Always On iPad Pro

Tech Support
1

I just listened to ep 730.

One thing that was talked about was having an iPad next to the computer and having it on all the time so you could see a dashboard of widgets.

However, there was a discussion on if this was possible and @MacSparky talked about looking into it.

Does anyone know if it’s possible to have an iPad always on and NOT on the Lock Screen? (I have an iPad Pro from 2020?) running the latest iPadOS.

2

I have an iPad Pro 12" (2018) that I have positioned below my main monitor which I have on continuously throughout the day. I use Universal Control with it, and need to access it with the mouse at least once to keep it on. I have it connected to a power source while in use in this fashion.

I also have a first generation iPad Air that I have on continuously as well, running Touch Portal. It too is connected to a power source. As long as the Touch Portal app is running it stays on.

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3

Will it sleep if Display → auto-lock is set to never?

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4

This is correct, an iPad set to not auto lock will stay on. I have my old iPad Air 2 running PastePal as an always on clipboard server.

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5

So the good news is as everyone says. The iPad stays on.

The bummer is that two widgets (at least) don’t update automatically. One is Spark mail and the other is Omnifocus 4.

Anyone know of way to get those to update automatically?

6

I’ve seen several widgets that don’t update automatically and as far as I know there’s no fix. A real bummer as it makes those widgets pretty pointless.

7

It appears that widget updates are “budgeted”.

8

Cases in which WidgetKit doesn’t count reloads against your widget’s budget include when:

  • […]
  • The system locale changes.
  • Dynamic Type or Accessibility settings change.

For cases such as system appearance changes or system locale changes, don’t request a timeline reload from your app. The system updates your widgets automatically.

A couple of intriguing options from the docs. Any way to trigger an update to these with a recurring automation?

In StandBy, the system refreshes your widget’s display at a system-defined rate that doesn’t count against the its budget.

Otherwise, pray for this feature to reach iPad this fall. :slight_smile: