iOS 11's productivity-geared enhancements, from rich drag-and-drop support to the auto-hiding app dock, give iPads PC-like versatility and power
Vlad Savov / The Verge :
Context & Ripple Effects
At WWDC 2017, Apple rebuilt the iPad around work rather than consumption: an overhaul of iPad multitasking brought drag-and-drop, a new app switcher, and a Files app that plugs into Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive, while this piece frames the result as PC-like versatility. The catch surfaced weeks later, when reviewers found iOS 11 on iPad Pro still fell short of laptop replacement because it lacked precise pointer input.
First-order effects
- iPad owners immediately get desktop-style workflows — side-by-side apps, system-wide drag-and-drop, and a Files layer spanning third-party clouds — while Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive gain a native file-system foothold on iOS they never had before.
Second-order effects
- The missing-pointer critique puts direct pressure on Apple to close the input gap, a path the corpus shows it taking by 2020 when iWork gains trackpad and mouse support in iPadOS 13.4 — each fix widening the iPad's claim on laptop buyers.
Third-order effects
The trend: The iPad has been incrementally absorbing PC operating conventions — multitasking, files, pointers, windows — since iOS 11, drifting toward becoming Apple's third full-fledged computing platform.