Programming iOS 12

Chapter 9. iPad Interface

This chapter discusses some iOS interface features that differ between the iPad and the iPhone:

Popovers and split views

Popovers and split views were exclusive to the iPad when they were introduced in iOS 3.2. Starting in iOS 8, they became available also on the iPhone, where they typically adapt, appearing in an altered form more appropriate to the smaller screen.

iPad multitasking

iPad multitasking, introduced in iOS 9, is an interface confined to a subset of iPad models, where two apps can occupy the screen simultaneously.

Drag and drop

Drag and drop was introduced in iOS 11 primarily to allow the user to drag from one app to another — for example, in an iPad multitasking interface. It can also be used within a single app, even on the iPhone.

Popovers

A popover is a temporary view layered in front of the main interface. It is usually associated, through a sort of arrow, with a view in the main interface, such as the button that the user tapped to summon the popover. It might be effectively modal, preventing the user from working in the rest of the interface; alternatively, it might vanish if the user taps outside it.

Popovers bring to the larger iPad the smaller, more lightweight flavor of the iPhone. For example, in my LinkSame app, both the settings view (where the user configures the game) and the help view (which describes how to play the game) are popovers (Figure 9-1). On the iPhone, such a view would occupy the entire screen; we’d ...