Apple Launches iPadOS With App Expose, Multi-Instance Apps, More

Apple is announcing iOS 13 today. And along with the launch of iOS 13, the company is separating iOS on the iPhone with iOS on the iPad. As the company increases its focus on the iPad and works on making iOS more powerful on the iPad, splitting up iOS on the iPhone and iOS on the iPad makes a lot of sense.

Meet iPadOS.

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The new OS for the iPad is simply called iPadOS, and it’s a massive change in strategy for Cupertino. For ages, Apple has continued to distribute the same OS for the iPad and iPhones. But over the last years, Apple has introduced new features, like multitasking, that is only available on the iPad. And so, instead of working on the same OS for both iPhones and iPads, it makes sense to simply split it up and have a standalone OS for the iPad.

Here’s what’s new in iPadOS:

  • Ability to pin widgets to the home screen
  • Multi-instance capabilities for apps, so you can have two different apps of the same instance open side-by-side.
  • App Expose on the iPad
  • You can now plug in a USB drive and use it with the built-in Files app
  • Import files from external drives directly to other, third-party apps
  • Safari is getting improved on the iPad with optimized touch support for websites on the iPad, a new download manager, and 30 new shortcuts
  • Ability to download fonts from the App Store
  • Improved text editing with new gestures that make it easy to browse long texts, move around while editing, and a new three-finger-swipe-to-undo gesture
  • Apple Pencil now has a latency of only 9ms, as well as a new experience for marking up things like screenshots
  • New compact keyboard, with support for swiping-and-typing

Developing…

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Conversation 57 comments

  • MikeGalos

    03 June, 2019 - 2:12 pm

    <p>Not "rename" in that headline, fork or split off.</p><p><br></p><p>It's not like they'll be the same but with different names.</p>

    • MikeGalos

      03 June, 2019 - 3:41 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432692">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>And now fixed. Thanks.</p>

  • simont

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 2:13 pm

    <p>Soon to be followed by iPhoneOS-SmallScreen and iPhoneOS-LargeScreen</p>

    • VancouverNinja

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 2:48 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#432693"><em>In reply to simont:</em></a></blockquote><p>I am surprised they have gone and done another fully separate OS. From my experience Apple just looks to be more and more of a headache to build apps for and then support them long term. They chickened out on building a unified dev platform for their products and have heaved a ton of work on devs now. I think Windows just got shinnier as a result.</p>

      • lvthunder

        Premium Member
        03 June, 2019 - 3:31 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432706">In reply to VancouverNinja:</a></em></blockquote><p>All they did was change the name of the OS the iPad uses. Developers always had to check a box on if the app supported the iPad or not.</p>

  • jaredthegeek

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 2:39 pm

    <p>If they add mouse support then MS is in some real danger. That is the hold out for why more people don't use an iPad over a laptop. Sure they are small but on the road they work great for most users. </p>

    • Polycrastinator

      03 June, 2019 - 2:44 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432699">In reply to jaredthegeek:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'm buying one of those things the moment they add mouse support. But.. they didn't. Again. Such a stupid oversight. Heck, if you want to retain the touch thing, just add support for a Magic Trackpad?</p>

      • djross95

        Premium Member
        03 June, 2019 - 3:33 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#432702"><em>In reply to Polycrastinator: </em></a> It's astonishing, Apple are truly stubborn. The improvements announced today are nice, but ANY kind of cursor input would put it over the top. MS must be relieved, they have another year to waste getting a competitor out the door. </blockquote><p><br></p>

    • VancouverNinja

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 2:46 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432699">In reply to jaredthegeek:</a></em></blockquote><p>MS is in no danger from iPads or Macs. Both of these platforms are stale and even our Mac loving Graphics team is not so high on Apple anymore. MS and PC's have no issues with consumers today and they are bought by 8 out of 10 consumers that need to use a personal computer.</p><p><br></p><p>I personally think Apple waited too long to try and move the needle. And now the cycle looks like it could turn more forcefully to PC's a the end of the year with everything that MS has done to refresh the platform.</p>

      • PeterC

        04 June, 2019 - 2:24 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432704">In reply to VancouverNinja:</a></em></blockquote><p>MS are in huge danger of iPad OS. You might not think so, but everyone I know sees the writing on the wall….. it says …. MS will be last to the table and behind on apples big budget marketing campaign….. yet again. </p><p><br></p><p>Unless of course MS can put a bug free hardware product running Modern Lite OS out there before Apple does……. but we’ve been told it’s been delayed again and again. Apples chip development program is streets ahead and Qualcomm can only press release future products still…. ?? </p><p><br></p><p>In in a few months iPad os will roll out to whatever devices can run it and by Xmas their will be millions of people using it……..all before MS puts something out of the door.</p><p><br></p><p>MS are very afraid…. and if their not they darn well should be. (unless of course they deliver a full office product to the ipad OS in which case their share price will soar covering the blushes)</p>

        • wp7mango

          04 June, 2019 - 9:23 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#432931">In reply to PeterC:</a></em></blockquote><p>Why on earth would Microsoft be afraid of iPad OS? Google might be afraid from the Chromebook perspective, but Microsoft? Nope.</p><p><br></p><p>Why? Because unless you have been living under a rock, Surface hardware and Windows are not where the big money is for Microsoft. The big money is in Azure Cloud, and Office 365.</p><p><br></p><p>If you think about it, Microsoft doesn't care whether you are running Word on Windows, or Word on MacOS or Word on iPadOS. It only cares that you're running Word, whichever platform you choose.</p><p><br></p><p>Therefore, if iPadOS means that more people use Microsoft Office 365, then Microsoft certainly won't be scared – they will be delighted.</p>

          • PeterC

            04 June, 2019 - 11:00 am

            <blockquote><em><a href="#433018">In reply to WP7Mango:</a></em></blockquote><p>My point focuses on the sizeable amounts of time and money MS have invested Modern OS and it’s intended place in the market. Unless I’m mistaken, iPad OS and Chrome OS are it’s direct competitors by default.</p><p><br></p><p>I agree about office subscribers and revenue, it’s been their saving, but the fact remains MS recent history is full of botched product/platform investments. Some success too but speaking a someone with an ms band, 3 windows mobiles and a couple of surface pros I do feel the £pain of some of these, failures.</p><p><br></p><p>Following a period of calculated retrenchment from the consumer hardware market they’re in the process of re-inventing what a Modern os is, they even appear to have used that as its name! And intend to see multiple OEM offerings from tablets, foldable to laptops and maybe their own branded surface one too.</p><p><br></p><p>So the fact a few million iPads will download and install iPad os in the next few months and suddenly occupy the market they’re targeting with Modern OS, (dwarfing chrome os too no doubt) should in my opinion, be a cause of concern…. if I were CEO I would be concerned given recent history as this one is all on Nadella, not an inherited problem. </p><p><br></p><p>I hope it’s a huge success as I’m an MS fan, but….. let’s see. </p><p><br></p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 4:03 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432699">In reply to jaredthegeek:</a></em></blockquote><p>I doubt it. If that were the case Surface Pro would be selling like hotcakes. Most of the time I use my Surface Book with no mouse. In my case I use Photoshop so the pen works better. It all depends on what you are doing.</p>

    • digiguy

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 5:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432699">In reply to jaredthegeek:</a></em></blockquote><p>mouse support was added as an accessibility feature, see my post below</p>

  • ReformedCtrlZ

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 3:18 pm

    <p>When I heard Apple was going to make changes to the iPad I was interested… And to be fair the improvements to gestures do seem nice, but the "new homepage" is a joke. And the lack of mouse support continues to be a huge oversight. Another somewhat minor thing that has always bugged me, the OS is super smooth when navigating and doing anything you can think of, but when resizing apps snapped beside each other the entire window whites out.. I know this is a scaled up phone OS, but there is no way Apple can't do better at live re-flowing apps…</p>

    • dcdevito

      03 June, 2019 - 10:35 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432716">In reply to ReformedCtrlZ:</a></em></blockquote><p>iOS13 has mouse support :)</p>

  • christian.hvid

    03 June, 2019 - 3:21 pm

    <p>Here's my wish list for iPadOS:</p><ol><li>Port core parts of Xcode to the iPad so devs don't need a stupid Mac just to build for iOS.</li><li>That's it, I'm fine.</li></ol><p><br></p>

  • Boris Zakharin

    03 June, 2019 - 3:29 pm

    <p>I guess that means no foldable from Apple</p>

  • Stooks

    03 June, 2019 - 3:35 pm

    <p>Massive FAIL not adding mouse support to iPadOS. Seriously they could have put a big dent in the laptop market. </p><p><br></p><p>Instead they demonstrated for everyone to see why mouse support is needed when that guy had to try multiple times to select some text with his fingers, hunched over with both hands.</p>

    • Pbike908

      03 June, 2019 - 3:49 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432728">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>100% agree on this. I has an Ipad at one point. I have also used a Fire Tablet, Android tablet, Windows tablet, Chromebook with/without Android apps, and of course Windows PC. I would perhaps give IOS another try — especially an Ipad, if it had a keyboard, and track pad.</p><p><br></p><p>Chromebooks, Chromebooks with Android apps, Android tablets, and Ipads quite simply ARE NOT LAPTOP replacements. This does of course leave the door open for Windows Lite.</p>

      • skane2600

        03 June, 2019 - 4:30 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432737">In reply to Pbike908:</a></em></blockquote><p>You had me until you mentioned Windows Lite which wouldn't replace a laptop either (at least based on how little we know now).</p>

    • skane2600

      03 June, 2019 - 3:50 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432728">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>MacOS already has the mouse support covered. Why turn the iPad into a Mac Jr? Pure tablets will never replace laptops, the ergonomics are all wrong. </p>

      • Stooks

        03 June, 2019 - 4:34 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432738">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>"the ergonomics are all wrong"</p><p><br></p><p>That is why adding a mouse would help. </p><p><br></p><p>It has been of the biggest "asks" for the iPad but Apple refuses to do it. Many think it will gut Mac sales.</p><p><br></p><p>Lots and lots of people do not need the power of a PC. However the iPad, without mouse support, is makes it so they still need a computer for some things.</p><p><br></p><p>I use they heck out of a computer, desktop/laptop. When I go on vacation, I take a laptop with me so in case I have to connect to work and RDP into something. I can do it on my 12inch iPad but without mouse support it is PURE hell trying to get things done. Same for any office apps. Try selecting multiple Excel cells with your finger.</p><p><br></p><p>They guy in the demo, trying to select text failed multiple times. His "ergonomics" way ALL WRONG. He was standing over it, hunched no less, using both hands! He could have been sitting, with the 12inch iPad and its type cover, with a BT mouse, and selected that text so fast.</p><p><br></p><p>All they need to do is make it an option. Not replace touch, just add mouse support.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

      • truerock2

        03 June, 2019 - 6:59 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432738">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>Mouse support on an iPad just increases the overlap between iPadOS and Mac OS. They are still different products that have their individual strengths and weaknesses.</p>

        • Stooks

          03 June, 2019 - 8:39 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#432827">In reply to truerock2:</a></em></blockquote><p>It just needs to be a supported option. No need to replace touch. Touch has its place in tablet mode.</p><p><br></p><p>I know lots of people that could get a 12.9 inch iPad with the Apple keyboard and a mouse and it would be all the computer they would need. Double as a fantastic tablet as well. Lots of apps and very secure. Not the overhead of Windows, Linux or MacOS and the care and feeding those need.</p>

    • digiguy

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 5:02 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432728">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>mouse support was added as an accessibility feature, see my comment in the premium comments section</p>

      • Stooks

        03 June, 2019 - 8:37 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432763">In reply to digiguy:</a></em></blockquote><p>Very limited mouse support was added. Sorry it is not good enough. It emulates a single finger. No selecting of text, no right click support either.</p><p><br></p><p>So in the demo they used he could not have selected the text and then copied it with the mouse.</p><p><br></p><p>Also is has a huge round cursor. </p>

        • digiguy

          Premium Member
          04 June, 2019 - 6:13 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#432863">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Text selection has been confirmed to work, and you can set what to do with mouse buttons in settings</p>

  • skane2600

    03 June, 2019 - 3:54 pm

    <p>I don't know how much this will help iPad sales, but creating an OS that is tailored to the device it is intended for is always a good thing IMO. This move proves that Apple believes iPad critics were right at least about one thing – iPads were too much like iPhones with giant screens.</p>

    • truerock2

      03 June, 2019 - 6:56 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432740">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>The first thing I noticed when I used the very first iPad was that the apps were completely different and I had to learn how to use the iPad version. I found this annoying. I wanted the apps to be identical so I didn't need to learn 2 different versions.</p><p><br></p><p>But, I guess I can see some benefit of taking advantage of what an iPad can do that would not be reasonable on an iPhone.</p><p><br></p>

  • jwpear

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 4:25 pm

    <p>Why does there need to be a separate OS for these features? Is this a joke?</p>

  • digiguy

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 5:01 pm

    <p>Guys, guys… Mouse support has been added to IOS 13 as an accessibility feature, as expected. It was not announced during the keynote, again as expected. And it has been confirmed by those that could try IOS 13 already…. There is still no video of it working but there are already some photos of the new settings </p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 6:01 pm

    <p>Seems like iPadOS could in a iteration or two be a capable laptop OS. Maybe it is the os of choice for the first MacBooks with a A series chip? </p>

  • Keith Isley

    03 June, 2019 - 6:02 pm

    <p>Could we have a filesystem please?</p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2019 - 6:58 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432812">In reply to babywriter:</a></em></blockquote><p>It's there. You will be able to read thumb drives now.</p>

      • Stooks

        03 June, 2019 - 8:35 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432826">In reply to lvthunder:</a></em></blockquote><p>It is good enough, but it is just the File App they had before that now supports SMB and external drives.</p><p><br></p><p>You can't get down to the actual iOS file system with it. Just see storage it allows you to see.</p>

        • Keith Isley

          03 June, 2019 - 8:51 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#432862">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Exactly. That's not a filesystem; that's a utility app – and the Files app is woefully lacking in actual real-world usability, IMO. I drove myself to distraction trying to figure out a reasonable image workflow with the apps I wanted to use (not Lightroom). When I have to fight the device every step of the way … there's no good reason for that, other than Apple's overweening desire to control every aspect of the user experience. And it's not just images; it's pretty much any type of file that can be shared between applications. The current solution is just a kludge.</p>

    • truerock2

      03 June, 2019 - 6:53 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#432818"><em>In reply to j_c:</em></a></blockquote><p>This is incredible. </p><p>To me – this is the most interesting twist in years.</p><p><br></p>

    • Stooks

      03 June, 2019 - 8:34 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432818">In reply to j_c:</a></em></blockquote><p>Check out the guys twitter post from the article. It does support mice, both USB and BT. However it emulates a single finger. He shows a video of it on Twitter. You get a big circle curser, the size of a finger tip, not your traditional arrow.</p><p><br></p><p>So no right click, no selecting stuff, like text or spreadsheet cells. Just clicking stuff. Also since its part of the accessibility feature apps DO not have to support it, just see it as it is…..a single finger.</p><p><br></p><p>Hopefully this changes but right now it is kind of lame.</p>

      • j_c

        03 June, 2019 - 10:41 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432861">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Correct but that is also the design of the OS. It is based on multi touch. A pointer from a mouse is/would be equivalent to just one finger.</p><p><br></p><p>Also there really aren’t right mouse click gestures beyond long pressing to do things like delete apps.</p><p><br></p><p>In my mind the big benefit would be making it easier to use remote desktop software. You could carry around a thin and light $250 (on sale) iPad and login to remote systems to do the work you can’t on the device and to manage networks.</p><p><br></p><p>I login to Linux systems using terminals now on the iPad, easier management of full desktops with a pointing device would be great.</p><p><br></p><p>Another potential benefit is making it easier to work with data in spreadsheets. But we will see. Most of the software I use on the iPad is great because of multi touch and getting beyond the limits of a mouse.</p>

      • digiguy

        Premium Member
        04 June, 2019 - 6:14 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432861">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Text selection has been confirmed to work, and you can set what to do with mouse buttons in settings</p>

  • Skandalous

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2019 - 8:04 pm

    <p><a href="https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1135653636145590273&quot; target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 110, 206);">Mouse Support</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&nbsp;in iPadOS: Works over Bluetooth or USB. No right-click contextual menus (yet), and doesn't support external displays. The Magic Trackpad also works via USB.</span></p>

  • pwrof3

    03 June, 2019 - 10:35 pm

    <p>This is truly the beginning of iPad Pro as a computer. I mean it has the same exact gestures and snap features of Windows 8 that everyone hates, but because it’s Apple everyone will love it now. </p>

  • dcdevito

    03 June, 2019 - 10:36 pm

    <p>Mainstream computing is about to change in a couple years. </p>

    • PeterC

      04 June, 2019 - 2:16 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432898">In reply to dcdevito:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yup agreed. I can see what’s now iPad os carving out its own future now and quite rapidly in line with apples chip developments and the extra capabilities it brings. </p><p><br></p><p>So chrome OS, iPad OS or Modern Lite OS… </p>

  • RobertJasiek

    04 June, 2019 - 12:10 am

    <p>Microsoft's approach of one Windows for all devices is right – Apple's approach of one OS per device category is wrong.</p><p>Support of iPad Air 2, iPad 5, iPad Mini 4, iPad Pro or newer is a shame of not supporting earlier versions of devices.</p><p>USB devices via Files sound good in theory for file backup or transfer to / from PC. However, it remains to be seen whether files are stored as files or in a proprietary container format, and whether the partition uses a standard or a proprietary format. The major problem, however, is Files: if it remains as dysfunctional as before (most file formats not working, access to files in most apps not working or being the usual painful Walled Garden experience, terrible GUI often not working), USB device file exchange will be the usual fake selling the Walled Garden as if it was PC-like experience.</p>

    • Winner

      04 June, 2019 - 3:12 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432910">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yeah, those tiles and touch Windows 8 went really well, didn't it?</p>

      • klhyvcfxe2 vtni56y

        11 September, 2019 - 5:01 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#432955"><em>In reply to Winner:</em></a></blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote><em>I have an old 27" iMac that I purchased after Sinofsky doubled down on the Windows 8 interface. I thought that OS was so bad (even with some of Stardock's apps) that I was prepared to leave the Windows world entirely in my personal life. I knew I'd still have to use it for work, but I was walking out the door…</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • dontbe evil

    04 June, 2019 - 1:41 am

    <p>OMG that's revolutionary !!!</p>

  • dontbe evil

    04 June, 2019 - 1:42 am

    <p>mmm where did I already see these thing…. any help?</p>

    • curtisspendlove

      04 June, 2019 - 2:22 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#432924">In reply to dontbe_evil:</a></em></blockquote><p>Sure. App Expose was on the Mac before it was brought to iPad OS. Did that help?</p>

      • dontbe evil

        06 June, 2019 - 4:30 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#432930">In reply to curtisspendlove:</a></em></blockquote><p>nope, I remember, many of all apple new revolutionary inventions, were already implemented from MS, starting from 2010 and later on</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    04 June, 2019 - 3:08 am

    <p><em>Ability to pin widgets to the home screen</em></p><p>2008 called and welcomes the iPad into the club. It is still waiting for the iPhone to catch up.</p><p>And the 1970s called and welcomed the iPad into the file management club.</p>

  • daf42

    04 June, 2019 - 3:18 am

    <p>"Ability to download fonts from the App Store"</p><p><br></p><p>OMFG!!! Finally what every iPad user has been crying out for!</p>

  • dontbe evil

    04 June, 2019 - 10:19 am

    <p><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"You can converge a </span><strong style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">toaster</strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and a </span><strong style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">refrigerator</strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user," Apple CEO Tim </span><strong style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Cook</strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></p>

  • xaviajade

    05 November, 2019 - 9:26 pm

    <p>This is great. What app are they upgrading? Alternatively, you can refer to <a href="https://tutuappplus.net/&quot; target="_blank">TutuApp</a>. A good application exclusively for Apple Fans.</p>

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