been progressive in the implementation of multi-touch gestures on trackpads, negating many of the needs to reach out and tap the screen, but it remains a markedly different experience even if you’re connecting a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to your iPad. Using an iPhone or iPad, your natural inclination is to interact with on-screen elements by manipulating them with your fingers.
This of course has an effect on how the software is optimised in terms of the interface. Apple seems resolute in the viewpoint that its laptop and desktop line-up don’t need the ability for users to tap on the displays when they want to select anything.
The iPad range may now have support for trackpads and mice, making it closer to a Mac in many ways, but one area where there is no movement yet is on touchscreens for Mac. Send and receive text messages on your Mac using the Messages app. Speaking of which, if you though the main difference between an iPhone and a Mac was the fact that you can make calls and send text messages on a phone think again. And Apple has itself used Catalyst to bring iOS versions of apps to the Mac – such as the TV app and, in Big Sur, the iOS version of Messages. In fact, since Apple introduced Mac Catalyst back in macOS Catalina it’s made it really easy for developers to port their iPad apps to the Mac. Over the years these apps have become more and more alike. For example, if you turn on iCloud Photo Library all your Photos are available across all your devices, or if you use Pages to do word processing all your documents will be available on all your devices. In fact one of the biggest benefits of being inside the Apple ecosystem is that the data you have associated with a particular app can be available to whichever device you are using thanks to iCloud. Soon, you may forget which device you’re using, as the experience will be the same on them all.
Messages, Maps, Mail, Calendar, Safari, Reminders and others work seamlessly together via iCloud, and are beginning to even look similar thanks to tweaks not only to Big Sur but also iPadOS and iOS. These mean you don’t need to find alternatives if you’re on a mobile device or desktop. Apple does a great job of making its apps available across the whole of its product range.
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