WWDC brings updates galore to your iPad and new hardware
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) got underway on 6 June, and this year there were tons of new features and hardware reveals in the opening keynote. The event kicked off with Tim Cook discussing the new Apple Developer Center opposite Apple Park and the company’s initiatives to help developers around the world and from under-represented groups.
The first software updates concerned iOS, with plenty of details shared around iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. These included personalisation features for the Lock Screen (iOSonly), as well as updates to the Wallet and Home apps, and a lot more.
Sharing and collaboration were major themes. SharePlay now works in more apps and you can transfer photos into a shared iCloud folder that can be automatically updated. Child accounts in Family Sharing will become easier to manage, and Apple teased a collaborative drawing and brainstorming app called Freeform.
M2 splashes down
Apple turned its attention to many of its own apps, with long-awaited updates and surprise features coming to Mail, Safari, Photos and FaceTime. Maps is finally getting the ability to add additional stops to your journeys, while News will let you more easily stay up to date with your favourite sports teams.
watchOS 9, meanwhile, saw new workout types, extra complications, and fresh watch faces. And there’s a new Stage Manager feature on iPadOS and macOS that brings a new way to manage multiple apps, windows and workspaces all at once.
Oh, and of course, there was even time to debut the all-new nextgeneration M2 chip for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
In all, it was a really feature-packed keynote from start to finish. Here we’ll just focus on bringing you the details of iPadOS 16, because that’s what iPad owners want to know about most! So, let’s get started…
New tools for iPadOS 16
From productivity to fitness, there are plenty of changes on the way
i OS and iPadOS 16 share many new features but some are specific to iPad or iPhone. For example, the Lock Screen on iPhone gets a new look that we’d have liked to see on iPad too, but this feature won’t appear on iPadOS. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, declared that “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience iPhone.” There’s certainly packed a lot in there, with Messages and Mail getting an overhaul too.
Significantly, Apple is introducing a ‘buy now, pay later’ option called Apple Pay Later, allowing payments to be spread over six weeks. It will be available
