It’s been a great day for Apple device owners! Not only is iOS 13 now available to download, the first major update, as well as the iPad-specific version will also arrive sooner than initially expected.
During the iPhone 11 reveal last week Apple announced that iOS 13.1 and iPadOS would arrive on September 30. Now the company has bumped up the release date to September 24.
For those keeping score, that’s just 5 days from now, on Tuesday next week. What has prompted the decision remains to be seen, but it’s clear the company is keen to get the updates into the hands of users as soon as possible.
iOS 13.1 is expected to bring support for the ‘Share ETA’ button in Maps, Siri Shortcut automations, as well as the audio sharing feature that’ll make it possible to send music to another friend’s AirPods or PowerBeats Pro earphones.
However, it’s the arrival of the first iPad specific operating system that’ll get tablet fans excited. It brings improved multitasking and adds a small keyboard that will float above other windows.
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There’s also a much richer home screen that enables users to cram more apps in, while there’s also a new side panel to fit all of your widgets. Essentially it’s the same screen that appears when you swipe all the way to the left on your iPhone.
iPadOS finally enables users to plug in a USB thumb drive and, naturally, the iOS 13 dark mode is coming to the larger screened devices too.
In many ways the iPad is becoming more like the Mac, especially with the addition of Desktop-class browsing via Siri. The new version of Safari has a proper download manager, photo upload options and will properly resize websites without pushing you towards the mobile version, whilst also optimising everything for touch.
There’s also updates to the Files app, while Apple Pencil users will be pleased to hear the company has cut down latency.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
