Apple Seeds Second Beta of Delayed iPadOS 16.1 Update to Developers - MacRumors
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Apple Seeds Second Beta of Delayed iPadOS 16.1 Update to Developers

Apple today seeded another beta of the upcoming iPadOS 16.1 software to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming three weeks after the initial iPadOS 16.1 beta was seeded out.

ipados 16 stage manager
Registered developers can download the iPadOS 16 profile from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the beta will be available over the air.

Apple has opted to delay the launch of iPadOS 16 in order to continue working out bugs and other issues with the Stage Manager feature that is coming to M1 iPad models. iPadOS 16 will not launch in September alongside iOS 16, and will instead be released as iPadOS 16.1 at a later date.

"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," Apple said.

With the first beta of iPadOS 16.1, Apple has already started to make improvements to the way that ‌Stage Manager‌ works, changing the way the side rail can be interacted with while in full screen.

Apple rarely splits iOS and iPadOS launches apart, but it has decided so in this case because the latest version of iPadOS is rife with bugs and has been seeing a number of complaints about the multitasking Stage Manager option that continues to need refinements.

Related Forum: iOS 16

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Top Rated Comments

52 months ago
why anyone would purchase a StudioDisplay for an ipad, beyond me.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hovscorpion12 Avatar
52 months ago
8 beta's in and iPadOS 16 is still garbage. I can see Stage manager being buggy in beta 1-4, but once you get to beta 8 it should be perfect. It won't surprise me if Apple strait cancels Stage Manager.

At this point, I blame the developers for being either A. Lazy, B. Working from Home or C. incompetent.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago

8 beta's in and iPadOS 16 is still garbage. I can see Stage manager being buggy in beta 1-4, but once you get to beta 8 it should be perfect. It won't surprise me if Apple strait cancels Stage Manager.

At this point, I blame the developers for being either A. Lazy, B. Working from Home or C. incompetent.
or D. The concept is flawed and not throught through. And that's on the Product and Design teams
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago
Anyone getting “unable to check for updates” after installing ipados 16.1 beta2 ? I am getting this. It is under Settings/General/Software update
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago
Stage manager is so broken for me on iPadOS 16.1 (20B5045d). Many times the home bar doesn’t work. Thje slide over to see other apps doesnt work more than 70% of the time now. Bringing up the dock works less than 50% of the time.

I starting using iPadOS 16 public beta as soon as it came out on 11” M1 iPad Pro(I had iPad for less than 1 week so I have essentially only run iPadOS 16 public betas).

Hate to say for me this update is pure garbage
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
52 months ago
It makes no sense for Apple to delay iPadOS 16 on devices that can’t even use Stage Manager. To call this “a big year for iPadOS” is silly. For the vast majority of iPad users who aren’t using an M1 model there’s no major changes being introduced to warrant it’s own release. We’re getting a weather app, the ability to edit and delete iMessages, some tweaks to various apps, some new Memoji poses, and a new font for the lock screen. We’re not even gaining the ability to customize the lock screen or use lock screen widgets or the redesigned notification position and options. Apple should have released iPadOS 16 on time along side iOS 16 and then rolled out Stage Manager and whatever else they’re doing later with iPadOS 16.1 at the iPad event.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)