Apple yesterday released the first developer beta for macOS Big Sur 11.3. As we detailed at the time, the update includes a variety of new changes and features, such as support for configuring paired HomePods in stereo as your standard sound output device.
It turns out that macOS Big Sur 11.3 includes a couple of changes for running applications for iPad on Macs M1.
For those unfamiliar, M1 Macs allow users to install applications for iPhone and iPad through the Mac App Store. The experience, however, has been mediocre in many ways, and macOS Big Sur 11.3 takes a couple of small steps to change that.
First, macOS Big Sur 11.3 added a new preferences panel dedicated to “Touch Alternatives”, which is a feature designed to replicate the touch gestures you would use in the iPad app version. This feature has been around since M1 Macs first launched in November, but macOS Big Sur 11.3 adds a new preferences panel that gives users more granular control over the feature.
To access the new Touch Alternatives preferences panel, click on the application name in the menu bar and choose Preferences. Here, you can activate ringing alternatives and then specify which specific controls you want to use.
Previously, macOS Big Sur only allowed you to enable Touch Alternatives, having no control over the details. Here he is in action:
Window size changes
As first seen by The Verge, macOS Big Sur 11.3 also makes a very small adjustment to the window size of iPad apps on the Mac. The report explains:
IPadOS apps will now look bigger than before – if screen size allows – and beta testers will find a new preference panel for iPhone and iPad apps that will allow them to better customize “touch alternative” keyboard commands. Touch alternatives allow “keyboard alternatives for touch, swipe and drag gestures, and allow multiple finger gestures using the option key and a trackpad”.
For those unfamiliar, certain iPad apps do not allow you to adjust the window size when running on Mac – like HBO Max. Now, with macOS Big Sur, the default window size for these apps is slightly larger. Here’s a comparison before and after HBO Max on the M1 MacBook Air:
Take from 9to5Mac
These are small but useful changes to the experience of using iPad apps on M1 Macs, and while it is encouraging to see Apple making improvements, there is still much more to be done.
The change to the standard window size is particularly bizarre. The ideal solution is for Apple and the developers to simply allow window sizes to be adjusted by the user, but this is apparently not possible with applications like HBO Max.
What do you think about the experience of using apps for iPad on Apple Silicon Macs? What improvements would you like Apple to make? Let us know in the comments!
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