Along with iOS 16.1, Apple launched iPadOS 16.1 today, following many months of beta testing. This is the first version of iPadOS 16 accessible for Apple's tablets, while iOS 16 was launched separately in September. iPadOS 16 was postponed to allow for upgrades to the Stage Manager function.
The iPadOS 16.1 update can be downloaded on eligible iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Many of the improvements added in iPadOS 16.1 will be recognizable to those who have already upgraded to iOS 16, since the iPadOS 16.1 software incorporates the Mail, Messages, Safari, and other app enhancements that appeared in iOS 16.
It includes Stage Manager as well as iCloud Shared Photo Library for easy sharing of photographs and movies with friends and family. Stage Manager is compatible with the iPad Pro and iPad Air types A12Z, A12X, M1, and M2. Stage Manager was initially confined to M1 iPads, but Apple was able to expand it to more iPad Pros throughout the beta testing phase.
The capability that allows it to work with a connected display has been removed as a result of the expansion and will be returned in a later release. When that capability is reintroduced, it will be limited to the M1 and M2 iPad models.
The Weather app is now available on the iPad for the first time, and the update also includes new Maps, Game Center, and Safari features such as Passkeys. It also offers desktop-class programs with customizable toolbars, context-aware menus, Find and Replace functionality across apps, and more. The complete release notes for the iPadOS 16.1 upgrade are available below.
iCloud Shared Photo Library
- A separate library for sharing photographs and videos with up to five more users.
- When you set up or join a library, you can easily contribute past photos based on a start date or people in the photos.
- Library filters let you quickly switch between viewing the
-Shared Library, your Personal Library, or both libraries together. - Shared edits and permissions let everyone add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos.
- Sharing toggle in Camera lets you choose to send photos you take straight to the
-Shared Library, or enable a setting that allows you to send photos
Messages
- Edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it, and recipients see a record of edits
- Undo send allows you to recall any message up to 2 minutes after sending it
- Mark as unread makes it easy to return to a conversation later
- SharePlay in Messages allows you to enjoy activities such as watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and more with friends while messaging
- Collaboration allows you to invite others to collaborate on a file
Safari and Passkeys
- Shared Tab Groups allow you to share a collection of tabs with others and instantly observe the Tab Group update as you collaborate.
- Each Tab Group's start page may be personalized with different background photos and preferences.
- In Tab Groups, pinned tabs allow you to pin frequently visited websites for each Tab Group.
- Safari web page translation now includes web page translations in Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch.
- Passkeys provide support for a simpler and safer password replacement technique.
- iCloud Keychain passkey synchronization makes your passkeys available across all of your Apple devices while keeping them end-to-end secured.
Manager of the Stage
- A new way to multitask on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later) iPad Air and iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) (5th generation)
- Overlapping and resizable windows let you customize the size of your programs and create your perfect workspace.
- Recent Apps, located on the left side of the screen, allow you to move between apps fast.
- App groupings enable you to build groups of apps that you can quickly return to.
- Improved search returns more accurate, full results and offers ideas as soon as you start typing.
- Undo send allows you to cancel message delivery within 10 seconds of pushing send.
- Scheduled send allows you to send an email on a given day and time.
- Followup brings unanswered emails to the top of your inbox, allowing you to easily follow up.
- Remind me allows you to specify a date and time when you want to be reminded about anything.
New Display Options
- Reference Mode provides reference color for major color standards and video codecs on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display, and it can also be used as a reference display for your Apple Hardware Mac with Sidecar.
- A new display scaling setting for the iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Air boosts pixel density so you can see more in your apps (5th generation)
Weather
- The iPad weather app is built for the bigger screen, with engaging animations, rich maps, and tappable forecast modules.
- Weather maps display precipitation, air quality, and temperature in addition to the location view or in full-screen mode.
- Tapping on modules reveals further information, such as hourly temperature or precipitation forecasts for the following 10 days.
- Air quality shows a color-coded scale for air quality, level, and category, as well as the ability to see air quality on a map to understand relevant health recommendations, pollutant breakdown, and more.
- Animated backgrounds depict the location of the sun, clouds, and precipitation in hundreds of different ways.
- Severe weather notifications notify you when a severe weather warning is issued near you.
Dictation
- The all-new Dictation experience allows you to enter and edit text by using your voice in conjunction with a keyboard or an Apple Pencil and is available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch all models.
- As you speak, automatic punctuation adds commas, periods, and question marks.
- Emoji support is available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), and iPad Pro 11-inch all versions.
Maps
- Multi-stop routing allows you to add up to fifteen stops along your driving route in Maps
- Transit rates show you how much your trip will cost in the San Francisco Bay Area, London, New York, and other cities.
News
- My Sports allows you to effortlessly follow your favorite teams and leagues, as well as view highlights, directly from the News app.
- Favorites provide quick access to the channels and subjects you read the most, keeping them at the top of your Today feed.
- New homepages include graphically updated and easier-to-navigate subject feeds for local news areas, sports teams and leagues, and other topics.
Check for Safety
- Safety Check is a new area in Settings designed to assist persons experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence in swiftly resetting the access they've provided to others.
- Emergency reset allows you to swiftly take action to reset access across all individuals and applications, such as deleting Find My location sharing, resetting app privacy permissions, and more.
- Manage sharing and access enables you to evaluate and configure which applications and individuals have access to your data.