It’s definitely an interesting time of the year, with new foldable Android phones becoming available, along with Apple’s iPhone 14 set to take place on September 7. But along with new devices, we usually see the final versions of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS finalized to launch sometime in the Fall. However, it seems as though Apple might have bitten off more than it can chew with the release of iPadOS 16, as the company just released iPadOS 16.1, while the iPhone is still on the iOS 16 Beta.
When Stage Manager was shown off during WWDC ’22, there was a lot of excitement amongst the Apple fans. This was Apple finally giving its users the ability to use apps in different windows, as opposed to being stuck with a split-screen approach. In fact, instead of being limited to three apps at once (with the third coming from Slide Over), you can use a total of eight apps when connected to an external display. Otherwise, iPadOS 16 limits the number of on-screen app windows to just four, all of which can be adjusted and resized according to your needs.
Now that the first iPadOS 16.1 beta has been released, we’re already seeing a few changes made to how you can interact with this defining feature. As noted by Federico Viticci, there’s a “more prominent + button” when trying to create new windows for applications. It’s located in the top left corner, and is already an improvement over the previous method. Additionally, with Stage Manager enabled, you can now use slide from the edge of your screen using your finger to show the row of Recent Apps. Previously, this was only possible when using a trackpad or mouse paired with your iPad. Plus, the row of Recent Apps also now appears when using your iPad in portrait mode, another feature that wasn’t available until now.
Aside from those two changes, it doesn’t appear as though there are any other major additions (or subtractions) that can be found within iPadOS 16.1. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as any upcoming updates between now and the final release should be focused on improving the overall experience, along with attempting to get rid of the bugs and issues that users are facing. It will be interesting to see how the iPadOS 16.1 beta cycle will go, and how frequent updates will be released, especially considering that the iPadOS 16.1 Public Beta is also already available.
When Is iPadOS 16.1 Being Released?
If you have been holding off on installing the iPadOS 16 beta, then you are one of the lucky few. Arguably one of the biggest updates for the iPad ever has been riddled with bugs, many of which have been causing plenty of headaches when it comes to using Stage Manager. Despite iPadOS 16 being available as early as June via the Developer Beta program, the experience hasn’t really improved too much. This has forced Apple to publicly confirm that iPadOS 16 will not be released alongside the final version of iOS 16.
In its statement, Apple provided the following:
“This is an especially big year for iPadOS. As its own platform with features specifically designed for iPad, we have the flexibility to deliver iPadOS on its own schedule. This Fall, iPadOS will ship after iOS, as version 16.1 in a free software update.”
For the first time since the separation of iOS and iPadOS, the iPhone-only version of the software will be released first. And while Apple didn’t share specifics, the expectation is for iPadOS 16.1 to arrive alongside the release of macOS Ventura, which is likely to be made available sometime in October. This gives Apple more time to fine-tune iPadOS 16 and its headlining feature with Stage Manager.
Andrew Myrick is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is having a never-ending supply of different keyboards and gaming handhelds that end up collecting more dust than the consoles that are being emulated.
Curious if you’ve heard/seen/experienced any reports of external monitor support becoming broken after updating to public 16.1? My first beta worked fine with an external monitor (albeit very buggy with stage manager), but after updating to 16.1, my iPad will no longer connect to an external monitor. Other devices still connect fine, so hoping this is just a 16.1 issue.
Curious if you’ve heard/seen/experienced any reports of external monitor support becoming broken after updating to public 16.1? My first beta worked fine with an external monitor (albeit very buggy with stage manager), but after updating to 16.1, my iPad will no longer connect to an external monitor. Other devices still connect fine, so hoping this is just a 16.1 issue.