With iPad OS 16, Apple asks, ‘what’s a computer’?

by Jonny Evans · June 7, 2022

Safari gains Shared tab groups

As anticipated, improvements in iPad OS 16 mean Apple is taking another huge step toward turning its tablets into even more credible computers. Apple announced a host of useful new features at WWDC, many of which are shared across its ecosystem.

iPad OS 16 in brief

The devil in the detail is that some of the most exciting new features require you to be using an iPad equipped with an M1 chip. That’s going to disappoint some relatively recent iPad purchasers, but also suggests that even entry-level iPads will eventually be equipped with the processor. Maybe.

The accent is on multitasking, better support for external display, collaboration and big improvements in Mail, Messages, Safari and more.

What Apple says about the new iPad OS

“iPad is our most versatile device, and we’re excited to take what it can do even further with iPadOS 16,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering.

“With Stage Manager, which takes multitasking on iPad to a whole new level, plus new ways to share and collaborate via Messages, Safari, and the new Freeform app, and new pro features like Reference Mode and Display Zoom, users can get even more done on iPad.”

Mail seems to have been much improved

What’s new in iPad OS 16?

Mail Introduces New Smart Tools

Mail gets some much-wanted upgrades:

Users are given a moment to cancel delivery of a message before it reaches a recipient’s inbox,
Emails can be scheduled to be sent at the perfect moment.
Sent emails can be moved to the top of an inbox for a fast follow-up.
Messages can also be resurfaced at any date and time with Remind Later.
Mail can sometimes let you know if you forget to include an important part of the message, like an attachment or recipient.
Mail’s improved search experience provides more complete and accurate results by correcting typos and using synonyms for the search terms, and by providing a richer view of contacts, shared content, and more.

Messages gains a lot of capacity

Coming to Messages

New features in Messages make it easy to start collaborating and manage shared content across Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, and Safari, as well as third-party apps. When users send an invitation to collaborate via Messages, everyone on the thread is automatically added to the document, spreadsheet, or project. When someone makes a change to a shared file, everyone can see updates right at the top of the Messages thread. When you are working on a collaborative project you can easily jump into the associated Messages conversation or tap to start a FaceTime call with collaborators.

But Messages also gains from brilliant new features: You can now edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread so they can be returned to later. It’s also possible to begin a SharePlay session via Messages – you might want to watch a movie with your chum while chatting about it in Messages.

An iPad running iPad OS 16

A collaboration notebook: Freeform

Not quite a project management app, Freeform is a useful new project visualization and collaboration solution that lets people see, share, and collaborate in one place. You may be working with your team to develop a new sales strategy, everyone can take notes, share ideas and apply edits while all parties remain connected. Freeform allows collaborators to start a session from FaceTime and see the updates from others right in Messages.

All platforms: iCloud Shared Photo Library

iCloud Shared Photo Library exists to make it easy to share photos seamlessly and automatically among up to six family members. Users can share all their past photos, or use setup tools to contribute specific photos based on a start date or people in the photos. Photos can be added to the collection manually, or through Bluetooth proximity or sharing suggestions in For You. When anyone in the Shared Library adds, edits, or deletes photos, the library is updated for everyone.

Share those photos with friends and fam

Safari opens a password free web

Safari gets big updates, making it even more collaborative, customizable, and secure.

For me, Passkeys are the biggest improvement. This is an important stop on Apple’s journey to replace passwords on the web and in apps. Passkeys are kept on iPad and are specific to the sites users create them for. The passkeys are unique digital keys that stay on device and are never stored on a web server, which means hackers can’t leak them or trick users into sharing them. Users sign in to websites or apps on Apple and non-Apple devices with their saved passkey by scanning the QR code with iPad, and using Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate the session. The keys are also shared across iCloud Keychain.

Passkeys will be an important moment for securing the online experience.

Other Safari improvements identified so far include:

Tab Groups get dedicated start pages that can be customized with a background image, bookmarks, and unique sections everyone can see and edit.
Shared Tab Groups let you collaborate on a set of tabs with friends and see updates instantly while they work together, share tabs and bookmarks, and start a conversation right from Safari.

Live text now handles video as well

The Weather App Comes to iPad

The Weather app comes to iPad. You can see the most important weather information, or explore maps to check precipitation, air quality, and temperature. Users can also be notified when a severe weather alert is issued in their area, or check the air quality using a color-coded scale.

Live Text and Visual Look Up

Using on-device intelligence, Live Text recognizes text in images across the system, and the feature now comes to video, making text completely interactive in paused video frames. With a single tap on a video, users can quickly translate languages or convert currencies.

Visual Look Up lets users lift the subject from an image or isolate a subject by removing the background with just a tap, and expands its recognition capabilities to birds, insects, statues…

Your iPad Pro becomes a reference grading system

Improvements for pro users, iPad gets even more useful

There’s a whole collection of improvements for pros.

Reference Mode enables the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display to match the color requirements in workflows like review and approve, color grading, and compositing, where accurate colors and consistent image quality are critical.
Display Zoom now allows users to increase the pixel density of the display so they can view more in their apps, which is especially useful when using Split View.
Virtual Memory Swap: iPad storage can be used to expand the available memory for all apps, and delivers up to 16 gigabytes of memory for the most demanding apps.

Better multitasking with Stage Manager

Apple has created a new multitasking system it calls Stage Manager.

Also available on macOS Ventura, this automatically organizes apps and windows, making it quick and easy to switch between tasks.
On iPads, you can create overlapping windows of different sizes in a single view, drag and drop windows from the side, or open apps from the Dock to create groups of apps for faster, more flexible multitasking.
The window of the app users are working on is displayed prominently in the center, and other open apps and windows are arranged on the left-hand side in order of recency.
Stage Manager also unlocks full external display support with resolutions of up to 6K, so users can arrange the ideal workspace, and work with up to four apps on iPad and four apps on the external display.

Stage Manager helps you focus on the task in hand

Want more iPad features? You’ve got them…

Dictation offers a new on-device experience that allows users to easily move between voice, touch, and Scribble with Apple Pencil. Users can type with the keyboard or write with Scribble, tap in the text field, move the cursor, and insert QuickType suggestions, all without needing to stop Dictation. Dictation also features automatic punctuation and emoji dictation.

Siri will now run shortcuts from apps, with no setup required. It will insert emoji in messages and send the messages for you. Siri can also now process more types of requests offline without an internet connection. It will even end calls.

Apple’s Home app has been redesigned. Apple says this will make it easier to navigate, organize, view, and control smart home accessories immediately. Apple has also announced Matter support in iPad OS 16.

Desktop-class apps enable new capabilities optimized for the iPad display, from system elements and interactions to new features available on Mac, including a consistent undo and redo experience across the system, a redesigned find-and-replace experience, customizable toolbars, the ability to change file extensions and view folder size in Files, and more.

You also gain desktop class apps

Apple News introduces My Sports, allowing users to follow their favorite teams, leagues, and athletes, and see curated and personalized stories from hundreds of the best local, national, and international sports publications, all in one app.

Notes allows users to create neater handwritten notes with the ability to automatically straighten the handwriting, use their iCloud password to lock personal notes, add screenshots in Quick Note, and take organization even further with powerful Smart Folders and filtering capabilities.

Handoff in FaceTime allows users to start a FaceTime call on one of their Apple devices and hand it off to another Apple device nearby. When switching to a different device, the connected Bluetooth headset transitions simultaneously.

New accessibility tools include Live Captions in FaceTime; a new Magnifier mode that delivers richer descriptions of the surroundings; Hover Text, which helps users to easily read input fields, menu items, button labels, and other text on iPad; support for over 20 additional languages in VoiceOver and Spoken Content; and more.

The Home app gets a welcome redesign

Availability

The developer preview of iPadOS 16 is already available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. A public beta will be available in July.

Which devices are supported?

New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPad (5th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), and all iPad Pro models.