iPadOS public beta 2 is out

I told myself to wait until the second public beta was released. Today’s the day and I took the plunge. After a couple hours, all is well. I didn’t download the original beta, so I can’t comment on changes, but first impressions - safari is waayyy better, I love the new home screen, and the pencil latency improvement is noticeable.

I’m really excited about this update.

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It looks like one needs Catalina running on something to be able to install iPadOS. Is that correct?

Edit: not sure where I got that impression, but it’s not true. IPadOS can be installed standalone.

I am running iPadOS on my spare iPad Pro 10.5 inch and I have installed both iPadOS Beta 1 and now 2 OTA (Over The Air). Make sure you have installed the new Beta profile for iPadOS.

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Just discovered that the old iPad I installed the beta profile on is an Air not an Air 2. No updates available. Sigh.

It was true for Developer Beta 1, but not anymore.

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Be careful out there:

From Apple (known issues):

  • Under certain conditions, your iCloud Drive might be missing data after upgrading to iOS 13 beta. (51787170, 51950018) Workaround: Recover deleted files on iCloud.com.
  • Some documents might not download in iCloud Drive. (52295165)
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This Discourse site is janky in IPadOS. It would be difficult to post a reply, for instance. Brave is working okay.

I installed it last night. I use the iPad almost exclusively for reading and for social media, so I feel ok with it. I used it for a half-hour and it works fine.

Love the new keyboard, particularly swiping. I’m still undecided on the new sharesheet, but I’m leaning toward disliking it.

Beta 2 is more buggy than beta 1

I am not normally the intrepid type that installs beta software, but I have longed for these new features on iPad for so long, I couldn’t resist any more. I have seen a few bug and wonky user interface artifacts (e.g., resizing screenshots is sometimes tough), but mostly it has been quite stable for me.

One cannot exaggerate how important these new features are. Most of the challenges I have in being able to rely solely on my iPad for everything is really in the hands of 3rd party developers, not Apple, now. Many of the things I can’t do on an iPad is because some feature of the software I’m using is missing on the iPad version. Perfect example for me is being able to compare versions in Microsoft Word or having the ability to create, manage, and edit styles. Maybe with the ability to open multiple documents, running a compare will be possible.

Of course, until there is a compiler and the ability to install your own software, you’ll never really be able to develop on the iPad. So, it’s still not “stand alone.” I hope one day Apple enables that.

Still, the interconnectedness of the Mac and iPad that seems to be flourishing under Catalina and iPadOs are making both tools more powerful—together. So, we may be entering a world where having both a Mac and an iPad is better than having either alone (so the either/or conversation may change). Interesting and exciting times.