The Most Exciting New Features Coming to IPadOS 18 Later This Year
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Every year Apple adds new features to its various operating systems, and this year is shaping up to be a particularly interesting one for the iPad. During WWDC 2024, the tech giant unveiled several new features, including several AI-powered ones, coming to iPad with the release of iPadOS 18 later this year.
For starters, iPadOS 18 will get a lot of the customization features we already saw in iOS 18 , like more control over home screen design and more personalized control over how your Control Center looks. But one of the iPad’s most requested features is simple at first glance: a calculator app.
Of course, Apple doesn’t just bring a regular old calculator to class. The company is working on various artificial intelligence features, which it calls Apple Intelligence, to create new features that will work seamlessly with iPad and Apple Pencil. Most of them are used in the Calculator, which also works hand in hand with a new feature called Math Notes.
With Math Notes, you can take math notes on your iPad using the Apple Pencil, and the page will update as you enter information into various math problems and equations. It allows users to write down mathematical expressions and then instantly see the solution in their own handwriting. You can even change different parts of the equation to see the answer change in real time, at least based on what we saw during Apple’s WWDC debut.
Math Notes is built directly into the new Calculator app on iPad, so you can enter the information you need and then quickly convert it into handwritten information. The calculator also has a built-in history that keeps track of previous calculations so you can review them later if necessary.
I use my iPad and Apple Pencil as one of my main note-taking methods, and while I’ve gotten better at writing on the iPad over the years, my handwriting is far from beautiful and erasing can sometimes be difficult. However, it looks like Apple is trying to improve all this by introducing a new Smart Script feature that can take handwritten notes and clean them up to make them “fluid, flexible and easier to read.” The goal here is for the machine learning behind Smart Script to still capture handwriting similar to your own, so it feels like you’re writing it all.
Apple has also updated the way you can erase objects using the Apple Pencil. In iPadOS 18, you’ll be able to erase parts of a paragraph and then watch the system automatically change the content to fill the new space. All of this will be available directly in the Notes app, which will also get some improvements to the way you enter text: new options for organizing note content, the ability to collapse sections under headings and subheadings, and even the ability to choose from five new highlight colors to make text stand out.
Other areas Apple has changed include a new tab bar that sits above apps and complements the sidebar in various apps like Apple TV+. According to Apple, this is intended to make navigation easier and should open up “a new way to customize your app experience.” The revamped Photos app is also coming to iPadOS 18, as expected, giving you even more ways to explore how Apple has changed things up.
Messages on iPadOS 18 will also get a new Send Later option, which will let you schedule text messages to people right in the Messages app. This will also include updated Tapbacks, emoji reactions and stickers. All of the new Safari features expected in macOS Sequoia will also carry over to iPadOS 18, including Highlights, the new Reader interface, and long article summaries. The updated Passwords app will also be available on iPad, giving you access to Wi-Fi passwords, app and website passwords, verification codes and security alerts across multiple devices.
SharePlay is also getting an update that includes more options for drawing on the screen, allowing you to point at specific points and even request permission to control the device remotely. Game Mode will offer more immersive personalized spatial audio, as well as support for upcoming games such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows . Apple Maps, Reminders, and Calendar are also receiving updates to make these apps more accessible and useful to users. And accessibility features like eye tracking and voice commands will be the focus of an update coming this fall.
Privacy controls like hidden apps and blocked content are also coming to iPad with the next update to Apple’s tablet, including more ways to control which Bluetooth devices can access your device and what information they can access on it. And for iPad users with the M series chip, new Apple Intelligence features like Rewrite, Proofread, and Image Playground will also be available later this year.