Apple iPadOS 16 released: Key features you should know

Last week, Apple launched the new line of iPad (10th Gen) along with the iPad Pro (6th Gen) series. And, the company announced to release the iPadOS 16 on October 24, with a whole host of new features to improve the iPad user experience.

As promised, Apple released iPadOS 16 to all eligible iPads. It should be noted that the company timed the roll-out just before the new iPads hit stores across the world, similar to how it did for iPhones just before the iPhone 14 series was released in September.

The new iPadOS 16 comes with a new stage manager, undo send option on the iMessage app, Safety Check, Live Text for videos, and many more features.
Here are key features coming exclusive to iPads:

Free Form: With this users can host group video conferences and host project meetings with a presentation-sharing feature. Here, all the invites can brainstorm with colleagues, share a link, and start working together instantly. As others add their thoughts, users can see changes on the canvas in real time.

Also, the previously used app will be visible right behind the one users are currently working on. This way, the users don’t lose track of their work.

The new iPadOS 16 brings the Freeform feature. Credit: Apple

Seamless connectivity between Apple devices: Users can utilise iPad Pro or iPad Air with the external display, with resolutions up to 6K, using Stage Manager.

Weather app: For the first time, Apple is bringing the Weather app to the iPads. Like on the iPhones, it will feature animations and beautiful full-screen maps.

Redesigned Game Centre: It now features a better visual interface to show what the user’s friends are playing, their scores, and their achievements.

Family Sharing: With this feature, users can easily set up Apple devices for their children to control and set preferences for age‑appropriate media, Screen Time, location sharing, and more.

Stage Manager: With this users can multitask and get things done with ease. He/she can resize windows to look the way they want.

And for the first time on iPad, users will be able to see and operate multiple overlapping windows in a single view. With this, users can seamlessly switch between apps easier than ever before.

However, for the M1 and M2 iPad models, Apple will release a separate update later this year, to unlock more capabilities of the Stage Manager feature. Users will be able to connect their iPads to a full external display with resolutions of up to 6K, so users will be able to arrange the ideal workspace, and work with up to four apps on the iPad and four apps on the external display simultaneously.

The new iPadOS 16 brings the new Stage Manger feature to iPads. Credit: Apple

Other notable features
iCloud Shared Photo Library: With this feature, users can allow up to six family members to access photos within the group and also have the privilege to edit and edit photos anytime and anywhere. Also, the Camera app will offer a direct storage option to automatically move the image to the shared library soon after capturing the photo.

Message recall: With the new update, users will be able to recall a sent text, edit it and then resend it again as a new message. That’s not all; users can undo recently deleted messages and recover them.

New Safety Check privacy feature: It comes in handy for users whose personal safety is at potential risk from domestic or intimate partner violence. He/she can quickly remove all access they’ve granted to apps and accounts on iPads/iPhones to others.

Also, with an emergency reset, users can easily sign out of iCloud on all their other devices, reset privacy permissions, and limit messaging to just the device in their hand. It also helps users understand and manage which people and apps they’ve been given access to.

Passkeys: It is said to be unique digital keys that are easy to use, more secure, never stored on a web server, and stay on the device so hackers can’t steal them in a data breach or trick users into sharing them. It will be replacing the passwords and instead use Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification, and iCloud Keychain to sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV with end-to-end encryption. They will also work across apps and the web and users can sign in to websites or an app on non-Apple devices using just their iPhone.

Visual Look-up: Visual Look-Up takes photos further by introducing a new feature that allows users to tap and hold on the subject of an image to lift it from the background and place it in apps like Messages. Visual Look Up also expands to recognize birds, insects, and statues.

Other notable features include Live Text on video. Users will be able to make use of this to mark words on the photo, menu card, or billboard and copy the text to a message or notepad.

List of iPads eligibel for iPadOS 16
Apple iPad Pro (all models), generic iPad (5th gen and newer models), iPad Air (3rd Gen and newer models), and iPad mini (5th Gen and newer models).

Here's how to install iPadOS 16 on your iPad:
Via OTA (Over-The-Air)
Prerequisite: Users' who want to install the update directly onto the device through OTA, make sure there is enough storage space and the device should have more than 50% battery life, before initiating the download of the new iOS update.

Step 1: Settings >> General >> Software update

Via manual installation through Apple iTunes

Prerequisite: Make sure to back up your iPhone with either iCloud or iTunes before initiating the download procedure. Also, your PC must have the latest version of the iTunes app. If not, Go to About and then Check for Updates or visit iTunes.com.

Step 1: Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC.
Step 2: Insert your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch if it isn't already.
Step 3: Tap on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod in the top left navigation.
Step 4: Tap on the Check for Update button in the first section that contains information about your device and alternately you can click restore instead if you'd like to do a clean wipe with updated software.
Step 5: An update should be recognized, click on Download and Update in the popup menu and agree to the terms or conditions.
Step 6: Unlock your device with your passcode if prompted in order to continue with the upgrade.

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