The next software update coming to your iPad will be iPadOS 16, and we’ve heard the first details about this upcoming swathe of features thanks to the WWDC 2022 keynote conference.
This is the fourth generation of iPadOS, since Apple spun it off from its iOS smartphone operating system – saying that, iPadOS 16 does share many features in common with iOS 16.
- WWDC 2022 is still going on, and we’re writing this article based on information as soon as it’s stated on-stage by Apple – so keep refreshing this page for all the details as they’re announced. Alternatively, our WWDC live blog will keep you up to date with the keynote conference.
iPadOS 16 features
Lots of iPadOS 16 features are ones that are primarily iOS 16 features.
These include lock screen changes, letting you see more notifications and customize to a better extent, what you see on your iPad before it’s unlocked.
Another comes from Apple Maps: you’ll be able to create a route in the app, including with different stops and routes, and send it to your iPhone. That lets you plan the journey on a big screen before you view it on the small one.
There’s also a macOS feature coming, and that’s a change to the Mail app. Now you’ll be able to schedule emails to be sent at a certain time, retract emails you’ve just sent and set reminders for emails you don’t want to deal with straight away.
Apple’s new Weather app is also coming to iPad, if that’s something you care about.
Collaboration is a big focus, so when you share a document (from certain apps) with your friends or co-workers, you’ll now send the actual document, not a copy of it – then you can use FaceTime to work on it with people together. It’s basically like the Google Suite, but… not by Google.
An upcoming app called FreeForm was detailed, though this is coming to iPadOS 16 later in the year. It’s basically a joint digital message board, or a shared version of the Notes app, so you can sketch and jot down ideas, and other people can collaborate on the board too.
A creative app that’s coming is Reference Mode, which is meant to keep your iPad screen more color-accurate to other devices which would be useful for color graders – though Apple didn’t go into much detail on what this actually does.
Apple has also pledged to upgrade more first-party apps to make them ‘Desktop-class’ though this seems to involve hundreds of tiny little tweaks instead of any one massive change. It makes sense, though, since iPadOS feels basically like a giant version of iOS at the moment.
After detailing the Mac’s gaming prowess earlier in the presentation, we’ve heard that the iPad will get loads. This includes a feature called Metal 3 which automatically upscapes gaming footage (basically it adds to the framerate and resolution), and also now Game Center is getting an activity list so you can see what your friends are doing – it’s very similar to the features that exist in many other game networks like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.