Learn about the key features of Apple’s iPadOS 17 software, including enhancements in stock apps and how it improves multitasking on an iPad.
Apple announced the iPadOS 17 update during the June 5 WWDC23 keynote talk alongside iOS 17, watchOS 10, tvOS 17 and macOS 14.
iPadOS 17 brings several improvements, including the iPhone’s redesigned lock screen from iOS 16, Stage Manager improvements and other tweaks.
Here’s an overview of the key features in iPadOS 17, enhancements in apps, etc.
iPadOS 17: Key features
- Interactive widgets: Widgets in iOS and iPadOS 17 are finally interactive. For example, you can tap a reminder to mark it as complete.
- Lock Screen: iOS 16 brought the ability to personalize the Lock Screen with wallpapers, emoji, widgets and more. iPadOS 17 brings the same Lock Screen experience from iOS 16 to your iPad. May of the built-in wallpapers, like astronomy, now include additional options. Of course, widgets on iPadOS 17’s Lock Screen are interactive as well.
- Live Activities: The Live Activities feature is now available on the iPad.
- Health: The iPhone’s Health app is now available on the iPad, taking full advantage of the tablet’s much bigger display, including interactive charts.
- PDF: Built-in support for PDF documents has been enhanced in iPadOS 17. Thanks to machine learning, AutoFill can fill out forms in PDF documents. The Notes app has more robust support for viewing, managing and annotating PDFs imported into the Notes app.
- Tidbits: The Stage Manager multitasking feature is now more flexible in terms of the position and size of your windows. iPadOS 17 also lets you use your external display’s built-in camera for video calls on FaceTime and other apps. Also, there are new Apple Pencils tools in the Freeform app. And of course, many of the iOS 17 features, such as predictive text improvements and live stickers in Messages, are also available in iPadOS 17.
To learn more about iPadOS 17, visit Apple’s website or iDB’s archive.