The best iPadOS yet is a massive upgrade for any device

WRITTEN BY CARRIE MARSHALL

WE’VE COME A long way since the first iPad in 2010. That one ran iPhone OS 3.2, and critics mocked it as a giant iPhone. They did have a point, but even then Apple was making the iPadOS different from the iPhone one — and with each new release, those differences have become much more significant. iPadOS 16 really blurs the lines between iPads and Macs, especially when it comes to multitasking. iPadOS 16 isn’t trying to turn your iPad into a Mac, though. It’s still very much a mobile operating system that plays to the iPad’s strengths: its portability, its touchscreen and its ability to completely transform based on the app you’re using.

This is a very big update. It introduces a brand new way of working with multiple apps: it provides Mail and Messages with some brilliant new features, it vastly improves your security when you go online, and it makes it easier to share the things you love with the people that matter to you. It can even turn back time to undo embarrassing mistakes in messages or emails.

Over the next few pages we’ll discover all the killer features of iPadOS 16, and we’ll show you how to make the most of them. Whether you have the standard iPad, an iPad Air or the biggest iPad Pro, this OS update will make your iPad more flexible, more fun and more you.

Mail, messages & collaboration

Now it’s easier than ever to share with others — and to change your mind

MANY FELT THAT Mail was overdue some attention from Apple, and if you agreed, then you’ll like the changes in iPadOS 16. The new Undo Send can help you in those heart–in–mouth moments when you’ve accidentally sent the wrong thing or to the wrong person, and Mail will also warn you if your message says you’ve included a file or photo and forgotten to attach it.

You can now schedule emails to go at specific times rather than right now, put sent messages in your inbox for you to remember to chase the recipient, and you can also get Mail to remind you about emails that you’ve looked at but haven’t responded to.

One of our favorite improvements is the least spectacular–looking but by far the most useful, though. Search has been massively improved. What sometimes felt like pot luck, and often proved very reluctant to find messages we knew were there somewhere, is much faster and vastly more reliable, with Mail autocorrecting search criteria to help speed things up.

Messages gets an Undo feature too, although the recipient needs to be using the same app and the right version. You can mark messages as unread, recover accidentally deleted ones and send invitations to collaborate on Numbers, Pages, Notes, Keynote, Reminders and Safari, or to share Apple Music and other media via SharePlay. And it’s easier for developers to use the Messages Collaboration API to add Messages integration to their own apps, enabling you to share different types of content with more people.

SharePlay improves with each new release, and it now works with more things than ever before. Third party services such as Disney+ and many third party apps now have SharePlay synchronization so you can watch, listen or interact with them along with friends, family or colleagues, and you can even share Fitness+ workouts (provided that you’re both subscribers).