Apple is expected to release iPadOS 16.1 today. Most of its improvements aren’t limited to the iPad — you’ll also find them on the iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. But they should help you be more productive, whatever Apple device you’re using.
Here’s an overview of some of the improvements and what they do.
A more Mac-like desktop
Director (see more below) tries to bring the Mac and iPad closer together, but the iPad gets new system elements and interactions in Desktop Class apps, including files. These include sequential undo and redo, customizable toolbars, and the ability to change file extensions and view folder sizes in Files. That alone might be enough for an upgrade, given how important Files has become to some workflows.
Mail just gets a whole lot better
As I’ve mentioned, most of the best improvements in iPadOS 16 apply to all of Apple’s platforms. Take advantage of smart new tools in Mail that let you cancel outgoing messages, schedule emails, and set reminders. Just like on the Mac, the iPad can do all of this and give you a hint when you forget to add an attachment to a message. Search has also been improved: it can better handle typos, use synonyms, and provide much richer mail search results.
Stage manager
The latest big change to the iPad’s user interface is also rolling out to the Mac. Stage manager trying to build a new logic for how you handle applications on both systems. In theory, this is practical: it makes it much easier to switch between different programs or groups of programs, and it helps by keeping the program you’re currently working with in the center. In practice, beta testers seemed to find the new user interface more effective on the Mac than on the iPad, but if people get used to it, the move could help bridge the ever-shrinking gap between the unique nature of both systems.
an appleStage Manager represents a major change in the organization of windows and programs on the iPad.
Coming soon: Freeform
It is not available in this release, but Freeform promises so much for all of us. It’s a form of collaborative notebook where users can share diagrams and site plans in one fully editable shared workspace. Freeform works with Messages and FaceTime, so you can work with people and track changes asynchronously.
Apple is making noteworthy improvements to Safari
Shared tab groups, better password management thanks to Access Keys, and new dedicated start pages for specific tab groups are all meant to improve and make Safari safer. If you’re a thinker, you can customize your tab group start pages with background images, bookmarks, and sections that can be shared with others.
Complex visual intelligence and artificial intelligence
Live Text was already a great tool for recognizing words like street signs or advertisements in photos. In iPadOS 16, it can also recognize words in videos. You can translate words, drag and drop them into other apps, and more. Visual Look Up improvements mean you can recognize animals, insects, birds, flowers and statues in photos. Essentially, photos and videos on the iPad and other Apple devices have become functionally useful tools, especially for teaching, reporting, and travel.
Other improvements worth noting
Support for 20 more languages in VoiceOver means even more people in even more countries can use iPad to complete tasks using their voice, while Notes gets smart folders and many more improvements that make it easier to create, manage and share notes.
If you’re one of the millions of people who seem to spend a lot of time on video meetings, Handoff in FaceTime makes it easier to switch between devices mid-meeting. It would be even better if you got this capability in Zoom, Teams and Webex, considering that’s where most of the work is done now.
Finally, Display Zoom helps you increase the available space on your iPad’s display, so icons and font sizes shrink to make room for what you need.
an appleiPadOS 16 desktop.
Apple Pencil and its “pointing” experience.
The iPad can detect the second-generation Apple Pencil when it is approximately 12mm above the display. When it detects the device, the display will show you a preview of the mark to help you place it more precisely. This means more accuracy when you use Scribble, fewer errors when annotating documents or PDFs, and one big limitation: Hover is only available for M2-equipped iPad Pros.
External display support
You can also connect your iPad to an external display. If you using the new high-end iPad Pro you can also use a reference mode that meets color requirements and controls color accuracy — useful for film and photography professionals who will now be able to carry the world’s lightest reference display.
And my personal favorite, being British
The Weather app is finally here on the iPad. It was a long and unnecessary wait, but now it’s over. You can also swoon over the tiny raindrops pattering on the app on a humid day, or enjoy the pale blue sunny skies on bright days. You’ll also get air quality and temperature information, as well as severe weather alerts.
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