iPadOS 15 is now available with home screen widgets, multitasking improvements and more

Apple has released iPadOS 15 to all users. The update has a number of new features and improvements like improved multitasking, home screen widgets, new apps library, Quick Note, Live Text, Spatial Audio and Voice Isolation for FaceTime, Focus Mode, and much more.

What’s new in iPadOS 15?

iPadOS 15 brings the iPad up to date with the features that were introduced in iOS 14 and iOS 15. It now supports widgets on the home screen, which were introduced last year on iPhone. It also has a new App Library now, which automatically organizes apps and lets users keep their home screen clean.

Perhaps the biggest two updates that are iPad specific are enhancements to multitasking and Quick Notes. Multitasking improvements include a small menu that is visible on the top of each app that allows it to be put into Split View, Slide Over, or in full screen. A new multiwindow shelf also appears above the dock when you use an app that has multiple windows open. iPadOS 15 also has improvements to the App Switcher and lets you create app pairs in Split View. Lastly, users can also open utilize new keyboard shortcuts to access these multitasking features without touching the screen or using a trackpad.

Alongside these updates, Apple has also added spatial audio and voice isolation to FaceTime, improved its group calls interface and added support for starting calls with users on other platforms like Windows and Android. A new Focus mode allows users to set up different profiles to filter notifications, re-arrange their apps and widgets, and set a status in Messages app.

Safari has also received a major new update and now has almost the same feature set as its Mac counterpart. It supports a new customizable homepage, new tab groups, background tab color, web extensions, and more. Maps, Messages, Spotlight, and other features have also received improvements.

iPadOS 15 Release Notes

Here are the complete release notes from Apple:

Multitasking

The multitasking menu at the top of apps lets you enter Split View, Slide Over, or go full screen

A multiwindow shelf appears within apps giving you quick access to all the open windows

App Switcher now includes Slide Over apps and allows you to create Split View spaces by dragging one app over another

A new option to open a window centered on screen without leaving your current view in Mail, Messages, Notes, Files and supported third-party apps

Keyboard shortcuts enable you to create a Split View or Slide Over using an external keyboard

Widgets

Widgets can be placed among apps on your Home Screen

Extra large widget size designed just for iPad

New widgets include Find My, Contacts, App Store, Game Center, and Mail

Suggested layouts include widgets for the apps you use most arranged on your Home Screen

Intelligent widget suggestions automatically appear in your Smart Stack at the right time based on your activity

App Library

App Library automatically organizes the apps on your iPad into an easy-to-navigate view

App Library is available from an icon in the dock

Home Screen pages can be reordered or hidden to fit your needs

Quick Note & Notes

Quick Note lets you take a note from anywhere in iPadOS by swiping your finger or Apple Pencil

Links from an app or web page can be added to your Quick Note to create context

Tags let you easily categorize and organize your notes

The Tag Browser in the sidebar lets you tap any tag or combination of tags to quickly view tagged notes

Activity view gives a summary of updates since the last time you viewed the note, along with a day-to-day list of activity from each collaborator

Mentions let you notify a person in a shared note

FaceTime

Spatial audio makes people’s voices sound like they’re coming from the direction in which they’re positioned on the screen on Group FaceTime calls (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Voice Isolation blocks background noises so your voice is crystal clear (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Wide Spectrum brings all background noises into your call (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Portrait mode blurs your background and puts the focus on you (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Grid view displays up to six people at a time in Group FaceTime calls in the same-size tiles and highlights the current speaker

FaceTime links allow you to invite your friends into a FaceTime call, even friends on Android or Windows devices can join from their browser

Messages and Memoji

Shared with You shows content sent to you by friends in Messages conversations in a new section in Photos, Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, or the Apple TV app

Pinned content elevates the shared content you choose and makes it more prominent in Shared with You, Messages search, and the Details view of the conversation

Multiple photos sent in Messages are displayed as a glanceable collage or a swipeable stack

Over 40 Memoji outfit choices and up to three different colors to customize your Memoji stickers’s clothing and headwear

Focus

Focus lets you automatically filter notifications based on what you’re currently doing, such as fitness, sleep, gaming, reading, driving, work, or personal time

Focus uses on-device intelligence during set up to suggest apps and people you want to allow notifications from in a Focus

Home Screen pages can be customized to match your apps and widgets to a specific Focus

Contextual suggestions intelligently suggest a Focus based on your context, using signals like location or time of day

Status appears to your contacts in Messages conversations that your notifications are silenced with Focus

Notifications

A new look displays contact photos for people and larger icons for apps

Notification summary delivers a helpful collection of your notifications daily, based on a schedule you set

Notifications can be muted from any app or messaging thread for the next hour, or for the day

Maps

Detailed city maps display elevation, trees, landmarks, crosswalks and turn lanes, 3D views to navigate complex interchanges, and more in San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and London, with more cities coming in the future (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

New driving features include a new map for drivers that highlights details like traffic and incidents, and a route planner that lets you view your upcoming journey by choosing a future departure or arrival time

Updated transit experience provides one-tap access to departures near you

Interactive 3D globe shows enhanced details for mountain ranges, deserts, forests, oceans, and more (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Redesigned place cards make it easy to learn about and interact with places, and a new home for Guides editorially curates the best recommendations for places you’ll love

Safari

Tab Groups help you save and organize your tabs and easily access them across devices

Start page can be customized with a background image and new sections like Privacy Report, Siri Suggestions, and Shared With You

Web extensions on iPadOS help you personalize your browsing and can be downloaded through the App Store

Voice search lets you search the web using your voice

Translate

The Translate app for iPad is designed for conversations and can work completely offline so your conversations stay private

System-wide translation lets you select text and handwriting throughout iPadOS and translate it with a tap

Auto Translate detects when you start speaking and when you stop in a conversation, automatically translating your speech without tapping the microphone button

Face to face view allows each person to view the conversation from their own side

Live Text

Live Text makes text interactive in all your photos so you can copy and paste, look up, and translate in Photos, Screenshot, Quick Look, Safari, and live previews with Camera (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Data detectors for Live Text recognize phone numbers, emails, dates, street addresses, and more in photos so you can take action on them

Spotlight

Rich results brings together all the information you’re looking for on contacts, actors, musicians, movies, and TV shows

Photos can be searched from your photo library by locations, people, scenes, text in the photos or other things in the photos, like a dog or a car

Web image search allows you to search for images of people, animals, monuments, and more

Photos

New look for Memories with a new interactive interface, animated cards with smart, adaptive titles, new animation and transition styles, and multiple image collages

Apple Music can be added to your Memories for Apple Music subscribers, and personalized song suggestions combine expert recommendations with your music tastes and what’s in your photos and videos

Memory mixes let you set the mood by selecting from different songs and a Memory look to match

New memory types include additional international holidays, child-focused memories, trends over time, and improved pet memories

Info pane now displays rich information about the photo like which camera and lens, shutter speed, file size, and more

Visual Look Up recognizes art, landmarks around the works, plants and flowers, books, and dog and cat breeds in your photos so you can learn more about them

Siri

On-device processing means audio of your requests does not leave your device by default, and means Siri is able to process many requests offline (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Share items with Siri to send on screen items like photos, web pages and Maps locations to any of your contacts

Onscreen context can be used by Siri to refer to contacts on screen to send them a message or place a call

On-device personalization allows Siri speech recognition and understanding to improve privately (iPad with A12 Bionic and later)

Privacy

Mail Privacy Protection protects your privacy by preventing email senders from learning about your Mail activity, your IP address or whether you’ve opened their email

Safari Intelligent Tracking Prevention now also prevents trackers from profiling you using your IP address

iCloud+

iCloud+ is a cloud subscription service that gives you premium features and additional iCloud storage

iCloud Private Relay (beta) sends your requests through two separate internet relays and encrypts the internet traffic leaving your device so you can browse Safari in a more secure and private way

Hide My Email lets you create unique, random email addresses that forward to your personal inbox so you can send and receive email without having to share your real email address

HomeKit Secure Video supports connecting more security cameras without using your iCloud storage quota

Custom email domain personalizes your iCloud Mail address and allows you to invite family members to use the same domain

Accessibility

Image exploration with VoiceOver allows you to get even more details about people and objects, and learn about text and table data in photos

VoiceOver image descriptions in Markup let you add your own image descriptions that can be read by VoiceOver

Per-app settings allow you to customize display and text size settings only for the apps you want

Background sounds play balanced, bright, or dark noise, ocean, rain, and stream sounds continuously in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise

Sound actions for Switch Control enable you to control your iPad with simple mouth sounds

Audiograms can be imported in Settings so you can customize Headphone Accommodations based on your hearing test results

New Voice Control languages include Mandarin Chinese (China mainland), Cantonese (Hong Kong), French (France), and German (Germany)

Memoji options including a cochlear implant, oxygen tubes, or a soft helmet

This release also includes other features and improvements:

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking in Apple Music brings an even more immersive experience to Dolby Atmos music with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max

Keyboard shortcut enhancements include more keyboard shortcuts, a redesigned compact look, and better organization by categories

Apple ID Account Recovery Contacts lets you to choose one or more people you trust to help you reset your password and regain access to your account

Temporary iCloud storage grants you as much iCloud storage as you need to create a temporary backup of your data, free of charge, for up to three weeks when you buy a new device

Find My separation alerts notify you if you leave a supported device or item behind and Find My will give you directions to your item

Game highlights of up to the last 15 seconds of gameplay can be saved using game controllers like the Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller or Sony PS5 DualSense™ Wireless Controller

App Store in-app events help you discover timely events within apps and games such as a game competition, a new movie premiere, or a livestreamed experience

Does your iPad support iPadOS 15?

iPadOS 15 is compatible with the following iPad models:

iPad Pro (all models)
iPad Air 2 and later
iPad 5th generation and later
iPad mini 4 and later

How to upgrade your iPad to iPadOS 15?

If you already have automatic updates enabled on your iPad, you should get the iPadOS 15 update automatically. However, to manually download the update, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update. Make sure that your iPad has at least 50% battery charge and is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network.

You can also opt for a clean installation experience. Check out our guide on how you can download the IPSW firmware file for your iPad, and restore it to your device using a Mac or Windows PC.

What’s new in iPadOS 15?

iPadOS 15 Release Notes

Does your iPad support iPadOS 15?

How to upgrade your iPad to iPadOS 15?

Imran Hussain

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