iPadOS 16.1 is out now. Here are several new iPad features you can try

After a month’s delay, Apple has finally pushed out iPadOS 16.1 for compatible iPad models worldwide including Malaysia. The new operating system update brings a host of new features which can improve multitasking, collaboration and sharing for the iPad.

How to update to iPadOS 16.1?

To update your iPad to iPadOS 16.1, just go to Settings > General and then tap on “Upgrade to iPadOS 16” which appears at the bottom of the screen. The update is over 2.5GB, so it’s best to be connected to WiFi to download the update.

iPadOS 16.1 is compatible with iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (5th generation and later) and iPad mini (5th generation and later). It is worth highlighting that even if your device supports iPadOS 16.1, some features are only available on select models due to hardware requirements.

New iPadOS 16.1 features

Stage Manager

The biggest new feature is Stage Manager which levels up the multitasking experience on a tablet since the introduction of the Dock back in 2019. It allows you to run multiple “windowed” apps at a time, perform drag and drop functions, resize apps and also switch between apps from the left panel. To turn this feature on, go to your iPad’s settings > Home Screen and Multitasking > Stage manager > and enable “Use Stage manager on iPad”.

Originally offered only for iPads running on M1 and above, the feature has been extended to older iPad Pro models that run A12Z and A12X chips. 

Enhanced collaboration and sharing

Apple has also updated its native apps such as Messages, Safari, Mail and iCloud Share Photo Library to make collaboration and sharing easier. If you’re working on a group project or assignment, you can now easily share an invitation to collaborate via Messages. Your team members can make direct changes to a document and the activities are updated at the top of the thread.

For families or groups of friends, you can now share photos easily with a separate iCloud Photos library where up to six users can collaborate and contribute. You can choose to share all of your existing photos from your personal library or select based on the dates or from people in their photos. This is great for compiling photos from an event or a holiday trip.

On Safari, you can now share a collection of websites using Tab Groups with your friends and family. This can be useful when doing research for your next holiday trip or discussing ideas for your next project. The feature even lets you see what others are viewing within the Tab Groups.

Visual Lookup for videos

Apple’s Live Text is great for identifying text and objects from photos but it is now enhanced to support text recognition on videos. If you’re watching a video tutorial, you can now pause and then select and copy text directly. If the text is in a foreign language, you can also perform a translation on the fly.

Full External Display Support coming soon

At the moment, full external display support isn’t available yet and Apple says that it will be rolled out later this year. The external display support will be rolled out for M1 and M2 iPad models and it supports external monitors up to 6K resolution. The extra display real estate will allow users to run up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external screen at the same time.

You can view the full list of iPadOS 16.1 here or check out Jonathan’s review of the Beta version running on an iPad Air M1.

Related reading

• iPad Air M1 review Malaysia: Has iPadOS 16.1 made Apple’s tablet a better work device?
• iPad Pro 2022 Malaysia: “Breakthrough” M2 performance, new Pencil features and 2x WiFi speeds
• iPad 2022 Malaysia: The new iPad is a cheaper iPad Air with Landscape Ultra-wide front camera
• Apple is expected to push iPadOS 16 with new Stage Manager feature in two weeks’ time