10+ ways iPadOS 16 can make you more productive

Apple today is expected to release iPadOS 16.1. Most of its improvements aren’t confined to iPad — you’ll also find them on iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. But they should help you be more productive, whichever Apple device you use.

Here’s a look at some of the improvements and what they do.

A more Mac-like Desktop

Stage Manager (see more below) tries to bring both Mac and iPad closer together, but iPad gains new system elements and interactions in the Desktop Class apps, including Files. These include consistent undo and redo, customizable toolbars, and the ability to change file extensions and view folder sizes in Files. This alone may be enough to upgrade, given how important Files has become for some workflows.

Mail gets a lot better

As I mentioned, most of the best improvements in iPadOS 16 are shared across all of Apple’s platforms. Take the new smart tools in Mail, which let you cancel an outgoing message, schedule email send,s and set reminders. Just as on Macs, iPads can do all this and tip you off if you forget to include to add attachments to your message. Search has also been improved: it can handle typos better, use synonyms and will provide much richer mail search results.

Stage Manager

The latest big change in the iPad user interface is also shared with the Mac. Stage Manager attempts to build a new logic to how you handle applications on both systems. In theory, it’s practical: it makes it far easier to move between different applications, or groups of applications and helps by keeping the application you are currently working with front and center. In practice, beta testers seemed to find the new UI more effective on Macs than iPads, but once people get used to it, the move may help bridge the ever-shrinking gap between the unique nature of both systems.

Apple

Coming soon: Freeform

It’s not available in this release, but Freeform promises so much for all of us. It’s a form of collaborative notebook into which users can share diagrams and plot plans in one fully editable shared workspace. Freeform works with Messages and FaceTime, so you can work with people and track changes asynchronously.