iPadOS 16 release dateIn October 2022
Apple in June 2022 previewed the latest version of the iPad's operating system, iPadOS 16. iPadOS 16 introduces the Weather app on iPad for the first time, a host of new collaboration features, updates to apps like Notes, Mail, and Messages, a series of "pro" features, including an entirely new multitasking experience, full external display support, display zoom, and much more.
The Weather app comes to the iPad for the first time in iPadOS 16, offering a new system of forecast modules for more detailed information such as hourly temperature and precipitation over the next 10 days.
The Notes app can improve handwritten notes by making words straighter and neater, and users can Scribble with the Apple Pencil while using Dictation for the first time. It is possible to insert shapes like boxes and arrows into the drawing area using a finger or the Apple Pencil, and also add typed text in editable boxes and rotate images within the drawing area. In addition, screenshots can be added to Quick Notes for the first time.
Desktop-class apps enable new capabilities optimized for the iPad's display across apps like Calendar, Contacts, Photos, and Mail, with more advanced system elements and interactions, including a consistent undo and redo experience across the system, a redesigned find-and-replace experience, customizable toolbars, and more.
Based on this, the Files app is significantly improved in iPadOS 16, adding more convenient navigation buttons, easier access to common controls such as duplicate and rename, the ability to change file extensions and view folder size, a unified open and save panel, and sortable columns.
iPadOS 16 includes a range of "pro" features that are exclusive to iPad models with the M1 chip. Stage Manager brings a new way to multitask with multiple overlapping windows and full external display support, Reference Mode allows the iPad to match exact requirements in color workflows, Display Zoom provides more on-screen space, and virtual memory swap expands the amount of memory available to apps.
There are also iPad-exclusive improvements to the Podcasts app, new accessibility features, and DriverKit to provide developers with a way to build support for audio, USB, and PCI hardware devices connected to the iPad.
