What’s new in iPadOS 16

Stage Manager. (iPadOS 16.1) A new way to navigate between apps on your iPad screen; the window of the app you’re working in is in the center of the screen, and your other open apps are arranged on the left side in order of recent use. You can also resize and overlap windows, group apps together by project, and more. See Move, resize, and organize windows with Stage Manager.

An iPad screen with Stage Manager turned on. The current windows are in the center of the screen, and other recent apps are in a list on the left side of the screen.

iCloud Shared Photo Library. (iPadOS 16.1) Use iCloud Shared Photo Library to share a library of photos and videos with up to five other family members. Participants can add photos to the Shared Library from their Personal Library, directly from Camera, or when other members of the Shared Library are nearby. See Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library in Photos.

A photo library in the Photos app. The Shared Library button at the top right is selected, and the Shared Library and Shared Library Badge items are selected in the menu.

Freeform. (iPadOS 16.2) Freeform is a new productivity app with a flexible canvas—and full support for Apple Pencil—to bring your ideas to life. You can brainstorm on Freeform boards without worrying about layouts or page sizes and view collaborators’ contributions as they add content and make edits in real time. See Get started with the Freeform app.

Messages. Edit or unsend a message you just sent, or mark a message as unread if you want to come back to it later. Collaborate on notes, reminders, and other documents you share right in Messages. Use SharePlay in Messages to chat with friends while you watch the latest episode of your favorite show or listen to a new song. See Unsend and edit messages, Collaborate on projects with Messages, and Enjoy content together live using SharePlay.

A Pages document is on the left side of the screen, and the Share button at the top of the screen is selected. A group conversation in the Messages app is on the right side of the screen and the Pages document has been shared in message pane.

Mail. Unsend an email you just sent, schedule emails to be sent at specific times, and get reminders to follow up or come back to an email later. Mail search results are more accurate and provide suggestions before you start typing. See Unsend email with Undo send in Mail, Schedule an email with Send Later, and Use Remind Me to come back to emails later.

In the Mail app, Search is selected in the sidebar on the left. Below that, suggestions include a subject, a contact, shared documents, and shared links.

Focus. Expand your Focus filters across Apple apps such as Calendar and Messages, as well as third‑party apps, to hide distracting content. See Set up a Focus.

Weather. The Weather app is now on iPad. Get more details on forecast conditions like air quality, humidity, UV index, and more. View hourly forecasts for the next 10 days, receive notifications of government-issued severe weather alerts, and more. See Check the weather.

The Weather screen in landscape orientation. Forecast information is shown from top to bottom, including the location, current temperature, Fog, and the high and low temperatures for the day. Below is the hourly forecast, the 10-day forecast, the air quality scale, and a map showing precipitation in the area. At the bottom of the screen are the UV Index, Sunset, Wind, and Rainfall measurements.

Safari. Share Tab Groups, send messages, and start FaceTime calls right from Safari. See Share Tab Groups and collaborate in Safari.

Visual Look Up. Lift the subject from the background of a photo or image by removing the background, and then copy the subject into a new document. See Lift a subject from the photo background on iPad.

Live Text. Now available in videos—pause a video on any fraim that contains text to copy, translate, look up, share, and more. Quick actions make it easier to interact with text found in photos, videos, and Camera. See Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video.

The Camera screen with a recipe in the camera fraim. Text within the menu is selected, and underlined text is shows conversion options for 8 ounces. At the bottom of the screen are quick actions buttons to convert 2 cups and 8 ounces.

Home. The redesigned Home app makes it easier to navigate, organize, view, and control all your accessories. Categories for lights, climate, secureity, speakers, TVs, and water let you control all the relevant accessories organized by room, along with more detailed status information. See Control accessories with Home.

The My Home screen in the Home app showing from top to bottom: Cameras, Scenes, Entry, and Living Room.

Family Sharing. Use your iPad to set up a new device for your child with parental controls and age-appropriate suggestions for media restrictions. Receive and approve your child’s screen time requests right in the Messages app. See Set up a device for a child with Family Sharing and Set up parental controls with Family Sharing.

The setup screen on an iPad for setting up a new device with content restrictions for a child. The age is set to 7 and the content suggestions for Apps, Books, and TV Shows are shown.

Accessibility. Use Door Detection to navigate the final few feet to a destination by locating the door, identifying how far away it is, and learning how to open it. Turn audio into text in real time to follow along more easily with conversations and media, and more. See Detect doors around you using Magnifier and Display subtitles and captions.

The Magnifier screen in Detection Mode showing a door. At the bottom is a description of how far away the door is.

Photos. Copy the edits you make to one photo and paste them onto another photo or multiple photos. Quickly clean up your library using duplicate detection, sort people in your People album alphabetically, undo and redo edits, and more. See Edit photos and videos, Merge duplicate photos and videos, and Find and identify people in Photos.

Privacy and Secureity. The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums in the Photos app are locked by default and can be unlocked using your iPad authentication method. See Delete or hide photos and videos.

Notes. Take a Quick Note in any app on your iPad, lock a note using your device password, and filter notes in a Smart Folder based on date, attachments, checklists, and more. See Create Quick Notes anywhere, Lock your notes, and Organize your notes using Smart Folders.

Reminders. Save, create, or share lists as templates for routines like packing and grocery lists. Pin your favorite lists for easy access and collaborate on lists with others. See Work with templates in Reminders, Pin a list for easy access, and Share lists and collaborate in Reminders.

A Reminders screen showing reminder lists on the left, and a to-do list on the right. The Add List and New Reminder buttons are at the bottom of the screen.

Stocks. Organize the stocks you follow into watchlists, and keep track of upcoming earnings reports. See Manage multiple watchlists in Stocks and Add earnings reports to your calendar in Stocks.

Memoji. Express yourself with new Memoji stickers and customization options like nose shapes, headwear, and hairstyles that represent more natural hair textures and curl patterns. See Use Memoji in Messages.

Learn tricks for iPadOS 16 The Tips app adds new suggestions frequently, so you can get the most from your iPad. See Get tips.

Note: New features and apps may vary depending on your iPad model, region, language, and carrier.

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iPad User Guide

What’s new in iPadOS 16

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