The next software update coming to your iPad will be iPadOS 16, and we heard the first details about this next set of features thanks to the WWDC 2022 keynote.
It is the fourth generation of iPadOS, as Apple separated it from its iOS smartphone operating system, saying that iPadOS 16 shares many features in common with iOS 16.
- WWDC 2022 is still ongoing, and we're writing this article based on the information Apple declares on stage, so keep updating this page for all the details as they're announced. Alternatively, our WWDC Live Blog will keep you up to date with the main conference.
Features of iPadOS 16
Many iPadOS 16 features are primarily iOS 16 features.
These include changes to the lock screen, allowing you to see more notifications and better customize what you see on your iPad before it unlocks.
Another comes from Apple Maps: you'll be able to create a route in the app, even with different stops and routes, and send it to your iPhone. This allows you to plan your trip on the big screen before you see it on the small one.
There's also a macOS feature coming, and it's a tweak to the Mail app. Now you'll be able to schedule emails to be sent at a certain time, retract emails you just sent, and set reminders for emails you don't want to deal with. immediately.
Apple's new Weather app is also coming to the iPad, if that's something you're interested in.
Collaboration is an important goal, so when you share a document (from certain apps) with your friends or colleagues, you'll now send the actual document, not a copy; then you can FaceTime to work on it with other people. . It's basically like the Google suite, but... not from Google.
An upcoming app called FreeForm has been detailed, though it's coming to iPadOS 16 later this year. It's basically a common digital bulletin board or shared version of the Notes app, so you can draw and jot down ideas, and other people can collaborate on the board too.
One creative app to come is Benchmark Mode, which aims to maintain the color accuracy of your iPad screen compared to other devices, which would be useful for color calibrators, though Apple hasn't given much detail about what that means. really does.
Apple has also promised to update more of its own apps to become "desktop class," though this seems to involve hundreds of small tweaks rather than one massive change. It makes sense though, because iPadOS essentially feels like a giant version of iOS right now.
After detailing the Mac's gaming prowess earlier in the presentation, we've heard that the iPad will get a lot. This includes a feature called Metal 3 that automatically transforms game footage (basically adds frame rate and resolution), and now Game Center gets an activity list so you can see what your friends are up to; it is very similar to the features that exist. on many other gaming networks like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.