What's new in iPadOS 16

iPadOS 16 was announced at WWDC 2022, and it shares a lot in common with its iPhone counterpart iOS 16. Arriving in September 2022, many of the same improvements are coming to all Apple devices, including the Mac, but there are There are a few iPad-specific changes to expect.

Proper external display support

The iPad Pro with M1 chip takes a step closer to replacing your MacBook as it now supports resolutions up to 6K on an external monitor. You can put different apps on an external display for a better multitasking experience, at much higher resolutions. It's not yet clear if all displays will be supported, but Apple showed off the feature at WWDC 2022 using its Pro Display XDR.

You can even drag and drop files and windows between your iPad Pro and your external display, just like you would with an external display connected to a Mac.

Scene Manager, just like macOS 13

External display support is possible thanks to a new feature making its way into iPadOS 16 and macOS 13 called Stage Manager. The feature lets you create groups of apps and windows that you can quickly recall using icons on the edge of the screen.

On the iPad, that means you can finally have overlapping windows, much like a Mac. This allows you to create a more traditional workspace typically associated with a desktop operating system. Stage Manager simplifies the process of recalling different groups of apps, and the "Central App" feature lets you keep an app in the middle of the screen without going full-screen and losing track of everything around it .

A new weather app for iPad

Apple has redesigned its Weather app for iPad, with a design designed to work better on a larger screen. The app will also be available on Mac in a mostly unchanged state, offering features like weather maps, hourly forecasts, air quality information, and a set of animations to render the weather check a bit more…interesting.

There are also notifications for severe weather that may have been issued near you.

Renewed focus on “desktop” apps

The iPad will see renewed interest in “Desktop-Class” apps in iPadOS 16, which makes sense given the desktop-like improvements Apple has made to the platform in recent years.

This means toolbars will be customizable, just like they are on macOS. Design language, such as an easy-to-find search box that appears in the same place in multiple applications, will be respected. Toolbar buttons have been redesigned to make it easier to find and navigate features such as translate or share, and new context menus will provide easier access to common features such as recording or editing. open in apps like Pages.

Apple is also introducing a system-wide "Find and Replace" feature on iPadOS 16, which should make it easier to edit text in emails and documents. The company is also trying to make undo and redo options more consistent, introducing them to apps like Files and Photos.

These ongoing changes, along with more drastic measures such as the introduction of proper mouse and trackpad support in the latest models, reiterate Apple's commitment to evolving the iPad into a platform. - more productive and user-friendly form.

Reference Mode for 12,9-inch iPad Pro

Here's one for professionals using the 12,9-inch iPad Pro. With iPadOS 16, the 12,9-inch model that sports Apple's Liquid Retina XDR display will be able to display reference color modes for working in photo and video editing. These will work both standalone on iPadOS and in Sidecar mode when using your iPad as an external display connected to a Mac.

There's also a new display scaling mode that lets you change your screen resolution, to fit more on the screen (like you do on a Mac, you can detect a pattern here ).

iCloud Shared Photo Library

Most of the other iPadOS features are the same as seen on iOS 16 and macOS 13, which now all run on the same processor architecture and deeply integrate iCloud functionality. One of them is iCloud Shared Photo Library, where you can create a shared photo library in addition to your personal library with up to five family members.

The feature lets you share all or just a few of your photos, with sharing suggestions to help you contribute to a group recording. You'll then receive memory notifications for events that feature both your photos and those taken by others, for a more interesting perspective.

Passkeys on iPad to replace passwords

Passkeys use public and private keys to replace passwords in favor of biometric authentication. This means you won't need to remember passwords in the future, as these keys never leave your device and never need to be entered. iPadOS 16, iOS 16, and macOS 13 include support for this feature, which was developed by Apple alongside Google and Microsoft.

The feature will enter beta first and start rolling out properly later this year. Learn more about how access keys work.

Message enhancements

If you use iMessage to talk to other Apple users on your iPad, you can now edit and cancel messages within 15 minutes of sending them or recover deleted messages within 30 days. There's also a handy new feature to mark messages as unread, regardless of their origin.

You can also now easily share invitations to collaborate with entire conversations for shared projects like Apple Notes and Pages documents, with updates posted in the same message window. SharePlay invitations for synced activities like games, watching movies, or listening to music are also appearing in Messages.

A better Apple Mail experience

Apple Mail gets features like "Follow" (which puts sent messages at the top of your inbox, so you can remember to go back), "Remind Me" (which resurfaces read messages so that you can respond in a few days), and smarter search features that suggest corrections for typos. You can also unsend messages up to 10 seconds after hitting send, which is basically a glorified timeout mechanism.

Rather than using a third-party app or webmail service to schedule messages to be sent later, Mail will now let you schedule your messages right from the compose window. Mail will also remind you if you forget to add a recipient or an attachment you evade in the message body.

Redesigned home app

The Home app has been completely redesigned on all platforms to be much more pleasant to use. It starts with a better underlying architecture that Apple says will make interacting with your connected devices faster and smoother. Devices are now separated into categories (like lights or TVs), you can see everything at once with a new Home view, and you can even pin up to four cameras to the Home tab for immediate viewing .

Apple will also introduce cross-platform device support when Matter arrives later this year. It's also worth remembering that Apple's previous commitments to HomeKit Secure Video no longer count against your available iCloud+ storage, if you plan to install security cameras.

A more powerful focus function

Focus lets you mute notifications to get work done (or just sleep) in its current form, but it gets improvements in iPadOS 16 to make it even more powerful. You'll soon be able to schedule focus modes based on time or location, and even link tab groups to your chosen focus.

Focus Filters allow apps like Mail or Calendar to show more relevant information (or hide distractions), with a Focus Filter API allowing third-party developers to integrate the functionality into their own apps. Focus will also suggest relevant home screen widgets and apps based on the Focus mode you've chosen, helping you hide distractions to help you get work done.

As is the case on iPadOS 15 and other platforms, these changes should continue between devices thanks to iCloud.

Safari improvements too

Safari gets the usual improvements under the hood, with better support for the technologies that power the web. Tab group sharing is new, allowing you to share tabs with a group of people and you can now pin tabs to tab groups and also set group-specific start pages.

Safari extensions are improved and now sync across devices via iCloud, giving developers access to more APIs to build more powerful and engaging extensions. You can also enable web push notifications if your favorite website doesn't have a proper iPad app.

A ton of additional improvements

There's more to iPadOS 16 than meets the eye, and alongside the usual bug and security fixes, Apple will be adding more features like a revamped Game Center dashboard, the ability to recall Wi-Fi passwords, and more. Fi in Settings, live text support in videos, a ton of Siri improvements, and better controls for managing child accounts with Family Sharing.

Apple didn't announce a new iPad at WWDC 2022, but the iPad Air was updated with the M1 chip earlier in 2022. Not sure which Apple tablet is right for you? Check out our best iPad buying guide.