The big update is finally here! Apple has started rolling out iPadOS 18 to the public with several new features and changes, including more Home Screen Customization with icon tinting, Calculator App, Math Notes, App Locking, a Redesigned Control Center, a New Passwords App, and more.
Here are the top 14 new features on iPadOS 18:
1. Calculator: Yes, you read that right. The native Calculator app is finally coming to the iPad and a brand new feature called “Math Notes” which helps you solve math problems while you write the question with your own handwriting using the Apple Pencil. According to Apple, “With a new graphing feature, users can write or type an equation and insert a graph with just one tap, and can even add multiple equations on the same graph to see how they relate. And Math Notes are automatically accessible in the Notes app in the new Math Notes folder.”
2. Notes: With Smart Script, your iPad will be able to make your own handwriting look smoother as you write using your own personal handwriting. According to Apple,“Smart Script allows users to write quickly without sacrificing legibility by smoothing and straightening handwritten text in real time. And it makes editing handwritten text just as simple as editing typed text. With Apple Pencil, users can easily add space, scratch out a sentence, or even paste typed text in their own handwriting, and the paragraph will automatically reflow to fit the new content.”
3. New Tab Bar: iPadOS 18 adds a new Tab bar for easier navigation. Here’s how it looks:
4. Home Screen Customization: Users will be able to customize the look of their Home Screen even further with Dark Mode in the app icon, along with app icon tinting. This update also brings the ability to place icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid along with support for larger sizes for app icons.
5. App Locking: With iPadOS 18, users will be able to lock individual apps with Face ID and Touch ID.
6. New Control Center: The Control Center has been completely redesigned and comes with the ability to add, resize, and change the placement of all listed actions. Moreover, Apple will finally let third-party apps add their own actions in the Control Center. According to Apple, “The new controls gallery displays the full set of available options, and users can customize how the controls are laid out, including adjusting them to the ideal size and creating entirely new groups.”
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7. Photos: The Photos app has also been redesigned with the removal of the bottom tab bar. According to Apple, “A simplified, single view displays a familiar grid, and new collections help users browse by themes without having to organize content into albums. Plus, collections can be pinned to keep favorites easily accessible. A new carousel view presents highlights that update each day and feature favorite people, pets, places, and more. Autoplaying content throughout the app brings libraries to life, so past moments can be enjoyed while browsing. Because each user’s photo library is unique, the app is customizable, so users can organize collections, pin collections to access frequently, and include what’s most important to them in the carousel view.”
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8. Messages: iPadOS 18 brings in new text effects, to amplify any letter, word, phrase, or emoji with dynamic, animated appearances, as per Apple. Support for formatting a text in bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough has also been added. Moreover, this update also includes support for using any emoji or sticker for tapbacks, instead of a few selected ones by Apple in previous versions of iOS.
9. Mail Categories: Apple will be adding Mail categories such as Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions to iOS 18, making it easier for users to access their emails.
10. Safari: When reading an article, Apple will use machine learning to display only the key summary information. According to Apple, “For example, users can review a summary to get the gist of an article; quickly see the location of a restaurant, hotel, or landmark; or listen to an artist’s track right from an article about the song or album. Reader has been redesigned to offer even more ways to enjoy articles without distraction, with a summary and table of contents included for longer articles.”
11. New Passwords App: Another requested feature was a dedicated app for passwords. This app contains all your passwords, including your stored WiFi passwords, and passwords from iCloud keychain.
12. More Privacy in Contacts: You’ll be able to share only selected contacts to a particular app with this update.
13. Game Mode: Game Mode brings in lower latency and focused performance on games.
14. New Accessibility features: New Accessibility features such as Eye tracking, Music Haptics, and Vehicle Motion cues, which they announced previously this year.
Along with these new features, Apple also announced Apple Intelligence for M-series iPads, part of which will be available starting with iPadOS 18.1. You can check out the compatibility list for iPadOS 18 here. If you were running the beta and already updated to the Release Candidate version, you will not see a new update.
In addition to iOS 18, Apple has also released iPadOS 17.7 for older devices with bug fixes and security improvements.
Will you be updating your iPad? How excited are you about these new features? Let us know down in the comments or tweet to us on @appleosophy! Be sure to download the Appleosophy App from the App Store or visit our website to stay updated with the latest Apple news!
