the iPad gets its own operating system: iPadOS
More like a proper computer in its own right
There’S Been SPeculatIOn for years about Apple unifying its desktop and mobile operating systems. After all, iOS is based on macOS, and today’s iPhones and iPads are powerful enough to run similar software to Macs. Then again, using an iPhone is inevitably a very different experience from using a Mac.
The iPad, though, lies somewhere in between, and at WWDC, Craig Federighi announced that it would finally have its own operating system, logically if cumbersomely known as iPadOS. It’s iOS 13 with some extra bits, but the extra bits should make using an iPad for proper work feel less compromised.
iPadOS focuses on making use of the bigger screen, working in more than one app or on more than one document at once, and entering and editing text. It also benefits from iOS 13’s new flexibility in accessing files (see p26). Reflecting the growing size and resolution of iPads, the Home screen grid has six icons across rather than five, which still leaves room for them to squash up further when you slide in the new Today View sidebar, bringing your favorite Widgets.
BROWSER BOOST
Safari will identify itself as a desktop browser, so websites should appear as they would on your Mac rather than on an iPhone. You can view web pages side by side just by dragging off a URL. In keeping with the revamped Files app, you can see downloads in progress or recently completed, and jump to their file location.
Finally, how about using iPad apps with a mouse? Apple still isn’t keen to open this particular can of worms, but iPadOS does support both USB and Bluetooth mice as an accessibility feature, enabled under Assistive Touch.