With iPadOS 15 this year, Apple has revamped some of the key aspects of the OS to deliver a better user experience. With widgets support on the Home Screen, Quick Note, improved multitasking experience, and more, iPadOS 15 will elevate your iPad experience. Here is a look at the top iPadOS 15 features coming to your iPad later this year.
Apart from adding new features, Apple has also worked on further improving the privacy of iPadOS as a whole. Additionally, the integration between iPad and Macs is also getting tighter with Universal Control. Another highlight of iPadOS 15 is that it’s compatible with all iPads that can currently run iPadOS 14. iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are scheduled to be released in September this year. If you cannot wait until then, you can download and install the iPadOS 15 beta on your iPad, iPad Air, or iPad Pro right now.
Check out the best iPadOS 15 features coming to your iPad or iPad Pro later this year below.
1. Widgets on the Home Screen
Apple is revamping the iPadOS home screen in a big way with iPadOS 15. You will be able to place widgets anywhere on the home screen of your iPad running iPadOS 15. To make better use of the larger display, Apple is also introducing a larger 4×4 widget size. Many system apps are also getting new widgets, including the App Store, Find My, Mail, and Contacts.
2. App Library
iPhone’s App Library also comes to the iPad with iPadOS 15. It will automatically categorize all your installed apps into different categories. Just like on the iPhone, you’ll be able to hide home screen pages and keep all your app icons in the App Library.
The App Library is also being integrated into the Dock, so you can quickly access all your apps from it.
3. Universal Control
Hands down, one of the biggest new additions to iPadOS 15 is the Universal Control feature. It further deepens the integration between iPadOS and macOS by letting you use one keyboard and mouse to move between iPad and Mac. There’s no setup required, and you just need to ensure that you are signed in to both devices using your iCloud account. You can even drag and drop content across devices by just moving the mouse pointer from the edge of your Mac’s display to the iPad and vice versa.
4. New Multitasking Menu
There’s a new multitasking menu that appears on top of apps. You can use it to quickly open an app in Split View or Slide Over view. You can also access the home screen when in Split View, so you can easily open the app that you want to.
5. Shelf
Coupled with the new multitasking menu, Apple is also debuting shelf in iPadOS 15 that will allow you to minimize app windows of Safari, Mail, and other apps to it. This way, you can easily get back to that window whenever needed.
6. Faster Siri
Siri is getting faster and secure in iPadOS 15. Apple is introducing on-device speech recognitions with iPadOS 15, so Siri will process some common requests without an active internet connection. This will not only make the entire experience faster but secure as well.
7. FaceTime Takes on Zoom
FaceTime is getting a major new update with iPadOS 15. There’s a new Grid View that makes it easier to see multiple callers on a FaceTime video call. You can also blur the background in your FaceTime video calls, with Apple touting improved voice quality as well.
FaceTime is also gaining support for SharePlay that will let you listen to songs with your friends or family while on a FaceTime call. Additionally, you’ll be able to share your iPad’s screen while browsing the web using SharePlay.
8. Redesigned Safari
Apple is revamping Safari as a part of iPadOS 15. The new tab bar design means you’ll be able to view more content at once. Safari on the iPad is also gaining Tab Groups support, so you can easily group a bunch of tabs and access them later if needed. Tab Groups also sync across devices.
Safari is also gaining support for web extensions which will be available from the App Store. Using extensions, you’ll be able to further enhance your browsing experience on the iPad. Then, there’s the new pull-to-refresh gesture to easily let you refresh web pages.
9. iCloud+
Along with the redesigned Safari, Apple is also debuting iCloud+ as a part of iPadOS 15 and iOS 15. The company is offering additional premium features to iCloud users, including Hide My Email, iCloud Private Relay, and more.
The iCloud Relay feature is interesting and as it passes all your browser traffic through Apple’s server, where they are stripped of your IP address, location, and other details. This will prevent your ISP or advertisers from profiling you by tracking your browsing activity.
10. Build iPad and Mac Apps
iPadOS 15 will let you build iPad and Mac apps right on your iPad. While developers wanted to bring Xcode to the iPad, Apple is doing the next best thing. The company will allow one to create and test iPad and macOS apps entirely in Swift using Swift Playground. For starters, there will also be coding lessons in Swift Playground, so you can easily create your first iPad or macOS app.
11. Quick Note
Apple is making it easier to take notes in iPadOS 15 using the Quick Note feature. You can bring up a Quick Note by swiping from the edge of the display, irrespective of which app you are in. This way, you can easily jot down notes while browsing the web in Safari or going through an important mail.
12. Improved Notes App
The Notes app is getting a massive new upgrade with tags support for better organization. You can use the Tag Browser to find any note easily.
You can now mention other collaborators in a note, with the Activity view giving you an overview of all recent changes in a note.
13. Focus
To help you strike a balance between your personal and work life, Apple is debuting Focus in iPadOS 15. This will help you filter notifications based on what you are doing. So, you can create a Focus profile where app notifications from Twitter, Messages, and Telegram are blocked if you at work. Apart from notifications, you can also create different home screen pages with widgets and apps for different Focus profiles.
14. System-Wide Translation
Apple is bringing the Translate app from iPhone to the iPad with iPadOS 15. The app is also gaining a new Auto Translate feature that will automatically detect the language a person is speaking and convert it into a language you are comfortable speaking.
That’s not it, though. Apple is baking system-wide translation right into iPadOS 15. So, you will be able to translate text in Safari, third-party apps, and even text in images without opening the Translate app.
15. SharePlay
SharePlay in FaceTime takes the sharing experience to the next level. Users can now share experiences with SharePlay while connecting with friends on FaceTime, including listening to songs together with Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together.
Everyone on the call can listen to the same song, watch the same movie, and even view the same screen. It’s similar to Spotify’s Group Session, and we are glad to see Apple extending it to the Apple TV app as well.
One can also share a screen using SharePlay. This is a boon for those helping friends or parents to showcase how to use a specific app or access a particular option in the Settings app.
Apple is also releasing SharePlay API for developers, and giant media names such as Disney, Hulu, HBO, NBA, ESPN, and others are already working to integrate SharePlay on the iPhone.
16. Live Text
Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo and allow users to take action. For example, users can search for and locate the picture of a handwritten family recipe or capture a phone number from a storefront with the option to place a call. You can also visit the website address or email the owner directly from the visiting card image.
At this time, Live Text support is limited to 7 languages only. The feature can also identify art, books, nature, pets, landmarks, and more. The concept is similar to what Google has been doing with Google Lens on Android.
17. Built-in Authenticator
With iPadOS 15, users can now generate verification codes needed for additional sign-in security. If a site offers two-factor authentication, you can set up verification codes under Passwords in Settings – no need to download an additional app.
18. Better Memories in Photos
Your Memories collection in the Photos app is about to get better with a brand new look, animations, transitions, new effects, moods, and Apple Music integration. Based on the song selection, Memories will change the slideshow look and feel with custom filters and animations.
19. Improved Apple Maps
The new Apple Maps app in iOS 15 will offer more details in cities for neighborhoods, commercial districts, elevation, buildings, new road colors and labels, and custom-designed landmarks. There’s also a new night mode with a moonlit glow.
20. App Privacy Report
Similar to Privacy Report in the Safari browser, Apple now offers a dedicated App Privacy Report in the Settings app. It offers an overview of how apps use the access that has been granted to location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts in the last seven days and which other domains are contacted behind your back.
21. New Keyboard Shortcuts
Apple is debuting new keyboard shortcuts as a part of iPadOS 15. With an external keyboard, you will now be able to quickly run apps in Split View and Slide Over right from the keyboard.
22. Low Power Mode
Apple is bringing the iPhone’s Low Power Mode to the iPad with iPadOS 15. The feature will allow you to extend the battery life of your iPad when it’s low on battery power.
You can check out the video below to get an overview of all the new features and changes in iPadOS 15 beta 1 as well.
What do you think about iPadOS 15 based on the features above? What other improvements do you think Apple should have made to the OS? Drop a comment and let us know!
