iPadOS 13 is the first major release of the
iPadOS
iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its iPad line of tablet computers. It is a rebranded variant of iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones, renamed to reflect the diverging features of the two product l ...
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...
developed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
for their
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
line of
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s. The successor to
iOS 12
iOS 12 is the twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvements and security updates. Ann ...
on those devices, it was announced at the company's
2019 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 3, 2019,
as a derivation from
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
, with a greater emphasis on multitasking and tablet-centric features. It was released on September 24, 2019. It was succeeded by
iPadOS 14
iPadOS 14 is the second major release of the iPadOS operating system developed by Apple for their iPad line of tablet computers. It was announced on June 22, 2020 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as the successor to i ...
, released on September 16, 2020.
History
The
first iPad was released in 2010 and ran
iPhone OS 3.2, which added support for the larger device to the operating system, previously only used on the
iPhone and
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
. This shared operating system was rebranded as "
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
" with the release of
iOS 4
iOS 4 is the fourth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iPhone OS 3. It was announced at the Apple Special Event on April 8, 2010, and was released on June 21, 2010. iOS 4 is the fi ...
.
The operating system initially had rough feature parity running on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, with variations in user interface depending on screen size, and minor differences in the selection of apps included. However, over time, the variant of iOS for the iPad incorporated a growing set of differentiating features, such as
picture-in-picture
Picture-in-picture (PiP) is a feature that can be found in television receivers, personal computers and smartphones, consisting of a video stream playing within an inset window, freeing the rest of the screen for other tasks.
For televisions, pic ...
, the ability to display multiple running apps
simultaneously
Simultaneity may refer to:
* Relativity of simultaneity, a concept in special relativity.
* Simultaneity (music), more than one complete musical texture occurring at the same time, rather than in succession
* Simultaneity, a concept in Endogene ...
(both introduced with
iOS 9
iOS 9 is the ninth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 8. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, 2015, and was released on September 16, 20 ...
in 2015),
drag and drop
In computer graphical user interfaces, drag and drop is a pointing device gesture in which the user selects a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. In general, it can be used to i ...
, and a dock that more closely resembled the one in
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
than the one on the iPhone (added in 2017 with
iOS 11
iOS 11 is the iOS version history, eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Worldwide Developers C ...
). Standard iPad apps were increasingly designed to support the optional use of a keyboard.
To emphasize the different feature set available on the iPad, and to signal their intention to develop the platforms in divergent directions, at WWDC 2019 Apple announced that the variant of iOS that runs on the iPad would be rebranded as "iPadOS." The new naming strategy began with iPadOS 13.1, in 2019.
[
]
Updates
The release of iPadOS 13 began with 13.1. 13.0 was never publicly released, though beta testing for iPadOS 13 started with 13.0.
Features
Home screen
Unlike previous versions of iOS, the icon grid displays up to five rows and six columns of apps (30), regardless of whether the device is in portrait or landscape orientation. The first page of the home screen can be configured to show a column of widgets from applications for easy access. Spotlight Search is no longer part of the widgets but can still be accessed by swiping down from the center of the home screen or pressing Command + Space on a connected keyboard.
Multitasking
iPadOS features a multitasking system developed with more capabilities compared to iOS, with features like Slide Over and Split View that make it possible to use multiple different applications simultaneously. Double-clicking the Home Button or swiping up from the bottom of the screen and pausing will display all currently active spaces. Each space can feature a single app, or a Split View featuring two apps. The user can also swipe left or right on the Home Indicator to go between spaces at any time, or swipe left/right with four fingers.
While using an app, swiping up slightly from the bottom edge of the screen will summon the Dock, where apps stored within can be dragged to different areas of the current space to be opened in either Split View or Slide Over. Dragging an app to the left or right edge of the screen will create a Split View, which will allow both apps to be used side by side. The size of the two apps in Split View can be adjusted by dragging a pill shaped icon in the center of the vertical divider and dragging the divider all the way to one side of the screen closes the respective app. If the user drags an app from the dock over the current app, it will create a floating window called Slide Over which can be dragged to either the left or right side of the screen. A Slide Over window can be hidden by swiping it off the right side of the screen, and swiping left from the right edge of the screen will restore it. Slide Over apps can also be cycled between by swiping left or right on the Home Indicator in the Slide Over window and pulling up on it will open an app switcher for Slide Over windows. A pill shaped icon at the top of apps in Split View or Slide Over allows them to be switched in an out of Split View and Slide Over.
The user can now have several instances of a single app open at once. A new mode similar to macOS's Mission Control has been added which allows the user to see all of the instances of an app.
In many applications, a notable exception being YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, videos can be shrunk down into a picture-in-picture window so the user can continue watching it while using other apps. This window containing the video can be resized by pinching and spreading and can be docked to any of the four corners of the screen. It can also be hidden by swiping it off the side of the screen and is denoted by an arrow at the edge where the video is hidden and swiping it will bring it back onscreen.
Safari
iPadOS Safari now shows desktop versions of websites by default, includes a download manager
A download manager is a software tool that manages the downloading of files from the Internet, which may be built: into a Web browser, or as a, usually more sophisticated program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
Bu ...
, and has 30 new keyboard shortcut
computing, a keyboard shortcut also known as hotkey is a series of one or several keys to quickly invoke a software program or perform a preprogrammed action. This action may be part of the standard functionality of the operating system or ...
s if an external keyboard is connected.
Sidecar
Sidecar allows for an iPad to function as a second monitor for macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, named in reference to articulated motorcycles. When using Sidecar, the Apple Pencil
Apple Pencil is a line of wireless stylus pen accessories designed and developed by Apple Inc. for use with supported iPad tablets.
The first-generation Apple Pencil was announced alongside the first iPad Pro on September 9, 2015. It communic ...
can be used to emulate a graphics tablet for applications like Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
. This feature is supported only on iPads compatible with the Apple Pencil.
Storage
In addition to accessing local storage for general use, iPadOS allows external storage, such as USB flash drive
A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since firs ...
s, portable hard drives, and solid state drives to be connected to an iPad via the Files app. The iPad Pro (3rd generation)
The third generation of iPad Pro is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Two models, with a 12.9 inch or 11 inch screen, were both announced on October 30, 2018, and were available to purchase on No ...
connects over USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...
, while the Lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
Camera Connection Kit can be used with previous iPads.
Mouse and trackpad support
Support for mice and trackpads was available since the first public release, albeit as an accessibility feature only. Complete support was added in version 13.4, which included multitouch gestures for trackpads, and allowed third-party apps to implement new features supporting mice and trackpads.
Supported devices
iPadOS 13 supports iPads with an Apple A8
The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2014. Apple states that it has 25% more CPU performance and 50% more gr ...
or A8X chip or later, dropping support for devices with the A7 chip, more specifically the first-generation iPad Air
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
and the iPad Mini 2
The iPad Mini 2 (formerly marketed as the iPad mini with Retina display, officially iPad mini 2 with Retina display) is a tablet computer produced and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a nearly identical design to its predecessor the first-generat ...
and iPad Mini 3
The iPad Mini 3 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 3) is the third-generation iPad Mini tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced alongside the iPad Air 2 on October 16, 2014 and released on October 22. ...
. Devices supporting iPadOS 13 include:
*iPad Air 2
The iPad Air 2 is the second-generation iPad Air tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 16, 2014, alongside the iPad Mini 3, both of which were released on October 22, 2014. The iPad Air 2 i ...
*iPad Air (3rd generation)
The iPad Air (3rd generation) (colloquially referred to as iPad Air 3) is a tablet computer developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced and released on March 18, 2019, alongside the 5th-generation iPad Mini.
Its case design is id ...
*iPad (5th generation)
The iPad 9.7-inch (officially iPad (5th generation)) is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. After its announcement on March 21, 2017, conflicting naming conventions spawned a number of different names, including ...
*iPad (6th generation)
The iPad 9.7-inch (officially iPad (6th generation)) is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on March 27, 2018, during an education-focused event at Lane Tech High School in Chicago and is the su ...
*iPad (7th generation)
The iPad 10.2-inch (officially iPad (7th generation)) is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It features a 10.2-inch Retina display and is powered by the Apple A10 Fusion processor. It is the successor to the 9.7-inch 6th-g ...
*iPad Mini 4
The iPad Mini 4 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 4) is the fourth-generation iPad Mini tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced along with the iPad Pro on September 9, 2015, and released the same day. T ...
*iPad Mini (5th generation)
The fifth-generation iPad Mini (stylized and marketed as iPad mini and colloquially referred to as iPad Mini 5) is a tablet computer in the iPad Mini line, designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Announced in a press release along with ...
*All iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
models
An upgrade to iPadOS 13 is automatically offered to supported devices.
References
External links
* – official site
* – official developer site
iOS Reference Library
at the Apple Developer site
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