iPadOS 16

Incredibly capable.
Unmistakably iPad.

iPadOS 16 gives you powerful new ways to do more than ever. Share and communicate with the people who matter. Level up your productivity. Apps all across the system are more intuitive, more customisable and more capable.

Photos

iCloud Shared Photo Library

When you set up or join a Shared Photo Library, choose to contribute past photos based on a start date or the people in the photos. Once the shared library is set up, you can share photos instantly from Camera, choose to share automatically when other shared library members are nearby and get smart suggestions for adding photos to the shared library in For You.

Edits and changes sync everywhere

Everyone has equal permissions for adding, editing and deleting photos in the shared library. Favourites, captions and keywords sync too, so if one person organises the collection, everyone benefits.

Messages

Everyday messaging enhanced

You can now edit a message you just sent or unsend a recent message altogether. And you can mark a message as unread if you can’t respond in the moment and want to come back to it later.1

SharePlay via Messages

Watch the latest episode of your favourite show or listen to a new song with friends while chatting about it in Messages.2 Shared playback controls ensure that you’re always synced up.

Richer collaboration

Share notes, presentations, reminders, Safari Tab Groups and more in Messages to start collaborating instantly. See updates on shared projects in the thread and easily get in touch with your collaborators straight from the app you’re working in.

Mail

Improved Search

Search delivers more accurate and complete results and provides suggestions before you start typing.

New mailbox features

Undo send. Schedule send.
Follow up.
Add rich links.

Safari and Passkeys

Sign in more safely with passkeys

Passkeys introduce a more secure and easier way to sign in.

Shared Tab Groups

Share tabs and bookmarks, send messages and start FaceTime from Safari. Whether you’re planning a trip with friends or shopping for a couch with your partner, you can share all the tabs in one place. And when they find something great, they can add tabs too.

Stage Manager

Introducing Stage Manager

A new way to multitask and get things done with ease. Resize apps to look the way you want. And for the first time on iPad, see multiple overlapping windows in a single view.5

Switch between apps

Switch between apps seamlessly with just a tap, or a click of the mouse or trackpad.

Create your ideal workspace

Make different groups of apps for specific tasks or projects. And arrange, resize and overlap them in your ideal layout.

External display support

Full external display support with resolutions up to 6K, comes to iPad with M1 chip or later. Work with different apps on your iPad and external display.6

New display modes

Reference Mode

The 12.9‑inch iPad Pro can now display reference colour for popular colour standards, as well as SDR and HDR video formats. Use iPad Pro as a stand‑alone device or as a reference display using Sidecar on your Mac, in workflows where colour is critical.7

Display Zoom

Change the resolution of your display to fit more on screen.

Weather

Weather on iPad

The Weather app is now on iPad. Explore full‑screen maps with beautiful animations on the large iPad display.

Tap for deeper data

See details about local forecasts and more by tapping forecast modules, and get hourly forecasts for the next 10 days.

Severe weather notifications

Get important updates when you need them.

Games

Redesigned Game Center dashboard

See what your friends are playing, view their achievements and find out when they beat your high score, so you can go and beat theirs.

Play together with SharePlay

SharePlay makes it simple to join and play games together. During a multiplayer game that uses Game Center, you can start a SharePlay session and easily bring in your friends.

Advanced gaming features

Amazing visuals, accelerated performance and quicker loading.

Intelligence

Lift subject from background

You can easily lift the subject from an image or isolate a subject by removing the background. Available in Photos, Screenshot, Quick Look, Safari and more.10

Live Text for video

Pause a video on any frame that contains text to use familiar interactions like copy, translate, look up, share and more.11

Live Text quick actions

Now it’s even easier to call phone numbers, visit websites, convert currencies, translate languages and more in photos, videos and Camera.11

Shortcuts with zero setup

Run shortcuts with Siri as soon as you install an app. No setup required.12

Home

Re-imagined Home app

The Home app is rebuilt from the ground up to be even more efficient and reliable.13 Navigate all your smart home accessories in the redesigned Home tab. New categories for lights, security and more let you access relevant accessories with just a tap. And a multicamera view puts your smart home cameras front and centre.

Matter support

Choose and connect even more smart home accessories with Matter compatibility.

Family Sharing

Manage child accounts with ease

Easily create accounts for children with the right parental controls from the start. Set your preferences for age‑appropriate media, Screen Time, location sharing and more. Screen Time requests from your kids now appear in Messages, so it’s easy to approve or decline a request.

Set up a new device for a child

Use Quick Start and your device to easily set up a new iPhone or iPad for your child with all the appropriate parental controls already in place.

Family Checklist

Get helpful tips and suggestions to get the most out of Family Sharing, like updating children’s settings as they get older, turning on location sharing or reminding you that you can share your iCloud+ subscription with everyone.

Desktop‑class apps

New features and interactions

Countless app enhancements. Even more productivity.

Freeform

Introducing Freeform

Freeform is a creativity app where you and your collaborators can bring ideas to life. Sketch and jot down notes with Apple Pencil. Share files and insert web links, documents, video and audio.

Collaborate in real time

Invite collaborators, share a link and start working together instantly. As others add their thoughts, you can see changes on the canvas in real time.

Privacy and Security

Rapid Security Response

Security improvements. Applied faster than ever.

Hidden album in Photos

Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. Locked by default.

Accessibility

Learn more about Accessibility

Door Detection

Navigate the final few metres to your destination by locating a door, identifying how far away it is and finding out how to open it. Door Detection also reads aloud important details like room numbers and wheelchair-accessible symbols.15

Buddy controller

Team up with a friend or care provider while gaming.

And so much more.

Spotlight.

Get expanded rich results, intelligent suggestions and even more image results from apps like Messages, Notes and Files. You can also take actions like starting a timer or running a shortcut right from Spotlight.16

Notes.

Lock a note using just your device passcode, eliminating the need to remember a separate password. New, customisable filters in Smart Folders let you organise based on creation date, attachments, checklists and more. New pencil and drawing features let you add shapes, text boxes and arrows, and rotate images.

Reminders.

Save, create or share lists as templates to reuse them for routines, packing lists and more. You can also pin your favourite lists for easy access, and the Today and Scheduled Lists now group items by time and date, making it easier to view and add reminders. And an all‑new Completed List lets you view all of your completed reminders in one place, along with details like the time they were completed.

Handoff in FaceTime.

Easily switch devices during a FaceTime call without missing a beat. Move your call from your Mac to your iPhone or iPad with just a tap, and your connected Bluetooth® headset switches over too.

Stocks.

Create multiple watchlists to easily organise the tickers you follow. Group symbols by any criteria you choose, such as sector, asset type, ownership status and more. Add upcoming company earnings reports to your calendar. And get even more information at a glance with new widget options.

Memoji.

Express yourself with new Memoji stickers and customisation options like nose shapes, headwear, and hairstyles that represent more natural hair textures and curl patterns. And new Memoji contact sticker poses bring even more personality to your Contacts app.

Translate.

Translate text around you using the camera in the Translate app. Pause the view to get translations overlaid on text in a photo and zoom in to get a closer look, or translate text in photos from your Photos library.

Focus.

When you’re setting up a Focus, you can now select which apps and people you want to receive notifications from by either allowing them or silencing them. And draw boundaries in Apple apps like Calendar and Messages by hiding distracting content with Focus filters.

Maps.

Plan multiple stops along your route in advance. Look up directions on your iPad and see them on your iPhone when you’re ready to go.

See the full list of what’s new in iPadOS.

Learn more

iPadOS is compatible with these devices.

Learn more about iPad

  • iPad Pro (all models)
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad (5th generation and later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)

See how to update to iPadOS 16

Learn more

Developers will love iPadOS too.

Learn more about developing for iPadOS

iOS 16

Personal is powerful.

Learn more