Top Five New Features in iPadOS 17

[MacRumors]

While iPadOS 17 has adopted almost all of the features that are available in iOS 17, there are also several additions designed specifically for the larger display of the iPad. In our latest video, we've highlighted the best new features available for the iPad in the iPadOS 17 update.

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1. Updated Lock Screen - In iPadOS 17, the iPad gets the Lock Screen customization features that came to the iPhone with iOS 16. iPadOS 17 users can choose the look of the date and time, select different iPad-optimized wallpaper options, and have multiple Lock Screens that are tied to Focus modes.
2. Widgets and Live Activities - Live Activities are now supported on the iPad's Lock Screen, so you can follow along with timers, food orders, sports games, and more. Widgets on the Lock Screen and the Home Screen are interactive, allowing you to turn on the lights, play a song, mark a reminder as complete, and more, directly from the widget with no need to open an app.
3. Health App - The Health app is available on the iPad in iPadOS 17, showing health data in detail. The app is optimized for the iPad's display with an updated Favorites view and interactive charts for categories like Trends and Highlights.
4. PDF & Notes Additions - Enhanced Autofill allows the iPad to identify fields in a PDF or scanned document so names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and other information can be added from contact cards. There's also a new feature for collaborating on PDFs with others directly through the Notes app. The Notes app has been enhanced for PDFs, and PDFs will show up in full width for quick annotations with Apple Pencil.
5. Stage Manager Updates - When using Stage Manager, windows can be freely resized, repositioned, and placed anywhere on the display. Stage Manager also supports an external camera like the one on the Studio Display for FaceTime and conference calls.

For more on what's new in the iPadOS 17 update, we have a dedicated iPadOS 17 roundup.

Article Link: Top Five New Features in iPadOS 17

 

[Kylo83]

Funny how iPadOS is just the year before for iOS, they don’t really put any work into it, just last years iOS features

 

[k27]

Multiuser-Support?

This would be a key feature.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Can't believe it's 2023 and still no stock iPad Calculator App for iPadOS.

 

[1284814]

Seriously, that’s it?

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Tim Cook 2015: "the iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing".

2023: A new lock screen

 

[jimthing]

Can't believe it's 2023 and still no stock iPad Calculator App for iPadOS.

View attachment 2227576

True dat. But get the PCalc app (£€$ 10). It's better than anything calculator related that Apple would ever do, anyway.

 

[deebinem]

Dan - take more steps!

 

[Unami]

Really, they should make those point-updates. It's more or less iOS 3.11

Looks like the Vision Pro will also have a souped up iPadOS 🤮

 

[jimthing]

This PDF stuff in Notes app is nice and all, but can you move the PDF back into Files when you're done playing with it in Notes?

(personally, I'm not keeping PDFs in Notes, as I already have a filling system in iCloud Drive documents folder for my tens of thousands of files; PDF or otherwise.)

I also wonder if Apple are trying to turn Notes into the new Preview? TBH, I'd love if they'd finally add feature parity by adding Text Editor and Preview iOS/iPadOS versions, as macOS users use these daily all the time.

 

[erikkfi]

Me and my first-generation iPad Pro wouldn't know. 😭

 

[Unami]

Can't believe it's 2023 and still no stock iPad Calculator App for iPadOS.

View attachment 2227576

I sometimes find my self typing "calc" into the search field and wondering why nothing happens before I remember.

Either there's some calculator-app-developer who's paying big money to Tim's retirement fond or they're just messing with us. How hard can it be to slap a more or less predefined GUI over some basic calculator functions already which are already defined in the programming language? That's something an intern who has never written a line of code before could do in a month. Do they think, people expect something like Mathematica as the standard calculator for an iPad?

 

[CarAnalogy]

Tim Cook 2015: "the iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing".

2023: A new lock screen

In his head he finished that sentence "until we get the VR headset out the door."

 

[CarAnalogy]

Funny how iPadOS is just the year before for iOS, they don’t really put any work into it, just last years iOS features

After several years it's become apparent that's how development works at Apple now. Work on iOS first. Port its features to the Mac. Queue them up on the iPad for next year.

And now it's become apparent the last part of that is "and put all the best engineers and most time into the headset and the car."

iOS is central to all software development at Apple now. That's why I'm afraid you'll never hear Apple say the word Finder on stage again. The Mac is done except for getting what's added to iOS. I know that's a dramatic oversimplification but from a marketing perspective it's pretty clear.

 

[AppleTO]

Stage Manager Updates - When using Stage Manager, windows can be freely resized, repositioned, and placed anywhere on the display.

For some reason I don’t remember hearing about this. So this would make it seem as if windows work like they do on a Mac now?

 

[minik]

I have the 2020 iPad Pro (A12Z) and the battery doesn't seem spectacular these days. Before WWDC, I thought I will be upgrading to this year iPad Pro model (if there is one). After looking at the iPadOS 17 features, I will just hold off my upgrade plan for another year. Thank you Tim!

 

[darngooddesign]

I sometimes find my self typing "calc" into the search field and wondering why nothing happens before I remember.

I just type the math expression into the search field.

 

[roland.g]

Multiuser-Support?

This would be a key feature.

OR I and I am sure quite a few people have this too, have a wall mounted kitchen iPad for Home, Calendars, Robovacs, Lighting Control, Shopping Lists, Weather, Recipes, etc. that the whole family uses as a home hub. But Apple doesn’t make an easy way for that to be set up. Even if I turn off Messages and Mail, etc. the iPad is still on my account which is inconvenient for quite a few things.

 

[bigheaddoug]

I have to admit that I am flabbergasted that Stage Manager got any attention in this update.

 

[Wildkraut]

Stage what? 😆
Ahh that thing everyone wanted, incl. myself, till we realized it sucks…

 

[Crowbot]

I sometimes find my self typing "calc" into the search field and wondering why nothing happens before I remember.

Either there's some calculator-app-developer who's paying big money to Tim's retirement fond or they're just messing with us. How hard can it be to slap a more or less predefined GUI over some basic calculator functions already which are already defined in the programming language? That's something an intern who has never written a line of code before could do in a month. Do they think, people expect something like Mathematica as the standard calculator for an iPad?

Maybe Apple just doesn't see the point since there are so many free calc apps in the Store. I've seen this question/statement come up several times before and I just don't get it. I paid for PCalc because it does everything. (Not trying to jump on you, BTW)

 

[Yoms]

This top 5 is so [redacted]. Not MacRumors' fault, they had to pick something among the nothingness.

Next year is supposed to be a big year for the iPad (Pro) according to rumours. So, if anything meaningful, iPadOS could get a big update in 2024 along with the new iPad Pro. 2023 is not the year of the iPad, neither of iPadOS.

 

[Wildkraut]

This top 5 is so [redacted]. Not MacRumors' fault, they had to pick something among the nothingness.

Next year is supposed to be a big year for the iPad (Pro) according to rumours. So, if anything meaningful, iPadOS could get a big update in 2024 along with the new iPad Pro. 2023 is not the year of the iPad, neither of iPadOS.

Yep a big year for the iPad, same crap with a larger display.

 

[haydn!]

I’ve literally lost all interest in the update. It was so underwhelming and mostly just superficial stuff.

Can someone give me a nudge when the iPadOS 18 previews start?

 

[Hastings101]

After several years it's become apparent that's how development works at Apple now. Work on iOS first. Port its features to the Mac. Queue them up on the iPad for next year.

And now it's become apparent the last part of that is "and put all the best engineers and most time into the headset and the car."

iOS is central to all software development at Apple now. That's why I'm afraid you'll never hear Apple say the word Finder on stage again. The Mac is done except for getting what's added to iOS. I know that's a dramatic oversimplification but from a marketing perspective it's pretty clear.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. We have gotten a lot of wonderful features like individual permissions per app thanks to iOS, and then admittedly some very niche/useless ones like Stage Manager.

I am not sure there's much more that can be done with the desktop-based operating systems like macOS and Windows (Well, Microsoft keeps trying and ends up with messes like Windows 11) besides under the hood additions, like the new "game porting" kit in macOS 14. I honestly wish Apple would cool it with the yearly releases in all aspects of software as there just doesn't seem to be much going on lately and that yearly timetable has to use up resources.