Apple has delayed the release of its iPadOS 16 software update, citing “a buggy mess” as the reason. The company says that it needs more time to fix the issues. The delay comes just a few weeks after Apple released its iPadOS 15 software update. That update was met with mixed reviews, with some users reporting problems with battery life and other issues. Apple’s decision to delay the release of iPadOS 16 is likely due to these problems. The company wants to make sure that the update is stable before releasing it to users. This delay could mean trouble for Apple’s competitors in the tablet market. Android tablets have been able to stay ahead of Apple thanks in part to regular software updates and new releases from Google. If Apple can’t keep up, its tablet market share could decline significantly. ..
Apple is still on track to release iOS 16 for iPhone (and iPod Touch) sometime this fall, likely around the time the new iPhones are revealed, which is currently rumored for September 7. However, the accompanying iPadOS 16 update for iPads won’t roll out at the same time. In fact, Apple is skipping iPadOS 16.0 entirely — the company just rolled out a beta for iPadOS 16.1, and the completed version will likely arrive around the time as iOS 16.1.
Apple told TechCrunch in a statement, “this is an especially big year for iPadOS. As its own platform with features specifically designed for iPad, we have the flexibility to deliver iPadOS on its own schedule. This Fall, iPadOS will ship after iOS, as version 16.1 in a free software update.”
iPadOS 16 has been criticized over the past few months for its Stage Manager feature, which is also coming to macOS Ventura later this year. Stage Manager allows iPads to have desktop-like overlapping windows for the first time, but the current implementation is confusing and buggy, and doesn’t work with all applications yet. It’s rare for a new iPhone or iPad feature to be panned as widely as Stage Manager, so it makes sense that Apple is delaying iPadOS 16 to make much-needed changes.
As much as I love using 3-4 apps at once, the implementation just isn’t there yet. Crashes every few minutes; hard to use multi-window for the same app; UI glitches everywhere.
I hope Apple delays this.
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) August 18, 2022
TechCrunch reports the new beta has “the ability to resurface the Stage Manager side rail with a gesture while the feature is full screen.” Apple might make more tweaks before the final release on the best iPads.
Source: TechCrunch
