Apple has dominated the product market ever since the first-generation iPad was released in 2010. Apple announced during its 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference the company rebranded iphone for iphones as iphone, starting with iphone 13, to identify and target the characteristics that differentiate the iphones from various products.
An overview of the computer’s features can be found in TechRepublic’s iphone cheat sheet. This includes information about iPadOS 18, announced during the WWDC 2024 headline.
Describe iPadOS.
Apple’s iphone is a combination of the cellphone- oriented iOS. All of the improvements made with iphone 13 are included in iphone, as well as brand-new functions and optimizations.
iPadOS 16 transformed the iphones into a more pc- school experience that is on par with what you would believe from macOS, and departs a lot from the earlier experience with a bigger iOS operating system.
iphone 17 continued the tradition of making mobile users experience a desktop-class knowledge by improving the search, more extensive options in apps like Notes and Messages, and a built-in webcam on your screen for video conference.
With iPadOS 18, Apple enhanced the user experience, allowing for more customization of the mobile operating system and the ability to significantly integrate first- and third- party apps with Apple Intelligence, a new AI system that’s designed to safely link data from across apps and use it with Siri and other system services to surface data to you more efficiently.
What are the main features of iPadOS?
With iPadOS, the iPad is more likely to function as a laptop replacement, bringing the iPad’s features to feature parity with the entry-level MacBook. iPadOS includes the following features.
Home screen and Lock screen
The iPadOS home screen supports persistent widgets. On iPadOS 15 and newer, the home screen supports Home Screen widgets. Users can place and organize widgets on the home screen the way they would an app — similar to widgets on Android tablets since Android 3.0.
The Lock Screen on iPadOS 17 was redesigned to resemble the one on iPhone and iOS 16 and 17. This new Lock Screen can set matching wallpaper between the Lock Screen and Home Screen.
In iPadOS 17, widgets underwent a significant overhaul, allowing developers to make them interactive. Instead of launching the user into the application, widgets can perform tasks such as checking off a reminder without leaving the Home Screen or Lock Screen. After the announcement and release of the iPadOS 15 widgets with a new design that eliminated intractability, this is fantastic for the future of widgets and brings some missing functionality back.
Widgets on the iPad’s Lock Screen are different from the ones offered on iPhone, instead of being smaller versions of full- size widgets, these are more full- featured widgets that can appear alongside the iPadOS 17 Lock Screen, providing at- a- glance information from your apps.
Apple has updated the Home Screen on both iOS and iPadOS to allow users to arrange widgets and Home Screen app icons in any way they like with iPadOS 18. Long gone are the days of app icons and widgets snapping to a grid and flowing into place. You can now arrange them however you want them to appear on the grid.
Improved multitasking
Users can move between Slide Over apps by scrolling down or up to view all of the apps in the Slide Over view. Slide Over apps can be moved to full screen by dragging them to the top or closed by opening to the app switcher and flicking the app upward.
It is simpler to find and use apps on iPad thanks to the multitasking feature on iPadOS 15 and later. Users can use a single app in full screen mode or use multiple apps simultaneously in Split View or Slide Over mode.
Touch and hold the center window feature allows users to place notes or messages anywhere on the screen while continuing with their current task. With easy menu options, users can access additional options without interrupting whatever task they’re currently working on.
Apple introduced the” shelf,” a tray that appears open apps on the iPad screen at the bottom of the screen, at WWDC 2021.
Desktop Safari
Safari provides better support for Google Docs and WordPress editor, and it loads web pages for desktop use, which is optimized for touchscreens. Some 30 keyboard shortcuts are available in Safari.
External drive support
USB drives and SD cards are supported in Files, making it possible to plug in to an iPad directly without needing a third- party program or an intermediary Mac for file management.
Improvements to the Files app
Files has a column view similar to Finder on macOS as well as support for Server Message Block shares.
Camera back up
Cameras can be connected directly to the iPad, and photos can be imported for editing on iPad apps, such as Adobe Lightroom.
support for fonts
Fonts can be downloaded from the App Store for use in various apps.
new editing gestures that make editing easier
Copy, paste and undo can be performed using three- finger gestures, with three- finger pinch to copy, three- finger spread to paste and three- finger swipe to undo. Both first- and third-party apps have access to this feature.
Apple Pencil, Notes and PDF support
The markup view is opened when a user swipes from the corner of the screen with an Apple Pencil, allowing them to annotate anything on the screen and export it. Latency for Apple Pencil was also decreased from 20ms to 9ms.
Users can add notes by pressing the Pencil over the top of the screen and creating a Quick Note. Users can also add links/URLs to save a Quick Note for each site they visit. When a user returns to the same website, the Quick Note will be available right away. Quick Notes are also accessible via Notes.
The Apple Pencil Quick Notes feature is accessible on iOS and macOS and iPadOS.
iPadOS 17 includes a PDF editor feature that’s available throughout the system but inside the Notes app. With this feature, users can fill out forms using the Apple Pencil or keyboard, making the PDF fields editable automatically.
iPadOS 18 introduced the ability for Notes to learn a user’s handwriting and perform smoothing on handwriting to make it look more natural as the user writes a handwritten note. Users can also copy text, and Notes can translate it to the user’s handwriting and vice versa. Spell check can correct misspelled words using the user’s custom handwriting, too.
SEE: Compare the Scribble on iPadOS 16 to the Notes.
Machine learning can even identify the type of field, such as a phone number, address, email address and more, and offer auto- completion. Use an Apple Pencil or a synced signature that has already been recorded when you need to add your signature.
Sidecar
Users can extend their macOS desktop onto the iPad as a second display or mirror content between both displays. Sidecar can make the iPad work as a drawing tablet when used in conjunction with the Apple Pencil. Sidecar works via a wired connection or wirelessly within 10 meters.
support for Trackpad
There is support for Apple’s Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2, as well as third- party accessories connected over Bluetooth or USB. A circular cursor on the iPad allows you to move across the screen and interact with other objects when you connect a mouse or trackpad. Multitouch gestures also work on the trackpad as well, allowing the user to never need to take their hands off the keyboard and trackpad or mouse.
Scribble
Apple Pencil owners can handwrite any text field with this feature, which was included with iPadOS 14, and have it automatically translate from handwriting to type. On launch, it supported English and traditional and simplified Chinese and could even distinguish between the two when used together in the same text field.
Translate
Apple’s Translate app was enhanced by iPadOS with a number of features. iPad uses an auto- translate feature that detects when a person is speaking, so no button pushing is required in order to translate spoken words. Users can translate texts from any location on the iPad screen, including text from email, Safari, and other web browsers.
Swift Playgrounds
Developers can use Swift UI to create apps directly on iPads with Swift Playgrounds. Using Swift Playgrounds, developers can immediately see their coding changes reflected in preview mode. For those who are just beginning to develop apps, Swift Playgrounds has a guide for creating their first app that can even be downloaded directly from the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Stage Manager
Stage Manager was introduced as a multitasking iPad model with the release of iPadOS 16 that makes it possible for multiple iPad apps to be displayed simultaneously on the iPad. Even multiple overlapping and resizable windows are available to users.
Support for external displays
With iPad Pro or iPad Air with M1 chips, users can connect external monitors and extend or mirror the iPad screen on the larger display to show more apps at a single time, even dragging and dropping files and apps between displays.
Desktop-class applications
With iPadOS 16, Apple added more customizations to iPadOS than typically was shared between iOS and iPadOS. With the most recent iterations of iPadOS, desktop-class apps are now available, with some minor changes like being able to customize tab bar items, undo and redo in more places, change file extensions and check file sizes in Files app, duplicate, rename, and export files in more places.
During the WWDC23 keynote, Apple showed off two applications that were made available to the iPad Pro on May 23, 2023. Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are two popular Mac apps that have been made popular since iPadOS 16 and are compatible with iPadOS 17. These additions indicate that Apple is committed to bringing high- quality professional apps over to the iPad and having the iPad Pro be an example of powerful touch- first applications. The App Store allows the download of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.
Health app for iPad
Apple finally moved the Health app and its data to the iPad in meaningful ways with iPadOS 17. The Health app can be used to view synced iCloud Health Data, fitness data and detailed interactive charts surrounding all available health data and medical chart data.
This will be a great benefit for many users who rely on data to track their fitness and health status because they can now access it on their iPad or iPhone at any time. This news also unlocks a lot of potential for developers because they can now develop against HealthKit on iPad- specific apps.
Calculator
Calculator is an iOS app that has notably vanished from the iPad since its introduction. With iPadOS 18, Apple released a scientific calculator for the iPad that is capable of so much more than just simple calculations. A user can hand write a math equation out in their own handwriting using the new feature Math Notes, which is available with Apple Pencil.
Other notable iPadOS 18 features
- Apple’s intelligence capabilities are also present in iPadOS, including the contextual-aware Siri and the ability to perform complex language model tasks like writing assistance, among others.
- Redesigned tab bar in apps lets you stay focused on the app content and show the sidebar only when needed.
- Writing Tools is a contextual tool that can be used in both first- and third-party apps to use Apple Intelligence to proofread, write, summarize, and other things. It can be invoked by selecting a block of text.
- A new Notes feature summarizes your audio for meetings and records live audio.
- Notes has the ability to solve math equations just by typing them into a note followed by an equal sign. Then, using notes, you can figure out the problem.
- Notes gains new formatting options, including the ability to highlight text with a specific color and collapse certain sections of a note.
- The updated Privacy and Security Settings view in the Settings app enables easier access to which apps can access which types of privacy settings.
- Eye Tracking makes it possible for people to control iPad with just their eyes in a new Accessibility mode.
- Genmoji can be integrated into third-party apps to automatically create new emojis or profile pictures within iPadOS 18 and is also available for use in other apps.
- Home Screen app icons can be easily customized for light or dark mode, or tint them yourself with a new feature that lets you create monochromatic icons or have them all tinted to your favorite color.
- For browsing available controls that can be used within the new Control Center interface or the Lock Screen action buttons, the Control Center now has a widget-like gallery.
- Control Center’s actions can be rearranged and resized to your liking.
- With AI, Photos automatically organizes your photos based on the content inside them, and you can use filters or sorting to find the images you’re looking for.
- Messages supports the ability for text to be changed to bold, italics, underline and strikethrough.
- For emphasis, messages can animate particular sections of text. iOS 18 can automatically suggest specific animations or pick one of your favorites.
- Any emoji can be used with the Messages tapback feature, which makes it easier to express messages using tapbacks built-in instead.
- You can schedule a message to send later inside of Messages, letting you pick the date and time a specific message or reply should be sent.
- You can now view emails in a new way, sorted by type or sender, thanks to Mail’s new AI-enabled ability to categorize them into specific folders.
- Mail will group receipts, marketing emails and newsletters by sender in order, so you can easily read them.
- Safari will use AI to identify particular pages and display things like people, quick links, people, music, movies, and TV shows.
- Reader in Safari has been infused with AI and can now summarize a web page for you without needing to read an entire article. Great for quick catch-ups that are on the go.
- The new Passwords app works on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro and Windows thanks to iCloud sync integration.
- In iPadOS 18, the iPad can use game mode to stop other users from performing background tasks and concentrate solely on giving the screen the best and most effective graphics output.
When was iPadOS released?
iPadOS 16 was unveiled at WWDC’s 22 on June 6, 2022, the iPadOS 16 public beta was released on July 11, 2022, and the iPadOS 16 public release was made public on October 24, 2022.
iPadOS 17 was announced at WWDC 2023 and was released on September 18, 2023, alongside iOS 17.
iPadOS 18 was unveiled at WWDC 2024, and it was made available to Apple developers in beta form on June 10, 2024. A public beta is expected later in the summer, with a general public release in September 2024.
What is the release date for iPadOS 18?
The release date for iPadOS 18 is slated for Fall 2024. If tradition persists, we can anticipate an Apple event in September or October where new hardware will be revealed along with the iPadOS 18 official release date.
Which iPads are compatible with iPadOS 18?
The following iPad models are compatible with iPadOS 18:
- iPad Pro M4.
- 3rd generation and later iPad Pro 12. 9-inch.
- iPad Pro 11- inch 1st generation and later.
- iPad Air M2
- iPad Air 3rd generation and later.
- iPads from the 7th generation and later.
- iPad mini 5th generation and later.
How do I set up and download iPadOS 18?
Apple announced on June 10, 2024 that developers have access to a beta version of iPadOS 18. Any device that has the beta of iPadOS 18 must be enrolled in the Apple Developer Program.
Please note that iPadOS 18 should only be installed on development- specific hardware because features may not be fully implemented yet, and bugs are common in beta releases. Data loss may occur when using iPadOS 18 on production accounts and devices.
Follow these steps to install the iPadOS 18 beta.
- Log into your Apple Developer account.
- Select Downloads and then iPadOS 18.
- Follow steps one and two on your device, or download the profile and AirDrop it to your iPad.
- Install the profile on your iPad, and then restart when prompted.
- Navigate to the Settings app | General | Software Update after restarting. You will receive a prompt to download and install the latest version of the iPadOS 18 beta.
Beginning in July 2024, Apple is likely to start a public beta through its AppleSeed program for testing volunteers. The public beta of iPadOS 18 can be installed on non- development devices for those enrolled in AppleSeed.
What version of iPadOS is the most recent?
The latest iPadOS version is iPadOS 17. Apple unveiled iPadOS 18, which is scheduled for a Fall 2024 release at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, likely soon after iOS 18 is made available to the general public.
How can you tell what version of iPadOS you’re running?
If you’re unsure of the version of iPadOS running on your device, check it by following the instructions below.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select General | About |.
- Under Software Version, you can see the version your iPad is running.
