iPadOS 16
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iPadOS 16
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| Developer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Announced | June 6, 2022 (WWDC) |
| Initial release | October 24, 2022 |
| Final release | 16.7.x security series |
| iOS sibling | iOS 16 |
| Preceded by | iPadOS 15 |
| Succeeded by | iPadOS 17 |
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iPadOS
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| iPadOS13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 26 · 27 |
iPadOS 16 is the fourth release of iPadOS, released on October 24, 2022 — a month after iOS 16, the first time the siblings' launches split, and the delay had one cause: Stage Manager. The overlapping-window multitasking system — resizable windows in freeform groups, with full external-display support at up to four apps a side — was iPadOS's most ambitious feature ever, and its most troubled, shipping after a beta cycle of crashes, redesigns, and an M1-only restriction that ignited the loudest device-gating argument in the platform's history (Apple relented partway, extending it minus external-display support to older Pros).
Around the drama, the release carried the desktop-class apps initiative: system apps gained find-and-replace, customizable toolbars, and document menus; Weather finally arrived on iPad; and collaboration features (Freeform in 16.2, shared Safari Tab Groups) rounded out the year.
1 Features✎
Stage Manager (M-series iPads; external display support in 16.2); desktop-class app toolbars and behaviors; the Weather app; Reference Mode on the 12.9-inch Pro's XDR display; virtual memory swap on M1; Freeform (16.2); plus the iOS 16 generation's shared features — editable Messages, iCloud Shared Photo Library, passkeys. The customizable Lock Screen notably did not come to iPad this year.
2 Supported devices✎
iPad (5th gen) and later, iPad mini 5 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, and iPad Pro (all except the original 9.7/12.9) — dropping the iPad Air 2, mini 4, and first-gen Pros.
3 Legacy✎
Stage Manager's rocky birth became the reference case for the iPad's central tension — pro hardware, cautious software — but the windowing direction it opened proved right: iPadOS 26's acclaimed Mac-style system is its direct descendant, built on the lessons (and the criticism) this release absorbed.