"Develop software", which means writing code without the ability to run them, or the ability to compile multiple files as a "project", like all the other code editors on iOS?
I stopped paying attention to these apps because of how App artificially limit what apps can do. Writing Java offline? Good, but you can compile one class at a time, and the possibility of importing another user package is thrown out of the window. This makes it only useful for absolute beginners. There are alternative approaches, e.g. using a web browser, online compilation (which is not too different from web browser) and using a terminal that happens to support JDK. I saw developers literally say "Don't write reviews to complain, we have to follow the rules"
Which is sad because these devices as expensive as $1k are very powerful and have all the necessary APIs to make that work, it is only the app store rules that prevent the device from becoming a "real" computer
I see a lot of people run an SSH client to a server in order to edit and run code. Is that an option for you?
Also, come on - this “you have a choice for another device” is just such a stupid “argument”. There are 2 tradeoffs to choose from, period. And there will likely not be another for a very long time, as the main reason Windows Phone couldn’t gain traction is that mobile app developers had more than enough work to support 2 markets.
Because if so, that's great.
Case in point: by the time I add a keyboard case to my 11" iPad Pro, it weighs more than my MacBook Air does and it's not a lot smaller. I think I should just take the MacBook Air with me. That has the same CPU, storage and memory and I can run full stack on it fine.
That is not to denigrate the usefulness of the iPad, which I run a big chunk of my life on, but editing text or code is one place it really doesn't add up.
The killer app I find with my iPad is when you need pen input. For drawing, doing route planning in OS maps and general research and note taking it's an amazing little device.
You’re missing the segment of people who are traveling and don’t want to take their entire MacBook places. Even if it’s smaller, I can’t simply detach it’s screen and hold it to watch Netflix or such.
I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath.
I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well.
The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it.
This is the solution being applied before the problem again. It is a case of applying compromises to fit the solution into the available device rather than look at the problem and choose a device suitable for it. I travel with my iPad. It's fine for that. But I'm certainly not going to be writing up anything extensive or writing any code on it.
> I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath.
I prefer not to shit or wash where I compute :). As for the surfaces, the iPad is the least flexible device. At worst you have to hold it constantly which is painful after an hour or so.
> I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well.
Having used Swift Playground extensively, I think you must be living in the future where they fixed all the show stopping bugs and crashes. It's totally unusable for me and doesn't meet even a minimum bar for quality.
>The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it.
It's definitely quicker to type. But it's quicker to draw than type if the scenario isn't suited to textual description.
As for virtualization of other OS on iOS: already exists!
I get that they don't do it for polish reasons or whatever, but just letting the iPhone version run on the iPad would be a huge improvement.
> Easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go.
iPads are very popular with students in markets where they can afford them, and tools like these are a great fit for them.
Honestly I've actually tried to sit and write code on an iPad. I forced myself to exclusively use one for 2 months. It's one of those things where it's entirely the wrong tool for the job. Casual note taking perhaps but that's about it.
This is the core differenciator: people who don’t take a MBA with them will benefit from the product.
And there can be so many reasons. Obviously not everyone buys laptops. Or they might not want to bring the work laptop on a trip but still have an option to do some coding by just pairing a keyboard. Or they hate the laptop keyboard and bring an external keyboard with them anyway. Or really love iOS and prefer the iPad. Or they killed a laptop screen when bringing it around on a tough trip and don’t want to do that again. Or they have cellular on the iPad.
+ Excellent mini-LED screen (some bad ‘blooming’ effects though)
+ It’s highly portable without the keyboard
+ It’s great for weird locations, like watching something in the bath, or while cooking
+ Enables me to easily sign and fill forms without printing
I am disappointed by the offerings for note taking with the pencil. I’m nearly through with a civil engineering degree and have had the iPad for 2 semesters. I thought this thing would be super handy for marking up plans, highlighting in textbooks, making hand-written notes in class… nope. I’ll read a pdf on it every now and then, but I find all of the other tasks too cumbersome to repeatedly perform on the iPad.
Notes are annoyingly stored inside apps (goodnotes) until you manually export them. Goodnotes itself is not very ‘good’ either. It’s clunky and turns the device into a space heater. I cannot find a pdf/note-taking app that:
+ Doesn’t have intrusive menu bars that are permanently on
+ Has sane keyboard shortcuts
+ Can edit/markup pdfs in-place without ‘importing’ them
+ Has a smooth drawing feature. (Goodnotes is smooth. Apple default is crap)
+ Has drawing tools that are more than just making squares and circles
+ Has good support for equations and scientific notation (OCR or other interaction).
Have any other science or engineering students found anything better than goodnotes or notability?
Last I checked, you can markup PDFs in iCloud without importing / exporting, but YMMV.
this is one of things I still love about Apple (being Mac user since Apple II). They really done their market research and how users use the devices. Each device is designed for some specific purposes on daily usage.
General purpose computers are the exception.
While most people have never given it any thought at all, many of the rest of us absolutely do not want our phone to be a GPC.
Smart TVs, game consoles, phones and tablets on the other hand already are general purpose computers. It is possible for someone to run whatever they want on them, be it by jumping through all the hoops or just by hosting a website. These artificial software barriers exist purely as anti-consumer rent extraction; they don't limit the functionality of the device beyond putting a price on participation.
I responded as soon as I noticed the review (App Store doesn't notify me for some reason) and the reviewer never responded back. The issue was most likely on his side, because some keyboards send the wrong Command event (Left instead of Right)
Screenshot (it has 4.3 stars now in Germany, thankfully because of other 5 star reviews): https://cln.sh/mmWPd8
Just trying to say that you shouldn't put too much price on the reviews. A lot of the most vocal reviewers are those that don't understand what the app should do and give it 1-3 stars because they think they were robbed when the app doesn't do what they expected.
They don't even know that they can ask for a refund within 14-days of the purchase and nothing is lost.
I even have it configured so that ports can be routed to via my domain, meaning I can do web development with a local server on port 3000 and view it live at 3000.my.domain.tld.
Here’s more on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbhbCWA_G4
To actually compile/execute you'll need to connect it to something like Codespaces or code-server.
I started writing it on the couch while watching tv, then finished it lying in bed. It was just such a relaxed experience compared to sitting up straight at a desk and forcing myself to write. It’s hard to describe.
My friend wrote two(!) novels on his lunch breaks using an iPhone and a Bluetooth keyboard.
Our sense of value is kinda skewed these days when it comes to app costs. Probably because so many folks believe that ad supported free apps should be the norm.
I'm a macOS and iOS developer myself and constantly struggling with adding trials for App Store apps in a way that's not confusing for users.
I took that as a sign, and take notes with synced text and markdown files now.
