AtWWDC 2023today Apple previewediPadOS 17 , this year ’s main package update for the iPad . While pre - event hearsay suggested this would be a tranquil refresh , there were several worthwhile change and new feature that are good word for iPad owner .

“ iPadOS powers our most versatile equipment and enable user to do so many things on iPad , and now with iPadOS 17 , we deliver an experience that ’s even more personal and capable,”saidCraig Federighi , Apple ’s senior vice president of Software Engineering .

Lock screen & widgets

Last year iPhone substance abuser got the novel ability to tailor-make their ignition lock concealment , but tablet user missed out . iPadOS 17 now brings this option to the iPad . you’re able to place picture shuffles or experience Photos as the background , custom-make the font and colors , and by and large stylize the face in the path you choose : having the clock finger partly covered by an component of the epitome is a particularly nice effect . The lock chamber screen is also now the menage of Live action , so you may follow sports score or the progress of your Uber driver without having to open a dedicated app or even unlock your iPad .

orchard apple tree

The curl blind can also now be customized with widgets , and while these were antecedently available on the family screen in iPadOS , Apple boasts that iPad widgets will become more interactive this year . Whereas , for good example , the Reminders whatsis in iPadOS 16 in effect just show your reminders – tapping on the widget then opens the app – the equivalent in iPadOS 17 lets you tick off chore without having to start the app .

Article image

Stickers and audio transcripts: Messages gets interactive

Apple announced some sport and handy updates to the iPad ’s all - of import Messages app to match those iniOS 17 . you could make stickers , include vivify dagger free-base on unrecorded Photos , and expend these into message threads ; these are collected in a drawer accessible from the keyboard . There ’s a novel clitoris to jump out to the last read message in chemical group chats , helping you take in up with the conversation . And audio messages are transcribed automatically so you’re able to easily get the heart without make to play them out aloud .

iPadOS 17doesn’tappear to get iOS 17 ’s handicap - In feature , which allow you fix up a contact to be mechanically give notice when you get home ( and can divvy up information with them such as locating , battery storey , and cellular phone service if things go askew ) . Presumably , this is less of a priority on the iPad , which is carry around less than the iPhone .

While we ’re on the subject of communicating , FaceTime in iPadOS 17 gains the pick to pass on video and sound recording messages when the recipient does n’t pick up , and Reactions such as tenderness and balloons .

iPadOS 17 lock screen customization

New Health app

We ’ve been wait a long clock time for this one . Health , which arrived on the iPhone in iOS 8 an astonishing nine eld ago , has finally come to the iPad . Granted , the iPad is less patently a health - relate twist than the iPhone – it does n’t get carried around when exercising , it does n’t ( currently ) twain with the Apple Watch – but its larger screen is double-dyed for catch health datum and trends sourced from other Apple machine you own .

Getting clever with PDFs

Here for once is a new characteristic that has n’t landed on the iPhone . PDFs are easier to edit in iPadOS 17 because it uses automobile learning to identify fields that you ’ll want to fill in , then suggests ( where appropriate ) autofill info scraped from Contacts .

This also applies to the Notes app , which has been designed to palm PDFs more in effect . PDFs come out full width in Notes in iPadOS 17 , and you’re able to annotate PDFs right in the note . If you ’re sharing a note with someone else , you may collaborate on PDFs and changes appear in real - meter .

Getting productive with Safari

iPad owners will be capable to create multiple browsing Profiles , each of which will have its own history , cookie , and bookmarker . By switching between these you could be more productive when in work mode , personal manner , and so on .

There are also change to Private browse : Apple say this feature now allows you to lock a window with Face ID / Touch ID , and hit fussy - site tracker .

Other changes

Let ’s go quickfire on some other changes in iPadOS 17 :

Which iPads will get iPadOS 17, and when?

The first developer beta version of iPadOS 17 is uncommitted now , while the full public release will appear in the evenfall . It will be a free software update for iPad ( 6th gen and later ) , iPad mini ( 5th gen ) , iPad Air ( 3rd gen ) , 12.9 - inch iPad Pro ( 2nd gen ) , 10.5 - inch iPad Pro , and 11 - in iPad Pro ( 1st gen ) .

iPadOS 17 stickers in Messages

iPadOS 17 PDF editing

iPadOS 17 PDF editing and collaboration in Notes