Just as it promised last week, Apple today released the latest versions of its various operating systems. iPadOS 16 is the star of the show, as version 16.1 currently rolling out is the first iteration of iPadOS 16.x we’ve seen so far, as the initial release was skipped last month.
And just as rumors had anticipated, version numbers for the company’s mobile operating systems are back in sync, with today’s release of iPadOS 16.1 alongside iOS 16.1.
Stage manager
The new iPadOS build includes the revamped multitasking experience called Stage Manager (iPad Pro 12.9 3rd generation and later only, all models of iPad Pro 11 “and the latest iPad Air). This automatically organizes apps and windows and allows you to create window overlays of different sizes, drag-and-drop windows and more An update due later this year for the iPad M1 and M2 will enable full external display support for Stage Manager, with resolutions up to 6K.
New Messaging features
In addition to this, iPadOS 16 also has new Messages features (edit, undo and mark conversations as unread), a suite of intelligent tools for Mail (undo send, schedule sending, alerts to forget to include a recipient or attachment, reminder to go back to a message and search better), support for iCloud Shared Photo Library, new security and collaboration features for Safari and, lo and behold, the Weather app also makes its debut on the iPad on this occasion.
ICloud shared photo library
iOS 16.1 also supports iCloud Shared Photo Library, live activity from third-party apps on Dynamic Island and the lock screen on iPhone 14 Pro models, Fitness + without Apple Watch, key sharing in Wallet, Clean Energy Charging and numerous fixes of bugs. In addition, the new Matter home connectivity standard is supported.
watchOS 9.1 extends battery life during activities such as outdoor walking, running and hiking with the ability to lower heart rate and GPS scans on Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and Apple Watch Ultra . Additionally, you can download music while the watch is off the charger using Wi-Fi and cellular, and the smartwatches now also support Matter.
Finally, tvOS 16.1 comes with a new design for Siri, support for shared photo libraries, and support for Apple Watch-less Fitness +. Unsurprisingly, Materia support has also been added here.
Apple software updates are generally available to everyone at the same time, so if you have one or more devices running these operating systems and they haven’t asked you to update yet, a manual check should do the trick.
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