Preliminary Design of the iPad software: it is not just a large iPhone (1)

Editor's note: Apple is a magic Company, and every product of it can make a lot of waves in the market, as did the iPad officially launched last week. For developers, the launch of iPad is a new opportunity after iPhone software development. But what are the differences between the software development of iPad and iPhone?

This article does not mention many questions about the development of iPad programs, but talks about the differences between the development of iPad software and the iPhone and desktop software from the perspective of software design and user experience on the iPad platform. The design philosophy that Apple advocates is "Think different". The concepts mentioned in this article, such as "at your fingertips" and "function subtraction", are truly brilliant, these ideas are also worth learning from in software development on other platforms.

From the perspective of iPad hardware and operating systems, the iPad may be like a large iPhone, but it will be wrong to regard it as the same device in application development. The increased touch screen hardware makes it a new device. The iPad will become a brand new software platform that the iPhone has never tried before.

Here, we can see from Steve Jobs's special introduction to the iPad:

Steve Jobs demo at the iPad Press Conference

In Steve Jobs's magic lamp demonstration, the iPad is located between the iPhone and Mac. This is not because of the display size and processor capability of the iPad, but also a clear indication of the market position of the iPad devices and software.

Desktop applications are the target of iPad, not just a substitute for smartphones. This will bring some very interesting opportunities.

IPad development is quite different

Our existing iPhone applications can run on the iPad. These applications run in the center of the original size on the iPad screen, or in full screen mode ). This is good, but nothing special. More importantly, we can bring desktop applications to the iPad-but this requires us to rethink the user interface and redesign it.

The real opportunity that iPad brings to developers is desktop applications, not small tool programs we see on the iPhone. Instead, some software that can improve work efficiency and be applied to actual work. The fact is that software that fully complies with the iPhone OS has not yet appeared.

To clarify this, let's first compare the differences between iPad and touch screen smartphones. All of this is related to input and output.

◆ The display size increases by 1024x768 pixels. Apps displayed on iPad are more demanding.

◆ The virtual keyboard is larger, and the external physical keyboard is provided through Bluetooth or docking station. Higher availability requirements for keyboard input for applications.

◆ The iPhone supports multi-touch technology. However, the iPad requires reliable hands-on multi-touch support, which will be detailed later.

The points mentioned above will lead to a shift in our thinking when developing iPad apps and interfaces. We need to follow some guidelines.

Master-slave page groupMaster-Detail)

Master-Detail is nothing new, but it was the first time on the iPhone OS platform. Master-slave page (Master-Dettail) is a user interface concept element), which means that the user can view a list of the operations, and can also operate on a selected item in the list. On the iPhone, the display space of the iPhone is limited when the list of things and the interface of the operation items are not visible at the same time), but on the iPad, we can use Master-Detail to display more, for example, the mail function of iPad.

This will bring us some iPad development rules:

◆ Apply the Master-Detail element to a large scale on the iPad

◆ On the display interface, the main window and subordinate window appear simultaneously and can be used to enhance ease of operation.

◆ The main window pops up temporarily when some interfaces respond.

◆ For handheld devices like iPad, dual-window or three-window interfaces need to be taken seriously.

Look like a Viewer

When designing apps for iPad, there is a basic rule to follow: a larger touchable space does not mean more UIS. We may violate this principle because the iPad has a larger touchable display space. resist this temptation. The actual functions of the program will be applied to some UIS, but the larger display does not mean that they all need to be displayed.

◆ Hide the UI elements that users cannot use until they are displayed as needed, such as the software setting function)

◆ Make the software look like an observer and act like an editor

Is a pretty reader Application

The UI for editing is not displayed until you need to interact.

This makes it easier for us to understand the part mentioned below.