What I want to see and what we know so far

There is no denying that the iPad is the best tablet, especially when it comes to app support. Although I prefer Android phones, I admit that I have both Android and iPad tablets at home. While the tablet experience on Android has improved in recent years, the reality is that it still lags behind iPadOS in many ways. There’s a lot to like about iPadOS 17, and it’s likely that the experience will only get better with the next iteration in 2024.

While it’s too early to know what the next version of iPadOS will look like, I’ve put together a wish list of what I hope to see from iPadOS 18, as well as what we know so far from the latest rumors to all content.

Today’s most powerful iPads are nearly as powerful as many laptops, making them great for productivity and entertainment. Unfortunately, the iPad is still hampered by limitations in what users can do with the device. Even though iPadOS has become more customizable over the years, the home screen is still stuck in the past.

Although there is more space on the iPad, you have no control over how your apps are arranged. This feels restrictive for those of us who like to group things into different home screen pages or want to place certain types of apps in different corners. For example, in my Windows 11 setup, I always have a row of single game-related icons on the left and a row of productivity tools on the right. I’d like to see a complete redesign of the home screen, with an adjustable app grid and the ability to place icons wherever you want.

While we’re at it, the Control Center is long overdue for a redesign. I’d like to see it take some cues from the Mac’s Control Center, albeit with more touch-friendly tweaks. I’d also like to see it run in the background as a popup instead of the way it currently works. Now, if you are in Control Center, the rest of the display will be completely disabled.

Stage Manager is currently limited to the Pro series and iPad Air (5th generation). Many people have criticized this decision in the past, claiming that the move was primarily to get people to buy new iPads with M-series processors. Others defended Apple and said older iPads couldn’t handle the experience well due to weaker processors and less memory. Still, iPadOS is likely to drop support for some older models, and iPads are getting more powerful every year. Now might be the perfect time to bring Stage Manager to more iPad models.

Audio output selector

While this may seem like a minor issue, I would like to be able to select my audio output. For example, we have an iPad Pro that we use for light productivity, mostly for my kids’ school assignments and reports.

Sometimes I will connect the device to the monitor and when I do that it automatically uses the monitor to play the audio. However, the built-in monitor speakers are distorted and fuzzy. It would be nice if I could switch the output to the iPad Pro. I know I can’t be the only one who wants this option.

I realize that modern Apple devices like the iPad Pro already have so-called desktop-class apps, but I still think there’s room for improvement. More and more people are using iPads as true desktop replacements, which means they need to be as flexible as possible. We need to develop applications that truly feel comparable to the Mac version. For Safari, this means adding plug-in support, more powerful file downloads, and other small changes.

Over the past year or so, a new trend has begun to emerge: hardware development has begun to slow down, and software has become a greater focus. A big driving force behind this software revolution is artificial intelligence. We’ve seen Samsung and Google already use AI to enhance their take on Android, and now hopefully it’s Apple’s turn.

Unfortunately, compared to Gemini, ChatGPT, and other more advanced solutions, Siri is outdated and feels behind the times. In this regard, it can be said to have lagged behind compared to Google Assistant. This needs to change, but thankfully there is evidence that will change soon.

There are rumors that iOS 18 will get a major upgrade to Siri, likely based on the rumored Apple GPT. iOS 18 is also likely to feature AI improvements to its camera software, onboard apps, and even the entire UI. While early rumors didn’t indicate whether these features will appear in iPadOS 18, it seems to be a foregone conclusion.

The iPad Pro is a pretty good laptop replacement for certain tasks, but a major limiting factor is the lack of true multi-user support. While Apple does have a shared iPad mode, that’s more aimed at educational institutions or businesses than the average person. I think it’s time for Apple to add real multi-account support, and for no technical reasons.

Honestly, greed is the obvious reason, although I’m sure Apple will tell you it’s for device security or some other reason. It’s worth noting that multi-user support is common on other mobile devices running Android and even forks like Fire OS.

iPadOS 18 expected release date

Although we don’t have an official release date for iPadOS 18 yet, history tells us it will launch alongside iOS 18 sometime in September. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen iPadOS 18, though, as it will almost certainly be officially announced at WWDC this June.

Will there be an iPadOS 18 beta?

Yes, unless Apple changes its current strategy, there will be an iPadOS 18 beta. Typically, the first preview is only for developers and is usually released shortly after WWDC. The public beta is usually released about a month after that.

There aren’t any rumors for iPadOS 18 at the moment, except for compatibility rumors, which we’ll discuss in the next section. That doesn’t mean we’re completely in the dark, as many of the rumors surrounding iOS 18 apply here as well.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 18 will be a major upgrade. “Apple relies on this software to sell new models to people,” he said. This is consistent with other iOS 18 rumors suggesting that artificial intelligence will play a large role in the upgrade. Not only is Siri expected to get some much-needed improvements, but Apple will likely follow the example of Samsung and Google and slightly expand AI into other parts of the operating system.

While these changes only mention iOS 18, it seems logical that many of these upgrades will make their way to iPadOS 18. Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and it’s clear that it will make its way into more and more software products, including even Windows 12, which is rumored to be getting a major AI upgrade.

iPadOS 18 compatibility

According to fairly reliable news originally shared on X, iOS 18 will no longer support iPad models equipped with the A10X Fusion chip. If this rumor proves to be correct, it means iPadOS 18 may support the following models:

• iPad 2020 or newer
• iPad Mini 2019 or newer
• iPad Air 2019 or newer
• iPad Pro 2018 or newer

Honestly, it’s not surprising to hear that Apple is preparing to stop supporting the A10X Fusion chip, which is actually a good sign for some of my wishes on the list, as all newer chipsets should be able to handle improved AI features, Stage Manager etc.