How to Address "The Camera" for Video Calls: 4 Pain Points and How to (Solve?) Them

A friend who recently received an iPad gave me 4 key pain points she has experienced with her iPad. Here's how to address these issues and the hopes that lie in the future.

Photo Credit: Daniel Romero from Unsplash

Hey everyone! Today, I wanted to take a different path apart from my usual content.

A few hours ago, I texted a friend and asked her about her biggest problems with using an iPad. In this post, I'll attempt to find a workaround, if not a solution for each pain point.

In addition, I'll discuss any applicable iPadOS 16/future iPad rumors for each point if possible.

Here's a quick preview of the pain points I'll be addressing:

•  the placement of the ipad’s camera is not ideal for zoom calls/google meet

•  since google apps(slides,docs,etc) function in an app format on the ipad, some tools that are present on a computer from a web browser are inaccessible

•  unlike a laptop, you cannot play the audio from youtube while accessing another application

•  it’s difficult to multitask on the ipad compared to a laptop

1.  The Camera

the placement of the ipad’s camera is not ideal for zoom calls/google meet

This was inevitable. Given the state of the world over the past couple years, many iPad users have faced the issue when joining a video call.

Here's a quick summary of the issue for those who aren't familiar: When using an iPad in landscape mode, the camera sits on the left-hand side of your screen. When you aren't close to the screen, the issue isn't too noticeable. When you get closer, however, the camera placement makes it appear as if you are looking off to the side and not paying attention in your video call.

While I haven't heard any complaints over the dozens of Zoom meetings I've had over my iPad, the issue is definitely noticeable.

One possible solution (and the first one that came to my mind) was to connect to an external webcam. It turns out that this isn't as easy as you would expect with an iPad, since Apple does not natively support webcams on iPadOS. Certain webcams can be connected: to learn more on this topic, you can go here.

There were also rumors last year regarding new camera placement, which you can find here.

2.  Google Apps

since google apps(slides,docs,etc) function in an app format on the ipad, some tools that are present on a computer from a web browser are inaccessible

This isn't as bad an issue as the previous problem. To address this, you need to use a counterintuitive method: delete these apps. From my experience, using the browser versions give you far more capabilities.

The only issue I see with the browser versions is when multitasking with Split Screen. That's where the apps tend to shine, but even they aren't the best when multitasking.

In the future, this could be addressed with the ability to resize multitasking windows (you can find more about this here).

3.  YouTube Audio

unlike a laptop, you cannot play the audio from youtube while accessing another application

The solution to this issue is similar to the previous pain point: use the browser, not the app.

When using YouTube in the browser, you can let a video play in the background.

Here's the step-by-step process:

•  Open up your video on YouTube in your browser

•  Go to another application

•  The audio may have paused. Swipe down from the top-center of your screen to bring up the notification center/home screen or swipe down from the top-right of your screen to bring up the control center

•  From here, you should see your audio paused. Press play and your audio will continue playing in the background

4.  Multitasking

it’s difficult to multitask on the ipad compared to a laptop

As someone who uses an iPad as their primary computer, I can agree with this. Looking to the future, however, iPadOS 16 looks promising. From freely resizable windows to having even more apps available when multitasking, iPadOS 16 looks like it will be a much-needed overhaul.

We've seen rumors of multitasking improvements float around for years - but this year looks like it could be the year the iPad takes the major step away from being a "big iPhone" and towards being a genuine laptop alternative.

Hope this helped,

Adi