Video: Check Out the 5 Best iPadOS 16 Features - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Video: Check Out the 5 Best iPadOS 16 Features

iPadOS 16, Apple's operating system that runs on the iPad, is getting almost all of the great features coming to iOS 16, but there are also iPad-specific additions that make the ‌iPad‌ more Mac-like than ever. In our latest YouTube video, we show off the five best features coming to the ‌iPad‌ this fall.

  • Stage Manager - Stage Manager is a new multitasking interface that's also available on the Mac in macOS Ventura. ‌Stage Manager‌ supports multiple windows that are resizable, and it is a much different experience than the standard Split View. Your main app is front and center and others are right off to the left for easy access, plus you can group apps together and overlap windows for more control over your workspace. ‌Stage Manager‌ is unfortunately limited to the ‌iPad‌ models with an M1 chip.
  • External Display Support - iPadOS 16 brings full external display support to the iPad Pro with ‌M1‌ chip, allowing that ‌iPad‌ to drive a display with up to 6K resolution. You can use a single external display with the ‌M1‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ running iPadOS 16.
  • New Display Modes - For pros who need color accuracy, the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with Liquid Retina XDR display can provide reference color for popular color standards and video formats. The ‌iPad Pro‌ is able to serve as a secondary reference display for the Mac using Sidecar.
  • Weather app - The Weather app has finally come to the ‌iPad‌, and it's pretty much identical to the iOS 16 Weather app. It can take advantage of the larger display of the ‌iPad‌ to provide more modules on one screen, and you can tap into any weather module to get additional information.
  • Freeform app - Later this year, Apple will launch a new Freeform app that's designed to be a collaborative canvas for working on projects with others. It supports real-time collaboration and can be used for brainstorming, outlining new projects, and more. It supports Apple Pencil for a digital whiteboard experience, and it works with SharePlay in FaceTime and Messages.

What are your favorite iPadOS 16 features? Let us know in the comments.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More Expected

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
iphone duo

Apple Announces Foldable 'iPhone Duo'

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:56 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "iPhone Duo," a new kind of iPhone featuring two screens and a foldable inner display. The two halves of the iPhone Duo connect into a single continuous frame with the same aspect ratio across both displays, and Apple said the transition between open and closed is designed to feel fluid. When fully open, Apple says it is the thinnest iPhone ever made, with an...
apple surprise and shine event

Apple Event Today: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo Cheat Sheet

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone. To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...

Top Rated Comments

rui no onna Avatar
56 months ago
Lol, 3 out of 5 are M1 only. 🤣🤣🤣
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yr Blues Avatar
56 months ago
Calculator?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pdaholic Avatar
56 months ago
These windows are small and the apps on the side are taking up too much room. And we have a dock below it all taking up more space. Amazing how Apple is trying to do everything they can to revamp the traditional windows gui, only to make something more cumbersome and resource intensive (we really need an M1 just to do that???).
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Johnny907 Avatar
56 months ago

I have a smaller M1 iPad Pro and am curious if the app windows in Stage Manager view will be too small. It seems like screen space on the left is taken up by app stacks and the usable on-screen space is reduced.

I will download the first public beta to see and I can’t wait 😜
They are. Stage Manager on the 11" Pro sucks. The screen becomes cluttered and the apps hanging out on the side of the screen are way too large, take up too much space and are visually distracting. I expect Apple to greatly simply that aspect first in the next beta update. It's not as bad when connected to an external monitor, but so far real world use falls way, way below what was promised in the keynote.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago
Stage Manager looks very useful. I know it is a total pipe dream but I would love it if Apple allows a future iPhone to be plugged into a dock and then have the Stage Manager UI on the external screen.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moonlight Avatar
56 months ago
Stage Manager is the first step to true multitasking on the iPad. Very excited to test it out.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)