In the last couple of years, many traditional MacBook users have been able to get 80 per cent of their work done using the iPad with a Magic Keyboard. Once iPadOS 16 is available for public use, 90-95 per cent of the work will be possible on the iPad, especially if you have the recent M1 variety. Also, the lead iPad enjoys over rival tablets just increased drastically. What are some of these big updates? Let’s find out.
Multitasking
It’s one of those words that’s being increasingly thrown around while discussing the iPad and for good reasons. The game-changer of a feature on the iPad will be Stage Manager (which will work on an iPad equipped with an M1 chip). Basically apps can be shown as windows, overlapping one another and can be dragged and pulled. Similar windows can be grouped on the left hand and any window can be called into play anytime. All these windows will make better use of the iPad’s screen estate. Stage Manager is, in fact, a feature that’s also available on macOS Ventura. With full external display support, Stage Manager works with up to eight apps simultaneously, making it resource hungry and requires computational power. Perhaps that’s the reason why it is restricted to iPads with the M1-powered chip
iPadOS 16 introduces a new multitasking experience, new ways to collaborate with others, and new features for pro users that take advantage of the power of the M1 chip
Virtual memory
Apple is allowing a multiple window set-up knowing well how far the iPad can be pushed because of the combination of the M1 chip as well as RAM management. The latter is being improved further in way of Virtual Memory Swap, which is new to iPadOS though the technology is obviously not new; how it will be implemented is interesting. The iPad can use a part of the internal storage like additional RAM, which many Android users call virtual RAM. What this means is that the iPad can keep more apps open in the background and web pages don’t need to be reloaded again and again while switching between tabs on Safari. The machine will behave more like macOS, thanks to up to an extra 16GB of memory. Moving data between the real RAM and virtual RAM on the latest SSD happens at the blink of an eye, impossible to perceive for the average user.
External display support
This is for M1 iPad users running iPadOS 16. Full external display support comes to iPad Pro and iPad Air with the M1 chip with resolutions up to 6K. You can access apps on external display. According to Apple: “Users can arrange the ideal workspace, and work with up to four apps on iPad and four apps on the external display.” A use case? In case a LumaFusion file is rendering on, say, the Studio Display, you can still access the file on the iPad. It’s that powerful.
Collaboration
It involves real-time sharing of an original document so everyone can work on it at the same time. We are not talking about copies of documents but the same document being shared among multiple users. Collaboration can begin directly from the share sheet in apps like Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes and so on. When a collaboration is underway, if someone adds a Safari tab during a FaceTime call, can also see that tab opened on everyone else’s Safari window too. The company is offering an API for developers to add similar functionality into their apps.
Weather
The Weather app is finally coming to the iPad and though it may sound like a simple feature, it is also one that was long demanded. Previously available as a widget, Weather on the iPad will have the same feel as that on the iPhone, complete with all animations and detailed information, scaled to fit the iPad. For developers, Apple has introduced WeatherKit, which allows them to build Apple’s weather data into third-party apps. As for Calculator, well, there are wheels within wheel or as a wise man once said, it will appear at the appropriate juncture, in due course, in the fullness of time.
Freeform
This is a whiteboard app that’s coming later in the year. And it will be for the iPad, Mac and the iPhone. Making the app standout is the fact there is no fixed space; you can keep adding space to the whiteboard. As part of a collaborative feature set, the whiteboard can be shared with other users, allowing them work on different parts of the board simultaneously. Freeform will support all kinds of content — text, Apple Pencil drawings, sticky notes, images and whatever else you can think of. It will change the way teams collaborate.
With full support for Apple Pencil, Freeform gives users the ability to see, share, and collaborate in real time on a flexible canvas
Handwriting improvements
Don’t expect chicken scratch handwriting to be cleaned up but the new Straighten feature for text written with the Apple Pencil will make notes appear cleaner than before. Simple tap and drag over your notes and the Straighten option will turn up. A verdict on this feature will be available once we manage to make a doctor’s scribbles legible.
Mail improvements
New tools are coming to Mail, like giving users a moment to cancel delivery of a message before it hits a recipient’s box, schedule emails and move sent emails to the top of the inbox for a quick follow-up. Users will be notified if they forget to include an important part of a message, like an attachment or recipient.
Reference Mode
It enables the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display to match the colour requirements in workflows like review and approve, colour grading, and compositing, where accurate colours and consistent image quality are critical.
iPads that will support iPadOS 16
- iPad (fifth generation) and newer
- iPad Mini (fifth generation) and newer
- iPad Air (third generation) and newer
- Every iPad Pro model
When and how
The iPadOS 16 developer beta is available while a public beta will roll out in July. Anyone can install the latter but you are suggested to backup your device before using the beta version because of potential bugs. The final version will roll out later in the year.