With the iPad Pro, Apple positioned its popular tablet as a business device—keyboard and stylus support made it more than a multimedia gadget, while its slim frame made it more portable than a laptop.
But it still ran iOS, an app-centric mobile operating system made for phones and later adapted for iPads. Recent iterations of iOS have loaded the tablet with more work-oriented features, including workflow management in the Dock, Slide Over and Split View for improved multitasking, and drag-and-drop interactions. But Tim Cook last year dismissed the idea of merging iOS and macOS; "We don't believe in sort of watering down one for the other," he said. Instead, the company's solution is iPadOS, which focuses on "the distinctive experience of iPad."
It arrives on Sept. 24 and is compatible with a number of existing iPads: iPad (5th, 6th, and newly announced 7th generation); iPad Pro (9.7, 10.5, 11, and 12.9-inch models); iPad mini (4th and 5th generation); and iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation). Here are a few reasons to upgrade.
Today View Widgets
Open 1 App in Multiple Spaces
Multiple Apps in Slide Over
Slide Over has been around on iPads since iOS 11; it places a small version of an app atop another on the screen for multi-tasking purposes (scroll through Twitter while Netflix plays in the background, for example). With iPadOS, Slide Over will display multiple apps for easier switching.
Share Files With iCloud Drive
The Files app also dates back to iOS 11, and it lets you view and access all the files you've stored on online services such as iCloud, Box, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. iPadOS adds iCloud Drive support for folder sharing, so anyone with access to a shared folder will see the latest version in iCloud Drive on their iPad. If your file is on a USB drive, SD card, or SMB file server, meanwhile, just plug it in and it'll show up in the Files app.
Get Creative and Collaborative
If you're working with the Apple Pencil, iPadOS adds a new menu that provides easy access to tools, color palettes, shapes, object eraser, a new pixel eraser for removing any part of a stroke and a ruler for drawing straight lines. Mark up and send entire webpages, documents, or emails on iPad by swiping Apple Pencil from the corner of the screen.
The new Sidecar feature, meanwhile, allows you to use your iPad as a second display, mirror your Mac screen on the iPad, and send edits made on the iPad with the Pencil to your Mac via Continuity.
Text Editing
Several key iPadOS additions will make it easier to navigate a document, including a more precise cursor and the ability to scrub through a file with the scroll bar. Improved gesture controls mean you can now tap and swipe to select text, pinch with three fingers to control the copy, cut, and paste process, and perform a three-finger swipe to undo and redo changes.
Floating Keyboard
Dark Mode
