Things that Mac OS X could learn from the iPad and iPhone
It's kind of amazing how the iPad and iPhone have crept more and more into my digital life, slowly encroaching on my laptop use. Of course the iPad isn't very good for Photoshop or some of the high end programs I need to use at times, but I've noticed that over the holidays, with time at home, the iPad is getting about 90 percent of my computing attention. Checking the Web, email, weather, flight info, ... you name it, the iPad is doing it all quite nicely, backed up by the iPhone.
It's also made me realize there are some things that iOS should bring to Mac OS X, and the sooner, the better. Lots of the innovations coming to Lion are going to improve matters, but here's what I'm looking for.
When I'm back on my desktop or laptop, I find myself constantly double clicking on web pages to get them to zoom up in size. Of course, it's a no-go. I've gotten so used to that feature that I feel terribly deprived without it.
I love the iOS software update notifications. Yes, the App Store is coming to the Mac, but it will never have pervasive control like the iPad, because lots of applications won't be sold that way; they'll depend on other methods to let you know an update has arrived. iOS lets me update everything at once. A couple of clicks and I'm done.
I also like full-screen mode. When I'm in an app on the iPad or iPhone, I'm not distracted by all the other things going on. Yes, more and more OS X apps are providing a full-screen mode, like the new Microsoft Office and iPhoto, but again, it's all fragmented. Apple means to fix that in Lion, but we won't see that until next summer at the earliest.
Of course, full-screen is not always a blessing, and that leads me to one thing Mac OS X should teach to iOS.
High on my list of gripes is how the top bar in iOS is wasted space. I'd like to see email and other alerts on the top bar, in the same way that Mac OS X uses the menu bar for notification and status info. If my iPad is muted, I'd still like to know if email has come in, and how many emails there are. I'd like to know about any other message, like a weather bulletin or other alert.
I'm not wild about having a pop-up cover up a portion of my screen, which is what iOS gives me, but something subtle and non-intrusive would be most welcome. Many apps preserve the top bar under iOS, but many others (I'm thinking of games in particular) obliterate it. I'd like a software switch to control that behavior and the ability to choose which notifications are displayed or none. [One of the more popular reasons for jailbreaking iOS devices is to add this functionality via apps like SBSettings. –Ed.]
Lion may reverse the problem. I'm hoping full-screen modes will utilize the menu bar and not get me so lost in an application that I'm cut off from email notifications and other information. Some screenshots of Lion show a menu bar, but in others, it's absent.
These are a few early thoughts on the subject. We know you have your own. What do you think should migrate to Mac OS X from iOS? And what should change on the iPhone or iPad to make them more computer-like? We await your comments and suggestions.
