The next iPad: Software changes we'd like to see

28.02.2011
You've already heard about , if Apple unveils a new tablet at , as is widely expected. But what would new Apple hardware be without software changes also thrown into the mix?

As good as iOS on the iPad is--and it's pretty darned good--there's still plenty of room for improvement, especially as Apple's competitors in the tablet arena have finally started to get their acts together and produce devices that look more like contenders. Some of the most requested enhancements to the iPad--both in our office and among our readers--would involve changes to the operating system that runs on Apple's tablet. Fortunately, as we saw last year with the release of the original iPad, Apple's not above rolling out to the iPad before delivering those features to all other iOS devices.

So here's our list of iOS tweaks and enhancements--including a few holdovers we've wanted to see for a while--that we hope to hear more about on Wednesday. Apple, of course, has its own ideas about what changes to make, but that doesn't mean we can't dream.

Despite the common refrain that the iPad is made for content consumption, lots of people use the iPad as a productivity tool. But some new iOS features could offer major productivity boosts.

: Right now, moving files around on the iOS is a mess. You can send files from one app to another (for example, Mail can transfer a PDF to , and can transfer an ePub to ), and you can drag files directly into an app's file space from within iTunes on your Mac. But these methods are hassles, and it's easy to end up with multiple versions of everything.