Apple’s WWDC 2023 event, one of the company’s biggest events this year, has started and is ongoing, making every tech enthusiast jump with excitement.
During Day 1 of WWDC 2023, just like what news media expected, some of those Apple announced include the brand-new MacBook Air 15-inch, iOS 17, macOS 10, watchOS 10, and of course, its biggest announcement, the Apple Vision Pro, the company’s first-ever AR/VR headset.
But perhaps another major announcement Apple made during the first day of the event is the unveiling of iPadOS 17. This is laden with features that will make using your tablet feel more like using your iPhone.
“iPadOS powers our most versatile device and enables users to do so many things on iPad, and now with iPadOS 17, we deliver an experience that’s even more personal and capable,” Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, said.
New features
The next iPad OS will include features such as lock screen customization similar to those on iPhones, interactive widgets, and lock screen activities. Apple introduced these features to iPhones with the release of iOS 16 last year.
iPadOS 17 will also bring the Health app to iPads. It was in 2014 when this app debuted on iPhones. Since then, the Cupertino-based tech company has upgraded the app in countless ways, such as offering more insights into the person’s overall health and letting them also monitor a family member’s health.
iPad’s Notes app will also get an upgrade with iPadOS 17. Now, you can autofill PDFs via the Notes app and collaborate on PDFs within the application in real-time with other people.
Aside from those, Messages will also become more interactive with improved communication tools. These include emoji stickers, allowing users to create Live Stickers from their own images by lifting a subject from the background, effects to Live Stickers, an expandable menu, and more.
Plus, iPadOS 17 will also offer more expressive ways to communicate with FaceTime. Particularly, users can leave audio or video messages when the person on the other end of the line does not pick up the call.
Other updates and enhanced features include improvements to Safari, Stage Manager, new Freeform drawing tools, Spotlight, Visual Look Up expansion, keyboard bringing improvements to autocorrect, activating Siri by simply saying “Siri,” easier sharing of content using AirPlay, a new smart grocery list experience on Reminders, downloading maps for offline use, and a whole lot more.
“With interactive widgets on the Lock Screen, updates to PDFs and Notes, as well as enhancements to Messages and FaceTime, iPadOS gives users even more ways to get things done easier and faster than ever,” Federighi added.
Not all iPads will get iPadOS 17
However, unfortunately, not all iPads will get the iOS update. The only iPads that will get iPadOS 17 are the iPad (6th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), and iPad Pro (2nd generation and later).
Also, some features, such as using the hands for 3D reactions in FaceTime, are limited to newer iPads like the iPad 10th generation and above. Moreover, the feature that notifies the user when their iPad is too close to them is limited to iPad Pro models due to the Face ID sensors.
