WWDC 2019: iPads Will Now Have Its Own Operating System, iPadOS

The iPad will now have its own dedicated operating system, according to Apple’s announcement on Monday during its WWDC 2019. Dubbed iPadOS, the operating system is expected to strengthen iPads’ productivity capabilities as well as help it come closer to achieving the goal of completely replacing a laptop.

The Cupertino-based company will release iPadOS this fall as a free software update for iPad Mini and iPad Air 2, 2018 iPad, 2017 iPad, iPad Mini 4, and all the iPad Pros.

Before this huge change, the iPhone and iPad share the same operating system called iOS. Now, the OS for iPhones will be iOS 13, also announced during the conference, and the iPad will have its own OS, helping the tech giant give the tablet the most potentials it can reach.

Accordingly, iPadOS will come with a new layout for the Home screen, upgraded multitasking features, as well as new UI gestures for undoing, copying, pasting, and cutting actions. Furthermore, there will be a dark mode across the entire system, along with a new floating keyboard, which the iOS will also have. Apart from those, the operating system will have several exclusives, including enhanced file management, expanded Apple Pen functionality, as well as a new Safari version to give users a better Internet browsing experience.

Before the conference started, Apple had already revealed the iPadOS via its developer portal.

At WWDC, the tech giant announced its newest services and software that it will roll out to devices later in the year. While the company is famous for hardware, the way it seamlessly integrates software and hardware makes Apple stand out from competitors and set its own place in the market. The ability to have control over all aspects of its products has made Apple the most powerful tech company across the world.

It’s worth noting that the conference takes place at the time when the company is witnessing its growth slow down, though it still sells millions of phones each year.