WWDC 2021 is underway, and Apple unveiled the upcoming iPadOS 15, alongwith iOS 15 watchOS 8, and more. iPadOS 15 brings app library, widgets, quick notes, system-wide translate feature and Swift playgrounds, among other features, to iPads.
iPadOS 15 is expected to roll out this fall for iPad mini 4 and newer, iPad Air 2 and newer, 5th-gen iPad and newer and all iPad Pro models. The developer preview for iPadOS 15 is available to Apple Developer program members, and the public beta is expected to roll out next month.
“With more intuitive multitasking, a new Home Screen design with integrated widgets and the App Library, systemwide note-taking with Quick Note, Translate designed for iPad, SharePlay, a redesigned Safari experience, new tools to stay focused, and more, users can now be even more productive,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of Software Engineering.
Widgets and App Library
One of the most anticipated updates — announced with iOS 14 — comes to iPads with the upcoming iPadOS 15 update, which will allow consumers to customise the tablet’s home screen with more flexibility in the placement of widgets. Home screen customisation on iPads is long overdue, especially since they’ve more screen real estate than iPhones and could offer more customisation options.
Another key feature that was added to iPhone with the iOS 14 update last year makes its way to iPads with the upcoming update — App Library, which is located in the dock. In addition to reducing the clutter on the home screen, the app library on iPads will also allow consumers to organise the home screen pages quickly.
Jot down notes quicker and translate easily
Adding to the list of productivity features, iPadOS 15 will also bring QuickNote, which will enable consumers to attach notes to webpages in Safari and other places across the device. The Notes app also gets customisable Tags that can be used to organise all the notes better.
Moreover, the new iPadOS update will also bring the Translate app to the device, which will work system-wide.
Multitasking updates
One of the iPad’s most useful productivity features, the split-screen mode, gets new icons through the multitasking menu at the top of the screen, making it easier to enter the mode. Multitasking will also become easier on iPadOS 15 with the Shelf feature that makes switching tasks easier with apps that support multiple windows like Safari, Pages and email previews.
Keyboard shortcuts are also coming to iPads, and the menu bar gets a redesign too.
Safari updates
The upcoming iPadOS update will also bring a refreshed browsing experience with Safari that gets a new tab bar and toolbar.
Do more with iPads
The company also announced that iPadOS 15 would allow developers to create iOS and iPadOS on the iPad using Swift Playground.
In addition to all the new features mentioned above, iPadOS 15 will also share some features with iOS15, including the Memories in Photos app, Focus preferences, SharePlay and FaceTime improvements. Apple also announced iOS 15 during WWDC 21’s keynote event; you can read about all the iOS 15 updates here.
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