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In my first review of the public beta iPadOS 13, I focused on dark mode. Now, let’s dive into everything else coming with iPadOS 13. What excites me the most are the new sharing features added to productivity apps. The way they’re presented is impressive, making it easier to accomplish tasks with less effort. These updates turn the iPad into a serious productivity tool that could easily replace laptops for many users.
The markup tool has become more accessible, making it a lot more useful. I can see productivity levels soaring because of this. You can now access markup in almost all productivity apps and with nearly any kind of document.
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Apple for a while now. I used to think the iPad Pro 2018 was a massive waste of money, making me consider other brands for going paperless—a project that’s been slow to start. But then, Apple releases an iOS update like this, and I find myself running back to them, forgiving all their past mistakes.
Honestly, I was hoping iPadOS 13 would be terrible so I could stay mad at Apple and finally buy an Android tablet. But that doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.
The new desktop browsing experience in Safari is something I both love and hate. I love that I can now reply to my Facebook messages without being pushed to download the Messenger app. It really does feel like browsing on a laptop! My favorite new features are the download capabilities, markup, and translation tools, which make Safari offer a full desktop experience right on the iPad.
While downloading isn’t new to Safari, having a dedicated download button is helpful. However, I’m struggling to locate my files after downloading them, and I’m starting to miss the old setup. Right now, Safari has the most bugs—pages take too long to load, navigation feels sluggish, and the app constantly freezes in the middle of tasks. Overall, browsing in Safari has been quite frustrating.
The new setup isn’t bad, but I prefer the old one. Maybe I’m still adjusting to the changes, though two weeks should be enough time. Even so, the new features added are fantastic and can’t be ignored. We now have more editing options in iPadOS 13, which might spell the end of third-party photo editing apps.
I mostly take photos of documents and screenshots, so I haven’t used the new photo editing features much. This will probably always be my least-used feature.
Many people are excited about the floating keyboard. It’s a great feature, but let’s not act like it’s a groundbreaking discovery—Android has had this for years! Celebrating it too much just gives Android fans something to talk about. Let’s keep our cool, but secretly, we can be thrilled about it.
I’ve been thinking about buying a keyboard for my iPad for a while, but I’m glad I didn’t waste my money. This new feature has made me question whether I even need an external keyboard. The floating keyboard can be moved anywhere on the screen. It’s tiny, fluid, and pleasant to use, though I stopped using it because it requires too much brainpower. Sometimes, I freeze in the middle of a word, forgetting how to spell it! Anyone else feel that way?
This feature puts my spelling abilities to the test, and I don’t like it. So, I’m not using it much these days until I’m 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 faster and cooler.
At this point, my issues with the floating keyboard are personal. Otherwise, Apple nailed this one! I also love the dedicated emoji button. It’s great not having to scroll through all my languages just to get to my emojis. They deserve their own button.
Some of you asked me to try out the mouse support feature, and I’m still working on that. By “working on that,” I mean trying to figure out why a touch screen—especially one as responsive as the iPad’s, with Apple Pencil support—would need a mouse. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me. The Apple Pencil is highly accurate, and the iPad screen isn’t large enough to warrant using a mouse from a distance. I just can’t see how a mouse is useful on an iPad.
I’m excited to try the improved multitasking feature with third-party note-taking apps. This could mean we can finally stick to one app for all our note-taking needs! However, the overlapping window isn’t very useful if it deactivates the main window. It doesn’t feel as ‘multitasky’ as I’d hoped.
Navigating through the overlapped windows in iPadOS 13 is easier, so I appreciate that. But it’s not as brilliant as Apple made it seem, at least not for me. I’ve never been a huge fan of the feature anyway.
