iPadOS 17 With New Lock Screen, Health App, And More Innovations

From autumn, iPadOS 17 will have many new functions and apps, some of which are already known from the iPhone but were not previously available on Apple tablets. We took a closer look at the highlights.

At the start of the WWDC 2023 developer conference, Apple presented not only iOS 17 but also the innovations coming for the iPad. New features of iPadOS 17 include a new, customizable lock screen, interactive widgets for the home screen, and the Health app.

lock screen

So far, Apple had hardly used the lock screen on the iPad. With iOS 17, among other things, live activities are now starting. This allows timers, travel plans, or food deliveries to be displayed in real-time. There are extensive customization options. You can choose a background image from the new lock screen gallery for iPad and customize it with font and color just like on iPhone. In addition, new photo functions are launched to display favorite pictures on the lock screen.

Widgets

The widgets have received an extensive revision. Apple is now also bringing interactive widgets to the iPad. These can be used both on the home screen and on the lock screen and thus always offer the information that is considered important at a glance. Developers will be given new opportunities to teach the widgets more functions via an interface.

PDF to notes app

Apple has been working on PDF usage for productive use. iOS 17 launches improved recognition of input fields and adding information. Furthermore, PDF editing gets more features with a major update of the Notes app. In iPadOS 17, PDFs are finally displayed in full width and can be edited in real-time with other users.

Messages app and live stickers

The live stickers presented for iOS 17 will also launch on iPadOS. The same also applies to the automatic transcription of audio messages. In the Messages app, Apple is launching a drop-down menu for iPad users that gives access to the most commonly used iMessage apps.

FaceTime with “Answering Machine”

FaceTime gets a kind of answering machine. If a participant cannot answer a call, you can leave a message via audio or video and retrieve it later. In addition, reactions such as hearts, balloons or fireworks are introduced in FaceTime.

Apple brings the Health app to the iPad

The Health app will finally start for the iPad. The app offers all the categories and functions known from the iPhone, with a user interface specially adapted for the iPad.

Other improvements

Many other innovations are starting for iPadOS 17. Among other things, Apple has added the Stage Manager with better adjustability of the position and size of the window and supports integrated cameras in external displays. The Freeform app gets new drawing tools and a kind of tracker help for boards that are shared with others to discover changes faster.

“iPadOS powers our most versatile device and allows users to do so many things on iPad, and now with iPadOS 17 we’re delivering an experience that’s even more personal and powerful,” said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Software Engineering by Apple. “With interactive widgets on the lock screen, updates to PDFs and Notes, and improvements to Messages and FaceTime, iPadOS gives users more ways to get things done easier and faster than ever.”

Start of the update in autumn

Like iOS 17, iPadOS 17 will be available to all users in the fall. The beta starts today for developers and will also start next month as part of the public testing program. As always, the update is free.