APPLE TO MAKE IPAD MORE LIKE LAPTOP WITH UPGRADES

Apple will announce significant changes to the iPad’s software next week at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, according to people with knowledge of the matter, part of a push to make the device more like a laptop and less like a phone.

The iPad’s next major software update, iPadOS 16, will have a redesigned multitasking interface that makes it easier to see what apps are open and switch between tasks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the changes aren’t yet public. It also will let users resize app windows and offer new ways for users to handle multiple apps at once.

The iPad accounts for nearly 9 percent of annual Apple’s sales, and that percentage has inched up in recent years. But professional users of the device have clamored for an interface that feels more like a laptop experience. The iPad’s hardware, which now includes the same M1 chip as some of Apple’s laptops, has grown increasingly powerful, and in some ways the software hasn’t kept up.

The new iPad interface will be one of the biggest upgrades announced at the conference, which will also include software updates for the iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. The tech giant holds the conference each year to show off new features and device enhancements that developers can harness with their apps.

Currently, iPad users can either run apps in a full-screen view like on an iPhone or run two apps side by side. The company also lets users add a scaled-down version of a third app by sliding it over from the side. The changes will expand upon that interface.

Apple is estimated to generate more than $20 billion per year from the App Store, and the WWDC event helps keep that juggernaut going. New software features help spur developers to create new apps that in turn increase revenue.

For iOS 16, the next version of the iPhone’s software, Apple is planning several changes, including a new lock screen featuring widgets, Bloomberg News has reported. The company also will refresh the Health app and add new audio and socialnetworking features to Messages. Redesigned apps for macOS are coming as well, including a revamp to System Preferences, its app for managing a Mac’s settings.

For the Apple Watch, the company is planning changes to watch faces, system navigation and several of the device’s apps, including a notable update to the fitnesstracking features. The company is also planning a new low-power mode that will let users operate the device when battery life is running short. The current low-power mode can only show the time.