Apple's iPad-centric operating system isn't getting many standalone features with iPadOS 16; many of the marquee items will be shared with iOS 16 and the new macOS Ventura, the company announced today at WWDC. Still, for those who have embraced the iPad as a work device, some of the upgrades expected this fall will be welcome additions.
Of note is Freeform, which will serve as a digital whiteboard of sorts for people to collaborate on creative projects. It won't roll out until "later this year," says Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering, but when it does, collaborators can draw or write on a canvas via touch or the Apple Pencil and see changes or additions in real time.
Freeform collaborators can start a session in FaceTime and see updates from others in the Messages thread. (Speaking of FaceTime, Apple is extending its Handoff feature to the chat app.)
Collaboration across OSes and devices is a focal point of Apple's updates. Also coming to iPadOS is Stage Manager, a "multitasking experience" that automatically organizes apps and windows to simplify the process of switching between them. This means those with an iPad Pro or iPad Air with the M1 chip can have overlapping windows of different sizes in a single view and create groups of apps. It will also support full external displays with resolutions of up to 6K.
With Stage Manager, the app you're using will take the prime spot with other opens apps lined up on the left-hand side in the order that you last used them. It's also coming to macOS Ventura.
Other features making their way to iPadOS will also appear in iOS 16. Shared Tab Groups in Safari, for example, does what it says on the tin: Share a group of tabs with friends and see updates as others adds tabs and bookmarks. This feature also lets you start a conversation from the browser.
The Live Text feature will also recognize video, making text interactive in paused video frames. And Apple's Mail app is getting some long-overdue updates, like undo send, scheduled emails, and follow-up reminders. In Messages, you can edit or undo a message within a 15-minute window.
iPadOS will also get the Apple weather app with animations.
A developer preview of iPadOS 16 was released today; a public beta arrives next month. Look for the full release in the fall for iPad (5th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), and all iPad Pro models.