During the 2022 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference held on June 6, Apple unveiled the new version of its operating system for the iPad, iPadOS 16. The tablet from the apple brand is closer and closer to a hybrid device, halfway between the iPhone and the Mac.
Focus on collaboration
It was Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, who presented the new features, most of which are also available on iOS 16 and macOS.
WWDC 2022: all the announcements from Apple
Among those to remember, Stage Manager, which takes advantage of the M1 chip already present on the latest generations of MacBooks. With it, the iPad gets a split view mode, allowing the display of two applications on a split screen and making the device fully multitasking. Stage Manager makes it possible to work with 4 windows on the screen of the device and to collect several applications in a group in order to more easily switch from one to another. This novelty also works on Apple screens to which the iPad is attached, increasing the figure to 8 windows displayed simultaneously.
This is what Stage Manager looks like, allowing you to have several windows open at once on an iPad. Picture: Apple.
This functionality goes hand in hand with the new means of collaboration promoted by Craig Federighi, placing cooperation at the heart of this software update. Thus, with iPadOS 16, it will be possible to work with several people on certain applications (namely Notes, Safari, Keynote, Files, Numbers, Pages and Reminders) and to share these common workspaces by Messages or FaceTime. Apple will provide developers with a Collaborations API so that they can make their applications compatible with this shared working mode.
Safari is also getting up to speed and catching co-op fever. The Californian company’s Internet browser will offer the possibility of sharing groups of tabs. iPad users will then be able to customize these groups with a background image and bookmarks. Each person will be able to see the activity of other participants in real time.
Here’s what Freeform, the iPad’s next collaboration app, will look like. Picture: Apple.
Added to all of these collaboration tools is Freeform, a new application slated for release later this year. It acts as a whiteboard on which several people can launch ideas by writing or drawing on a free space without size limit.
Apple is also making a few additions to Game Center by offering an Activities page that aggregates other gamers’ scores into a leaderboard. The SharePlay functionality is also improved, allowing you to play with friends through a FaceTime call.
The iPad, an adequate tool for professionals
With iPadOS 16, Apple wants to make its devices essential for professionals. The iPad Pro is equipped with a 12.9-inch (33 cm) Liquid Retina XDR display to meet the demands of artists. Thanks to the M1 chip, the iPadOS 16 offers a new feature called Display Zoom. This increases the number of pixels displayed on the screen.
In addition, this operating system update introduces Virtual Memory Swap, a feature that offers the possibility of increasing the device’s available memory for each application, allocating up to 16 GB of additional memory.
Apple is also focusing on gaming by announcing the arrival of Metal 3, its latest version of its software adapted for video games, which will boost the performance of its iPads. All this with the help of MetalFX Upscaling, a solution that will improve the rendering and fluidity of very demanding games.
Finally, several security features are introduced by iPadOS 16. The update introduces Passkeys, a tool allowing unique access codes. These digital keys will not be stored on a web server, eliminating any risk of leakage or hacking.
And the rest ?
iPadOS 16 has many other features in addition to those previously listed. In bulk:
- The Mail app has new tools for scheduling emails, marking emails so you can track exchanges more easily, and even undelivering an email seconds before it’s due. arrives in the inbox;
- iCloud offers a Shared Photo Library to allow each member to send photos to a common space;
- Weather app debuts on iPad;
- Live Text feature improves, detecting text on still video;
- It is now possible to switch from voice to keyboard with the Dictation tool and change selected text while speaking.
See all information about WWDC 2022.