iPadOS 15 enhances the UX on Apple tablets with new widgets and multi-tasking abilities

Apple has devoted part of its WWDC 2021 keynote to its latest plans for iPadOS, as expected. This new version combines many of the best new features from macOS 15 and iOS 15 and brings them to tablet-sized screens, the new SharePlay for FaceTime (which takes the form of windows with content running simultaneously with video calls); the improved and more realistic Maps experience and Shared with You section of Messages (in which a user can save content sent from others to view later) included.

iPads on the latest update will also get Safari with the new tab layout, which is more "streamlined", mainly due to its placement next to the address bar, not to mention the new ability to manage them into groups. The new Quick Notes functionality, which allows a user to not only jot down or type ideas on the go, but to pull links and other content into them as well, will also translate from Macs.

Then again, iPad users will probably find the new features Apple calls Split View, Slide Over and Shelf more interesting. They are a new set of UI controls that finally make true multi-tasking with split screens possible. Apple has also gotten around to widgets when designing iPadOS 15.

Their sizes have been chosen so as to suit the form-factor, and can also fit in among apps for the first time. The first round will correspond to the Contacts, Find My, Game Center, App Store and Mail apps. On that note, the upcoming major upgrade also brings the App Library to the iPad. 

iPadOS 15 also unlocks Universal Control, which works with macOS Monterey to control a group of devices on either software via the same peripherals (even if they are in fact an inbuilt trackpad in some cases). Therefore, a user with multiple Apple products can even grab files or assets and drag them from an iPad over to a Mac.

Apple has also appealed to WWDC's target audience with iPadOS 15. It is slated to support Swift Playgrounds, a new environment in which developers can test or build apps in Swift, and even send them straight to the App Store when done. iPadOS 15 has been designed for the Air 2 through to the Pro (2021) series of devices.

Revitalize a renewed iPad 9.7 (WiFi, 128GB) with iPadOS 15