If you loathe Stage Manager, other new iPad features in iPadOS 16.1 include enhanced support for pro apps, changes for Messages, Mail and Safari, etc.
Apple releases iPadOS 16.1 for iPad
Apple released the iPadOS 16.1 software on Monday, October 24, at 10am PT. An over-the-air update can be installed by venturing intoSettings → General → Software Updateon your iPad.
Just hit the option to download and install the over-the-air update as soon as iPadOS 16.1 shows up in Software Update. Your iPad will restart as part of the update, but you won’t lose any data or settings.
A native Weather app for iPad is finally here!
Apple has finally brought its Weather app to the tablet, and boy is it gorgeous. It takes full advantage of the iPad’s bigger screen and looks just gorgeous. you’re able to touch any one of the different modules to bring up even more information.
For instance, you can now see hourly temperature and precipitation over the next 10 days by selecting the specific module. You also get notifications for upcoming severe weather, with thousands of animated backgrounds showing off precipitation, like heavy or light rainfall, along with the sun’s position and cloud cover.
And thanks to the iPad’s big screen, details such as air quality, temperature and precipitation can be glanced at without scrolling.
Stage Manager arrives
Apple hopes that the Stage Manager feature in iPadOS 16.1 will make it easier to resize and move windows, but it remains to be seen how people react to this controversial multitasking feature. It surely helps that you’re able to now turn the Dock and sidebar on or off when using Stage Manager.
In fact, Stage Manager itself is optional—you don’t have to use it if you don’t like it.Stage Manager is also available on Macswith the macOS Ventura update (which arrived alongside iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1).
iCloud Shared Photo Library
you’re able to now create a separate Photos library to share media with five other people. Everyone can contribute their past photos and videos based on parameters such as start date or people in the photos. Edits are shared across devices, with permissions allowing other people to add, edit, favorite, caption and delete photos.
You can quickly switch between your personal library, your shared one or both in the Photos app. And in Camera, you can save photos straight to the shared library.
Live Activities and better pro apps
iPadOS 16.1 also makes third-party apps better thanks to the Live Activities API that developers can use to add their own live activities for the lock screen, like sports scores, ride-sharing updates and more. With iPadOS 16.1, pro-grade iPad apps like DaVinci Resolve on devices with 256 gigabytes of storage or more can now use virtual memory swap for up to sixteen gigabytes of RAM.
Tidbits: Undo send message, Mail scheduling and more
iPadOS 16.1 shares many of the new features with iOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura. These include the ability to schedule emails in the Mail app, retract or edit a sent iMessage, sort options in Notes, Shared Tab Groups in Safari, support for CAPTCHA-killing passkeys, Live Text and Siri enhancements and so forth.
iPadOS 16.1 release notes
Apple has listed the following fixes and improvements in iPadOS 16.1:
Safari and Passkeys
Stage Manager
New Display Modes
Game Center
Visual Look Up
Family Sharing
Desktop-Class Apps
Safety Check
Accessibility
This release also includes other features and improvements:
Additional tidbits can be found onApple’s iPadOS 16 Overview page.
you may check out detailed release notes for all iPadOS 16.x updates in Apple’s support document titled“About iPadOS 16 updates”. Apple also provides detailed information about thesecurity contents of iPadOS 16.1and other software.
Is iPadOS 16.1 worth installing?
If you don’t care about Stage Manager or don’t own an M1 or M2-powered iPad, it’s probably safe to pass on this update. We need to see how subsequent updates will address Stage Manager complaints. If Apple doesn’t come up with a better idea, it should just ditch Stage Manager and get back to the drawing board.
Stage Manager is so bad that it caused Apple to skip iPadOS 16.0 and go straight for iPadOS 16.1. Stage Manager doesn’t seem like the right answer for iPad multitasking woes. If Apple didn’t sell you on other new features in iPadOS 16.1, you’d be wise to postpone upgrading until subsequent updates improve the experience.
Your thoughts on iPadOS 16.1
What are your favorite changes and improvements in iPadOS 16.1? Let us know by chiming in with your thoughts in the commenting section down below.
