By: Nick Gambino
iPadOS 16 is finally almost here after failing to release with the newest iOS which is common practice. They apparently needed more time to get the update just right. Apple has now announced the new OS for iPad is dropping this coming Monday, October 24th.
The companion to iOS 16 offers up a ton of new features like the ability to unsend your Messages or edit them after you’ve already released them from your phone. This arrived on the iPhone by way of iOS 16 so really needed to happen on the iPad. They’ve also added the Weather app to your Apple tablet (shocking that it’s never been a native app).
But the big feature that’s got all of us iPad users talking is Stage Manager which is another step toward having your iPad function much the way a computer does. Apple has never been coy about the fact that they want users to engage with their iPads as if they were computers. They even hope many of us will go full iPad and ditch the laptop.
The fact that we’re finally getting Stage Manager on all iPads is heartening because in the beta it was only available on a few select models (M1 iPad Pro). Coming to a tablet near you for the first time, Stage Manager is a pro feature that allows you to multitask with ease. In effect, it allows you to interact with content through a floating window system.
When the feature is on, you’ll see all your apps on a side panel so that you can access them quickly and easily. You’ll have the option of resizing windows with Display Zoom, access to more memory with Virtual Memory Swap depending on which apps you’re using, and External Display support.
For those who update to iPadOS 16 and want to use Stage Manager, you’ll have to turn it on because it’s off by default. You’ll find that option in either the Control Center or in Settings under “Home Screen & Multitasking.”
The beta definitely had a lot of glitches, so we’ll have to see how this plays out when iPadOS 16 releases on October 24th.
