If there’s one announcement that everyone is hoping for during Monday’s WWDC keynote address, it’s the iPadOS 16. After adding a Thunderbolt port and M1 processor to the Apple iPad Pro, and upgrading the iPad Air and Mini to 5G and Center stage, all eyes are finally on Apple’s vision of iPadOS.
Here is what we know about the iPadOS 16 before the keynote address at 10 a.m. PT on Monday.
iPadOS 16: Rumors feature
According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing to make “significant changes” to the way we communicate with our iPads. Gurman says the new iPad interface will be “one of the biggest upgrades” at WWDC.
Among the rumored changes are several interface tweaks that have been delayed for a long time. Gurman reports that Apple will restructure the iPad’s multitasking and app interface and add features that make the tablet “less like a laptop and less like a phone.” Expected new features include:
- A redesigned multitasking interface that makes it easy to see which apps are open and switch between tasks
- Resizable app Windows
- New way for users to manage multiple apps at once
Note that Gurman reports that Apple will “expand” the current multitasking interface, which combines different ways to view two or three apps at once. There is also a split screen for viewing apps, a slide over for viewing small app windows, and a picture-in-picture for video. Apple has also introduced Quick Note in iPadOS 15 which adds a floating window for taking notes.
iPadOS 16: iOS feature
Among the features specific to iPadOS, Apple’s tablet also brings iOS features. In iOS 15, for example, the iPad has acquired a redesigned Safari with app library, desktop widgets and messaging, FaceTime and Spotlight changes. Here are the rumored features for iOS that may also come on the iPad:
- Lock screen widget.
- Notification improvement.
- Exit app with message update.
There are also rumors that Apple iOS will improve the health app, which means it’s finally coming to the iPad.
iPadOS 16: Compatible
iPadOS 15 supports iPad mini 4 and later, 5th-gen iPad and later, iPad Air 2 and later, and all iPad pro models. It is possible that Apple dropped support for one or more of these models as soon as it launched the iPadOS 16.
iPadOS 16: Release
Apple will immediately release a beta of the iPadOS 16 for developers following Keynote, including a public beta a few weeks later. The general release of the iPad OS 16 will probably be in September.