Will The iPad Ever Have An “Advanced” Mode? – [OPINION]

Here’s an interesting question. It’s from TheVerge forums, originally published by user ‘CMG90′. Asking whether Apple’s iPad will ever have an “Advance” mode:

With the increase of resolution and a nice, large 9.7″ screen do you think the iPad will ever have an advanced mode where it will take full [advantage] of the screen real-estate? I have a [feeling] in iOS 6 we will see the [notification] center off to the side, much like in OSX 10.8 (you may argue that it wont match the iPhone/iPod but lets be real here the iPad already has a few [differences] from the phone [version] such as split screens and a gray theme rather then a blue one).

But besides that, do you think we will ever see widgets or a more WP7 like [approach] and have live, interactive “hubs” or something along the lines of [Dashboard for Mac]?

This falls directly in line with what I was getting at in my future analysis of Windows 8 tablets. Don’t get me wrong, I think the iPad is great — and, as most of you probably know at this point, I am fortunate enough to own one.

However, as much as I like the device, it is also lacking in certain areas. One particular area which I believe needs readdressing is the ability to run desktop applications as desktop applications. Not just small, specifically-optimized packages – (which, for the most part, do look great!) – but instead a mode which allows the user to interact with a desktop-like interface via touch, with native “desktop-class” applications.

iOS and its homescreen is targeted at Apple’s core belief of simplicity. This is a job is does particularly well as the user interface itself can be used by almost everyone – including 1-year olds.

But while iOS may cater for both young and old in its current form, those who require it for professional desktop application on the move may be hard pushed to find the right kind of power-intensive apps on the iTunes App Store which are fit for the job.

I’m not talking about editing a movie or a bunch of photos, Apple thankfully has both of those covered – (although, it would be nice to see Aperture land on the platform some day) – instead I’m talking about things like CAD (Computer Aided Drawing)-assisted projects and running software such as Maya.

The iPad, for all intents and purposes, is lacking this “advanced” desktop mode.

Some might argue that the iPad was never meant to be capable of such tasks, after all – Apple sells the Mac, which is capable of running this type of software, and much more. However, I would argue that Apple’s introduction of iOS 5 along with its mentality for iOS devices to ‘cut the wire’ from both iTunes and their previously-limiting dependency on the desktop, signals Apple may have bigger plans for the iPad moving forward.

What do you think?