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

28.02.2011

: The iPad's screen is much bigger than the iPhone's, so we'd like to see Safari on the iPad support tabbed browsing. And while Apple has made a lot of hay out of artists using iPhones and iPads to create beautiful paintings and drawings, we'd like to see better support for pressure sensitivity in the iPad hardware and for Apple to give app developers , so that creating art on the iPad can be a much better experience.

The iPad has a much larger screen than the iPhone and iPod touch, but its interface--most particularly on its home and lock screens--doesn't really take advantage of the space.

: The Home screen in iOS has slowly evolved over the years, gaining features such as folders for collecting apps, as well as easier, drag-and-drop organization from within iTunes. But since the app onslaught shows no sign of subsiding, we could use some fresh help from Apple in keeping our Home screens tidy. The ability to categorize pages or folders so they automatically collect relevant new apps--say, a games page for the creative new ways to not get work done, or a utilities page for new weather apps and unit converters--would be nice. We'd also welcome the option, in iTunes, to prevent iPhone and iPod touch apps that aren't optimized for the iPad from automatically installing on our tablets.

: While we're on the topic of Home screens, the iPad's larger size and longer battery life make us wish we could get more use out of all that screen real estate. How about providing a framework for apps to display certain information at a glance, such as the day's appointments, the week's weather forecast, and the most-recently-received e-mails--right on the Home screen?