First announced in June at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, iPadOS 16 is Apple’s next-generation operating system for iPad. Developers and public beta testers have spent the past few months trying out the new versions while Apple has been refining them, and a full public release is now right around the corner.
The update includes a number of new features and changes such as updates to apps like Notes, Mail, and Messages, Live Text, Visual Look Up, and Dictation enhancements.
iPadOS 16 gets a Weather app for the first time, and also offers a range of “pro” features that are exclusive to recent iPad Pro models and the latest iPad Air. For example, Stage Manager brings a new way to multitask with multiple overlapping windows and full external display support.
iPadOS 16 Release Date
Both iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 became available for registered members of Apple’s developer program immediately following the WWDC keynote on June 7, and Apple released the public beta on July 11. Apple originally said iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 would be officially be released in “the fall” of 2022, without specifying a precise date.
In early August, Bloomberg reported that Apple was planning to delay the launch of iPadOS 16 until October, which meant the iPad software would not launch alongside the new iOS as it typically does. Apple has since confirmed that iPadOS 16 will indeed be launched sometime in October, some weeks after iOS 16 launched on September 12.
It appears iPadOS 16 will actually debut with version number 16.1 alongside iOS 16.1 for iPhone, which is also in testing with developers and public beta testers.
At the present time, “October” is the only official indication we have from Apple about a release date for iPadOS 16. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, however, Apple is aiming to release iPadOS 16 in the last week of October.
We’re also expecting some updated iPad models from Apple any time now, which would pair nicely with the iPadOS 16 release, but rumors suggest Apple won’t be holding an event to introduce the new hardware and will instead announce them via press release.
Device Compatibility
iPadOS 16 is compatible with the iPad (5th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), and all iPad Pro models.