New to Apple/iOS - couple of questions

[lifereinspired]

Hello,

I'm considering purchasing an iPad Pro 9.7. This would be my first ever Apple iOS device in my entire life. I've enjoyed tech products since I was a kid and left with the responsibility of "fixing" our first PC whenever it would stop working properly - which was often . Being a fan of free open source software, Apple hasn't been first on my list of tech companies but with the number of apps that are iOS only, I'm finally willing to put some of those perhaps naive ideologies aside.

I'm coming from a primarily Android (enthusiast) and Windows world. I'm heavily into the Google ecosystem including Google Now/Assistant (and Google Home). My husband recently decided on the iPad Pro 9.7 himself as his birthday gift (he's an artist and the Apple Pencil capabilities capture his heart) and I've had the chance to play around with the unit a little bit. I had heard that you couldn't fully customize it but I wasn't prepared for not being able to remove Safari and Email from the static launcher row at the bottom and I honestly won't use either one very much as Chrome will sync across my other devices. So, I've been looking for more information and of course, had heard about "jailbreaking". I really appreciated the sticky post explaining the process and the fact that you can always reverse it, you can't really brick the device, and you can still use the app store normally.

This left me with a few questions. Are all of the things mentioned in that post (which is several years old now) still valid? Secondly, can iOS 10 be jailbroken? Thirdly, if I jailbreak an iPad pro, will the Apple Pencil and Smart Connector still work as expected and can I also remove Safari and Email from the launcher row at the bottom of the pages?

If there's anything else that you can think of that would be helpful for a tech enthusiast but iOS newbie, please share. I'm interested in using the iPad Pro for videography and music creation in addition to many of the typical tablet use cases such as media consumption and reading. Thanks so much in advance!
Rae

 

[scifan57]

There is a very basic jailbreak available for iOS 10.1.1 but Apple is no longer signing that version of iOS. Any new iPad you'll buy will have a later iOS version installed at the factory.

In regards to the Safari and Email apps, they can indeed be removed from the dock at the bottom of the home screen and can be place on any home screen or folder you choose.

If you go to this link, you can download the iPad user guide that will help you in learning the basics of iPad operation. If you select the iBooks version it will be downloaded to the iBooks app on your iPad. The good thing is that Apple regularly updates the guide as new features are added. Apple - Support - Manuals

 

[twerppoet]

Hold in mind that removing Safari and Mail from the dock does not stop them from being the default apps. That is still built in. However, most of Google's iOS apps will defaiult to using other Google app. For instance, clicking a link in the Gmail app will go to Chrome instead of Safari, and vice-versa (though Safari and Mail are still options). Choosing a file in Google Drive will open it in one of the Google document apps, if they are installed (and compatible).

Apple's apps, and most other third party apps only open Safari and Mail, due to their deeper integration with iOS.

Google has a surprisingly complete and set of iOS apps for it's ecosystem. Many iOS users choose to use mostlhy Google apps on thier iPads and iPhones; and seem to be satisfied. Personally, I'm happty using 'mostly' Apples apps; though I have most of Googles apps (and an account) as backup. Aways good to have more than one door to the internet.

 

[lifereinspired]

Thanks so much for the info. I'm sorry I didn't realize that you can remove Safari and mail programs but when I went into the edit mode (where are the icons are shaking) those two did not - not did they have an "x" next to them) so I thought they couldn't be removed.

So are you saying that in iOS, the user cannot choose the default programs that are used? That would be hard to get used to. Eek. I want to be able to fully embrace iOS for the additional benefits but it's a lot to give up when you're used to that much more customization.

One more question, as I cannot seem to find the answer by searching the web... An I correct that they are no keyboards that have a secondary button function that you access from long pressing? In Android, gBoard, Swype and many others have punctionuation and numbers that you can access on the primary keyboard simply by long pressing. Is that impossible in iOS?

Thanks again. And I will download that manual. Thanks for that too!

 

[twerppoet]

By remove, Sci-Fan meant they could be moved out of the dock at the bottom.

Safari can not be deleted. Mail can, but it's not a good idea. All it does is remove the icon and some support files. There is very little saving when it comes to storage, and every time you click an email link in a thrid party app it will prompt you to reinstall the app; because the integration layer is still there.

The better choice is to put all the default apps you don't want into a folder, and move that folder to the last screen.

And you are correct, several of the built in apps are integrated into iOS as system wide defaults, and there is no way to force a different app to take their place. As far as I knwo even jailbreaking can only bypass this to a limited extent. It's not all bad news. Because Apple's apps supply a consistant interface, other apps can integrate further with the system than is normal in operating systems that no way of knowing how the target app will behave.

For instance, pretty much any app can email files, access the camera, save photos, retreive address information, map locations, etc. All the developer has to do is add the capabilty, without worrying whether the source app will be able to understand the request.

Actually, Apple's system keyboard was one of the first to offer long-press keyboard shortcuts for less used characters. Mostly the character variations you'd expect are under the main key. Android forged the way with the predictive typing, but Apple now offers that as well. Swype style typing can also by used, but only through third party keyboards.

You can also install software keyboards for other languages, and switch between them fairly quickly.

 

[scifan57]

One important thing to remember if you install any third party software keyboards on your iPhone is that for entering passwords, it defaults to the stock Apple password keyboard. This is done for security reasons to ensure that third party apps never have access to your passwords. This doesn't apply to password locked apps, such as a banking app.

 

[Thomas1977]

iPad Pro are very expensive. you may find a better deal if you go the referbished route.