iPadOS 17: Features, release date, iPad compatibility, beta, more

iPadOS 17 is Apple’s newest operating system for its iPad models. After tightening the integration between iPad and Mac with Stage Manager and Freeform app with iPadOS 16, Apple offered a few design changes with the new system. Here’s what you need to know about the company’s new iPadOS update.

Features

iPadOS 17 shares several of the features available for iOS 17. Even so, Apple has focused on some new tricks for the iPad, such as a revamped Lock Screen, interactive widgets, a new Health app, and more. These features are coming to the iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and base-model iPad users in general.

Lock Screen, interactive widgets, and Live Activities

Interactive widgets on iPad via iPadOS 17. Image source: Apple Inc.

After iOS 16 brought a revamp to the Lock Screen, it’s time for iPadOS 17 to follow. You can make the iPad’s Lock Screen more customizable by adding a custom look for it. There are stock wallpapers like Astronomy and Kaleidoscope, or you can choose a photo from your library.

This system also brings an all-new motion effect for Live Photos, making your Lock Screen feel more customizable and dynamic when you wake the iPad and jump into your Home Screen.

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iPadOS 17 also introduces Live Activities, which helps you stay on top of things happening in real-time, such as a food order, a flight, a game score, and more.

In addition, with widgets on your Lock Screen with iPadOS 17, you can see information like the weather, time, date, battery levels, or upcoming events at a glance on your iPad, iPad Air, iPad mini, or iPad Pro. There are also interactive widgets on your Home Screen, which let you play music, turn off the lights, and more, right from a widget. These changes could even tease the long-rumored OLED iPad Pro, expected to be released in 2024.

FaceTime and Messages improvements

For FaceTime, when users call someone who is unavailable, they can share a message in audio or video that can be enjoyed later with iPadOS 17. In addition, the app adds Reactions such as hearts, balloons, fireworks, and more.

Messages app, for example, lets you create Live Stickers, and a new drawer in the keyboard puts all of a user’s stickers in one place for easier access across iPadOS. An expandable menu can be accessed with a simple tap to display iMessage apps. In addition, a new catch-up arrow indicates where the user last left off in the conversation, and replying inline is as simple as swiping on a text bubble.

Lastly, iPadOS 17 also filters messages by known and unknown senders.

Stage Manager and Freeform updates

iPadOS 17 improves last year’s Stage Manager feature. While it was first delayed when Apple introduced it during the WWDC 2022 keynote, the company is making sure to ship the new features on day 1. With this update, Stage Manager offers a more flexible layout when moving and resizing windows (especially with an external display), so you can set up your workspace just how you want it. In addition, you can use the built-in camera in your external display for FaceTime and conference calls for the first time.

That said, the new operating system allows access to third-party webcams and microphones connected to the iPad Pro. It gives users more options than ever in their workflows, as they don’t need to rely on Apple’s own camera or mics.

Freeform on iPadOS 17, for example, adds new drawing tools, such as a watercolor brush, calligraphy pen, highlighter, variable-width pen, and ruler. With Shape Recognition, users can hand draw a shape like a square and watch a perfect version snap into place. In addition, users running Freeform on iPadOS 17 can finally see what your collaborators are working on with Follow Along. It shows what they see as they move around the infinite canvas.

Health app now on a larger display

iPadOS 17 brings a new Health app for iPad. Image source: Apple Inc.

The Health app comes to iPad with iPadOS 17 by optimizing all the data on a larger display. You can see rich details in favorites, review trends and highlights, and use interactive charts. You can create medication reminders, track your menstrual cycle, and log symptoms right from your iPad running iPadOS 17.

In addition, you can now reflect on your state of mind with new features for mental health. Access standardized assessments often used in clinics to understand your current risk for depression and anxiety and if you’d benefit from a discussion with a healthcare provider.

Autocorrection and Dictation are more intelligent than ever

Apple says Autocorrect on iPadOS 17 received a comprehensive update with a transformer language model for word prediction. It also received a refreshed design to better support typing, and sentence-level autocorrections can fix more grammatical mistakes.

Users can receive predictive text recommendations inline as they type, so adding entire words or completing sentences is as easy as tapping the space bar, making text entry faster than ever. Dictation also has a new speech recognition model to make it even more accurate.

Safari and Passwords

Safari has lots of new features. iPad users are able to create a profile to keep their browsing, history, extensions, Tab Groups, cookies, and favorites separated for topics like Work and Personal.

Apple says Search in Safari with iPadOS 17 is also more responsive and shows easier-to-read and more relevant suggestions. Another feature is web apps that come to your dock. You can launch a web app to get an app-like experience with a simplified toolbar.

Apple is also enhancing private browsing by letting you lock your private browsing windows when you’re not using them. It completely blocks known trackers from loading on pages and removes tracking added to URLs as you browse.

For Passwords, Apple now lets you share a set of passwords with your trusted contacts. You can create a group and choose a set of accounts to share. Passwords stay up to date for everyone in the group, and you can remove someone at any time.

PDF and Notes

Working on PDF files in Notes on iPad. Image source: Apple Inc.

iPadOS 17 improves enhanced AutoFill for PDF. The system picks saved information from Contacts to fill out a PDF or scanned document faster.

You can also view a full-width PDF right in the Notes app and click between pages. You can even keep more than one PDF in the same note for easy access to related documents. In addition, you can start a document in the Notes app and finish in Pages by clicking the Share button.

Lastly, you can quickly add links on the Notes app from one note to another. Apple says it’s a powerful way to “connect research notes, reference a recipe, or even create wikis for your team.”

Use your iPad to play Nintendo Switch games and more

Nintendo Switch sitting on a bed. Image source: Nintendo

With iPadOS 17, the iPad now supports more accessories connected with its USB-C port. That said, you can turn your iPad into a monitor to play Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox games.

Before you can get started playing Switch and PS5 games on your iPad, you’re going to need a couple of things:

A USB-C capture card
An iPad with USB-C
A capture card application
A Nintendo Switch or PS5 with an HDMI cord

Once you have all these things, follow the steps below.

First, plug your console into the wall and set it all up. Next, you will plug your capture card into the console you are trying to play using an HDMI cord. In this example, we’ll use a Nintendo Switch.

Once the capture card is connected to the Switch, you will plug the USB-C end into the iPad’s USB-C port. Make sure to plug it directly into the iPad. From here, open the capture card app (several people recommend Capture Pro, currently only available in TestFlight) on your iPad and turn on the Nintendo Switch. Once everything has powered up, you should see the Switch’s home screen on your iPad, allowing you to get started and select the games you want to play.

New emojis

Image source: Emojipedia

Every major iPadOS update offers new emojis. For example, Apple released 20+ emojis for iPadOS 16 with iPadOS 16.4. Unicode has previewed the 100+ new emojis in 2023 that landed with iPadOS 17.4. According to an Emojipedia blog post, there are a total of 108 new emojis when you include skin tone modifiers and gender variants. Apple says it has added 28 new emojis in total.

The list includes a Lime, a head shaking vertically, a phoenix bird (Moltres, for Pokémon fans), and four new gender-neutral family emojis intended to be represented via silhouettes.

AirPods Pro 2 feels much better with iPadOS 17

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

With iPadOS 17 available, Apple also upgraded AirPods Pro 2 with several new features thanks to a firmware update. Here they are:

Adaptative Audio: AirPods Pro 2 offers Adaptative Audio, which Apple says “dynamically blends Transparency mode and Active Noise Cancellation together based on the conditions of a user’s environment to deliver the best experience at the moment.”

Conversation Awareness: Another feature that comes alongside Adaptative Audio is conversation awareness. AirPods Pro 2 owners can easily start a conversation while listening to a song. This function reduces background noise and amplifies the voice of the person in front of you.

Mute or unmute: When on a phone call, pressing the stern sensor of your AirPods Pro 2 will mute/unmute your voice. Previously, pressing the stern would hang up the call.

Automatic Switching: The company states that the “connection time between a user’s Apple devices is significantly faster and more reliable.”

Personalized Volume: This feature relies on machine learning so your AirPods Pro 2 can “understand conditions and listening preferences over time to automatically fine-tune the media experience” and protect your ears in the long run.

Just Siri: Users can say “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri” now.

More iPadOS 17 features

There are even more new features with iPadOS 17:

AirDrop transfers: AirDrop transfers continue even if you step away. The content you share over AirDrop will be sent securely and in full quality over the internet if you leave the AirDrop range and both you and your recipient are signed in to iCloud;
Find My: Share AirTag or Find My network accessories with up to five other people. Everyone in the group can play a sound to pinpoint the location of a shared AirTag when they’re nearby.
Apple Maps: Save an area of a map to your iPad and explore it while offline. View information like hours and ratings on place cards and get turn-by-turn directions for driving, walking, cycling, or riding transit.
Lockdown Mode: The expanded Lockdown Mode increases security to help protect against sophisticated cyber-attacks – including the Apple Watch as well;
Photos: The People album is better than ever at recognizing your favorite people and includes the cats and dogs that are part of your family too;
Apple ID: Securely sign in to your iPad using a nearby device or any email address or phone number listed in your account on iPadOS 17.

iPadOS 17.1 features

Image source: Apple Inc.

iPadOS 17.1 was released on October 25. These are the features of this new operating system update:

Apple Music Playlist Suggestions: When adding a song to a playlist, Apple Music now suggests a few songs based on the music available on the list.
Apple Music Favorite Songs: Apple Music also lets you favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists. Your favorite music is automatically added to your Library and improves your recommendations.
Apple Music Playlist Covers: The service lets you create custom playlist covers. Apple offers eight different options.
AirDrop with Cellular Data: Teased during the WWDC 2023 keynote, you can now continue to send and receive content when Wi-Fi is unavailable during AirDrop.
USB-C Apple Pencil support: This update brings support to the latest Apple Pencil. BGR compared the three accessories currently available for iPad users.

iPadOS 17.2 features

Image source: Apple

iPadOS 17.2 was released on December 11. These are the features of this new operating system update:

Apple Fitness+ Audio Focus: It gives users the ability to prioritize the volume of the music or the trainers’ voices during an Apple Fitness+ workout.
Enhanced AutoFill: Identifies fields in PDFs and other forms, enabling you to add names and addresses from your contacts.
Turn off Listening History on Apple Music: iPadOS 17.2 brings a Focus Filter, which lets you turn off the Listening History feature.
Favorite Apple Music Playlist: After iOS 17.1 added the ability to favorite songs, Apple created a Favorite Playlist with all your songs.
Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top right corner
Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble
Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji
Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend.
Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice (iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), and iPad (8th generation and later).

iPadOS 17.3 features

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

iPadOS 17.3 was released on January 22. These are the features of this new operating system update:

Lock Screen: New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture to celebrate Black History Month.
Apple Music: Collaborate on playlists allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and add, reorder, and remove songs. In addition, you can add emoji reactions to any track in a collaborative playlist. BGR helps you create a collaborative Apple Music playlist.
AirPlay in hotel: AirPlay hotel support lets you stream content directly to the TV in your room in select hotels.
AppleCare: AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID.

iPadOS 17.4 features

With iPadOS 17.4 released on March 5, these are some of the top features available with this update:

New emoji: New mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chain, and shaking heads emoji are available in the emoji keyboard. 18 people and body emoji add the option to face them in either direction
Podcasts app: Podcast transcripts let you follow an episode with text that highlights in sync with the audio in English, Spanish, French, and German. Episode text can be read in full, searched for a word or phrase, tapped to play from a specific point and used with accessibility features such as Text Size, Increase Contrast, and VoiceOver
Music app: Music recognition lets you add songs you have identified to your Apple Music Playlists and Library
Messages changes: Business updates you opt-in to keep you informed of order status, flight notifications, fraud alerts, or other transactions from trusted businesses in Messages for Business
Apple Cash: Apple Cash virtual card numbers enable you to pay with Apple Cash at merchants that don’t yet accept Apple Pay by typing in your number from Wallet or using Safari AutoFill
Home tab: Apple Music and Podcasts’ Listen Now tab is now called Home.
New iMessage protocol: iMessage is also being upgraded with iPadOS 17.4 with a new post-quantum cryptographic protocol that improves end-to-end secure messaging. You can learn more about it here.

Apple is also reportedly readying a special iPadOS 17.4 version to power the long-rumored OLED iPad Pro.

Accessibility features confirmed before WWDC 2023

Apple iOS 17 accessibility features May 2023 Image source: Apple

In a press release, Apple announced “new features for cognitive accessibility, along with Live Speech, Personal Voice, and Point and Speak in Magnifier.”

One of the features is Personal Voice, a new feature that allows users to recreate their voice by recording around 15 minutes of audio. Apple says the function was made to assist those who may be at risk of losing their voice.

Personal Voice works with Live Voice, another feature announced. Live Voice will allow users to type what they want to say and then have that spoken for them on a phone or FaceTime call. If you use Personal Voice, the person on the other end of the call will hear your actual voice, even though you simply typed a response.

The company also revealed Assistive Access, which introduces a customized experience for the Phone FaceTime, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Music apps. Apple says that the feature offers a “distinct interface with high contrast buttons and large text labels, as well as tools to help trusted supporters tailor the experience for the individual they support. For example, for users who prefer communicating visually, Messages includes an emoji-only keyboard and the option to record a video message to share with loved ones.”

Delayed features

iOS 17.2 beta Journal app Image source: José Adorno for BGR

As of iPadOS 17.3 release, Apple has delivered all iPadOS features announced during WWDC 2023. The latest one was Apple Music Collaborative Playlists and AirPlay in Hotel rooms.

Apple Music Collaborative Playlist: Invite friends to collaborate on playlists. They can add, reorder, and remove songs. In addition, you can react to the song choices in Now Playing.
AirPlay in your hotel room: AirPlay available on TVs in selected hotel rooms

iPadOS 17 release date

After previewing iPadOS 17 during the WWDC 2023 keynote on June 5, Apple released the first beta for developers to try out the upcoming features. In July, a public beta of the iPad operating system was made available to consumers. The official release date of iPadOS 17.0 was September 18; Apple announced it after the iPhone 15 event.

Compatible iPad models

Apple’s iPad lineup as of March 2022. Image source: Apple Inc.

Apple has been pretty generous with the iPad models supporting iPadOS 16, including some that use the A9 chip released in 2015. With iPadOS 17, on the other hand, the company cut off the iPad 5 and the first-gen iPad Pro for this upcoming operating system.

Here’s the list of iPads that will support iPadOS 17:

iPad Pro (2nd gen or newer)
iPad Air (3rd gen or newer)
iPad mini 5 and iPad mini 6
iPad (6th gen or newer)

Official iPadOS 17 download

Since September 18th, users can download iPadOS 17. Its beta is available for developers registered on the Apple Developer Program and public beta testers in the Apple Beta Software Program if they want to try upcoming new features before everyone else.

Can I download the iPadOS 17 beta?

Yes. Enroll your developer Apple ID and follow these steps:

On your iPad, open the Settings app
Tap on General and Software Update
Tap on Beta Updates and enable iPOS 17 Developer Beta

How to download iPadOS 17 public beta?

A public test version has been available since July 12. Users need to enroll their IDs in the Apple Beta Software Program. After that, follow these steps:

Open Settings;
Go to General, then Software Update;
In Beta Updates, select iPadOS 17 Public Beta;
Download the public beta version.

Review

BGR published an in-depth review of iOS 17. Here’s what we think about this operating system update:

With its latest operating system update for its most famous device, iOS 17 doesn’t reinvent the wheel but adds some nice-to-have features that you might think it’s worth updating your iPad as soon as possible.

Messages, Health, and privacy changes are among the best new features available to this operating system.

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