WWDC: iPadOS 16 gets new multitasking and weather app
Developed for tablets, the iPadOS showcased new multitasking in version 16 at WWDC, which aims to give users a better overview of open apps and windows using the new Stage Manager. Also new is an application that has been in demand for years: Apple’s own weather app.
Stage Manager manages apps and windows
The Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 is responsible for multitasking between different apps and windows. The organization is automated by the operating system and must allow a quick change between the different tasks. For the first time, windows can be placed not only side by side as before but also overlapping.
Users can create windows of different sizes in a common view and drag additional windows from a side panel onto the view. Apps can also be opened from the dock in the Stage Manager and groups of apps can be created. iPadOS 16 also doesn’t give users a classic desktop like macOS. Instead, the currently used app moves to the center of the view as a prominently positioned window, while other windows of the same or another app are positioned on the left, sorted by last use.
Full support for external displays
iPadOS 16 also includes full support for external displays for the first time, which are also managed through the Stage Manager. Until iPadOS 15, it was only possible to mirror the contents of an Apple tablet one-to-one on an external monitor, without taking the different aspect ratios into account. The iPad in 4:3 format was therefore ported unaltered with black bars to 16:9 monitors such as the Apple Studio Display or third-party screens. iPadOS 16 puts an end to this, at least on the iPad Pro and iPad Air with M1 processors and can drive external displays at up to 6K resolution and run up to four apps in parallel with the up to four apps on the iPad screen.
Reference mode for the iPad Pro 12.9″
The screen reference mode is only new for the iPad Pro and specifically only for the iPad Pro 12.9″ with Liquid Retina XDR (mini-LED backlight) display. This should allow the tablet to be switched to a mode that is related to the color requirements for the assessment and acceptance of production, the color grading and mixing of a film must be suitable.
Increase Pixel Density with Display Zoom
On the other hand, all Apple tablets with an M1 processor can use the new display zoom, which can increase the displayed virtual pixel density of the integrated screen in a similar way to a MacBook (Pro) to display more content at the same resolution. . This adjustment would be especially useful when using Split View. With Virtual Memory Swap, the available memory for apps through the iPad’s memory can be expanded up to 16 GB. iPad Pro models with 1 TB and 2 TB of storage come with 16 GB of RAM.
Collaboration is the key
Specifically, on the iPad, iPadOS brings 16 new tools to Apple’s Messages app for collaboration in Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, Safari, and third-party applications. When users send a collaboration invitation in Messaging, all thread participants have access to the document or project. Changes to a user are communicated to all participants via a notification at the top of the messaging app. If you are working on a joint project, you can now switch more quickly to Messages or FaceTime with everyone involved.
In addition, Messages in iPadOS 16 has all the innovations Apple introduced with iOS 16. This includes editing and revocation of messages. Users can also recover deleted messages and mark conversations as unread. The SharePlay integration in Messages is also available for iPadOS 16. The Live Text and Visual Look Up innovations known from iOS 16 are also coming to iPadOS 16.
Shared Tab Groups for Safari
Apple has also tweaked Safari for collaboration by now allowing users to create tabs that can be shared. Tab groups get their own homepage in Safari, which can be customized with a custom background image.
Freeform as a collaborative whiteboard
An all-new collaboration app from Apple is Freeform, which will be released for iPadOS 16 later this year. Accordingly, Freeform will not be available immediately before the release of iPadOS 16 in the fall. Freeform is essentially a collaborative whiteboard with full support for Apple Pencil. The whiteboard allows users to indulge in notes, post-it notes, and images in a free layout while interacting with FaceTime or messaging.
Apple’s weather app for iPad
Another new app that iPad users have been asking for over a decade (along with the calculator, which is still missing) is the native weather app, previously only available on the iPhone. iPadOS 15 brought a new weather widget, but it didn’t lead to a The Weather Channel website until tapped. Apple is now putting an end to this and offering its own weather app in a view optimized for the iPad.
Today the first beta for developers
iPadOS 16 can now obtained from developers in a first beta will and should come next month as a public beta be made available to the general public. The final iPadOS 16 is scheduled for release this fall and will be available for iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 5th generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, and all versions of the iPad Pro.
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