iPadOS 17 is the fifth release of iPadOS, released on September 18, 2023, back in lockstep with its iOS sibling. A consolidation year: the customizable Lock Screen (with iPad-scaled astronomy wallpapers and widgets) arrived a year after iPhones got it, widgets became interactive everywhere, and Stage Manager received the flexibility pass its critics demanded — freer window placement and sizing, plus built-in external webcam support over USB-C.

The Health app reached the iPad for the first time, with its data charts benefiting from the larger canvas, and PDF handling grew autofill and collaborative annotation in Notes — the quiet productivity wins that defined the cycle.

Lock Screen customization and Live Activities; interactive widgets; Health on iPad; Stage Manager refinements and external camera support; PDF autofill and Notes collaboration; Freeform follow-along; Spotlight and Visual Look Up improvements; and the shared iOS 17 set — Messages Check In, AirDrop improvements, autocorrect's transformer rebuild.

iPad (6th gen) and later, iPad mini 5 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, iPad Pro 2nd gen and later — dropping the iPad (5th gen) and first 12.9/9.7 Pros' remaining sibling (the 10.5 Pro and 12.9 2nd gen survived).

iPadOS 17 mended Stage Manager's reputation and completed the Lock Screen platform across form factors. Its webcam and Health additions extended the iPad's claim on desk and clinical niches — but its incremental profile also fed the "when does iPad software match M-chip hardware?" chorus that iPadOS 26 finally answered.