iPad Amazon sale on the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Air

[OtinG]

Bottomline is that the iPad mini 5 and iPad Air 2020 unlock in a similar way, but there is a difference. With the iPad mini 5 you can bypass the Start screen, or whatever it is called, by using a single long depress on the Home button. If you want the iPad mini 5 to go to the Start screen, quickly depress and release the Power button. The iPad Air 2020 doesn’t have the capability to bypass the Start screen. The first action of depressing the Top button activates the Start screen and gives you the option to unlock the device by gently touching the Top button so it can read your finger print to validate you are allowed to unlock the device. I can see a benefit in that, but I doubt I will ever take advantage of just displaying the Start screen on either of my iPads.

I would much prefer the iPad Air 2020 used FaceID like my iPhone XR and the iPad Pro models. But that would mean there would have been even less temptation to fork over another $200 for an iPad Pro 11” model.

ETA: BTW, I seem to have developed a smooth way of getting the iPad Air 2020 to unlock without noticeably displaying the Start screen. It takes a lot of practice, the right touch, and a lot of luck! I’m pretty sure the Start screen does display for a few microseconds, but it is so short that I have to really concentrate to notice it. I don’t always get this technique to work, but the more I use it the more it becomes muscle memory. I’m almost to the point of not thinking about. When I do think about it, I usually have it fail to work.

[tomsem]

You do not actually have to depress the Home button: in Accessibilty/Home Button settings, turn on Rest Finger to Open. I imagine something similar would be available with top button on the Air.

I realize Apple calls it the ‘top’ button but this strikes me as anachronistic, as top is simply the edge of the screen that is ‘up’ with respect to my eyes, and any edge can be ‘top’ (except having the camera on ‘bottom’ is probably to be avoided if you are videoconferencing. Without a Home button, it becomes just The Button.

‘It is rumored’ that the camera will be relocated to the side where Pencil docks/charges.

[pwalker8]

One aspect that I don't like about the touch id/face id is the frequency that you have to put in your pass code to re-enable it. It seems to pop up at the most inconvenient times. I get that Apple's security experts want that extra check, but in the real world, is it really necessary? Is there a single documented case where putting in the pass code actually prevented a bad guy from accessing an Apple device or is it just the usual security paranoia?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

You do not actually have to depress the Home button: in Accessibilty/Home Button settings, turn on Rest Finger to Open. I imagine something similar would be available with top button on the Air.

I realize Apple calls it the ‘top’ button but this strikes me as anachronistic, as top is simply the edge of the screen that is ‘up’ with respect to my eyes, and any edge can be ‘top’ (except having the camera on ‘bottom’ is probably to be avoided if you are videoconferencing. Without a Home button, it becomes just The Button.

‘It is rumored’ that the camera will be relocated to the side where Pencil docks/charges.

Thanks, I’ll check that out! There are so many hidden features on the iOS and iPadOS devices that you never seem to learn them all.

I think a lot of Apple's naming scheme is rather poorly thought out. This is why you don’t let engineers name things! They really should run the naming suggestions by a group of experts who better understand what the customers would call things. What we were calling the "Start" screen in earier posts is officially the "Lock" screen. (I had to look it up.)

Moving the front camera to the longer side makes sense. If the iPad is in landscape mode, and the Pro models and Air 4 likely will be since a lot of users put them in a keyboard case, then the camera would be positioned as it is on a laptop. When you use apps like Zoom and Webinar with the iPad in landscape, it is better to have the front camera on the long side and centered otherwise you will have to awkwardly turn your head toward the side of the iPad or you will wind up with a weird angled side view of yourself who doesn’t make eye contact. For those who prefer to use their iPad in portrait mode the front camera would be better placed where it is now.

Originally Posted by pwalker8

One aspect that I don't like about the touch id/face id is the frequency that you have to put in your pass code to re-enable it. It seems to pop up at the most inconvenient times. I get that Apple's security experts want that extra check, but in the real world, is it really necessary? Is there a single documented case where putting in the pass code actually prevented a bad guy from accessing an Apple device or is it just the usual security paranoia?

Totally agree. It does seem like they don't force the pass code on us as much as the used to, but it is still too often and usually at the most inopportune moment.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

You do not actually have to depress the Home button: in Accessibilty/Home Button settings, turn on Rest Finger to Open.

I just checked my iPad mini 5 and the Rest Finger to Open option was already toggled ON, but it doesn't work. Resting my thumb on the Home button will not turn on and unlock my iPad mini 5. Actually nothing happens. I have to depress the Home button to turn on and unlock the iPad mini 5. I thought it was likely being hampered by the Otterbox Defender case which has a piece of clear plastic over the Home button, but after I took it out of the case this setting still would not work. (I haven't tested it on the iPad Air 2020 yet.)

ETA: I just did some internet searches and found that the Rest Finger to Open option has been very flaky for years. I found complaints for it not working going back to 2016 and up to the current year. I found complaints for this failure on iPad Pros, iPad mini 5, iPad Air 2020, and iPhones. So it seems this is yet another faulty option feature that Apple has not implemented or fixed properly. BTW, none of the suggested fixes worked for any of the complainants. The Apple Support site forum, as usual, was worthless with people giving out the fix all solutions of Restart and/or RESET the device, and the Captain Obvious solution of verify that the Rest Finger to Open option is toggled On. That is the same BS they give for every issue.

ETA2: I just checked my iPad Air 2020 and the Rest Finger to Open option was already toggled ON, but it doesn't work. Resting my thumb on the Top button will not turn on and unlock my iPad Air 2020.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I just checked my iPad mini 5 and the Rest Finger to Open option was already toggled ON, but it doesn't work. Resting my thumb on the Home button will not turn on and unlock my iPad mini 5. Actually nothing happens. I have to depress the Home button to turn on and unlock the iPad mini 5. I thought it was likely being hampered by the Otterbox Defender case which has a piece of clear plastic over the Home button, but after I took it out of the case this setting still would not work. (I haven't tested it on the iPad Air 2020 yet.)

ETA: I just did some internet searches and found that the Rest Finger to Open option has been very flaky for years. I found complaints for it not working going back to 2016 and up to the current year. I found complaints for this failure on iPad Pros, iPad mini 5, iPad Air 2020, and iPhones. So it seems this is yet another faulty option feature that Apple has not implemented or fixed properly. BTW, none of the suggested fixes worked for any of the complainants. The Apple Support site forum, as usual, was worthless with people giving out the fix all solutions of Restart and/or RESET the device, and the Captain Obvious solution of verify that the Rest Finger to Open option is toggled On. That is the same BS they give for every issue.

ETA2: I just checked my iPad Air 2020 and the Rest Finger to Open option was already toggled ON, but it doesn't work. Resting my thumb on the Top button will not turn on and unlock my iPad Air 2020.

After I posted that, of course, it stopped working for a bit. But apart from that, I almost never have to press down on the Home button to unlock. Maybe re-do your TouchID setup? I think some people have harder to read fingerprints; my wife seems to.

As for the passcode prompt, I think if you don’t use TouchID/FaceID for 24 hours you need to use a passcode to unlock. And of course you need to use it after updates, and before updates, and before Watch updates.

But occasionally it seems not to fit that pattern.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

After I posted that, of course, it stopped working for a bit. But apart from that, I almost never have to press down on the Home button to unlock. Maybe re-do your TouchID setup? I think some people have harder to read fingerprints; my wife seems to.

It doesn’t work at all on my iPad mini 5. I noticed last night that it occasionally works on my iPad Air 2020, but not consistently. I doubt it is my fingerprint as that works flawlessly for every application except this one. Plus there wouldn’t be so many complaints about it not working from 2016 through now. Like many iOS and iPadOS features, it probably works better on some devices than others.