iPadOS 16 appears to be missing the headline feature of iOS 16, Lock Screen customisation.
Apple announced both iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 at last night’s WWDC 2022 keynote address. While both operating systems continue to be closely related, however, there appears to be further divergence this time around.
In particular, it’s been observed that the biggest new feature of iOS 16 (judging from its front-and-centre positioning in the keynote) of Lock Screen optimisation is totally missing from the initial develop beta of iPadOS 16.
There’s no facility to customise your lock screen on the new iPad operating system. You can’t change the font or adjust its colour, play with themes, or add widgets either. As pointed out by MacRumors, all Apple has done in this area of iPadOS 16 is change the default font of the clock.
Given the sheer amount of lock screen real estate that your average iPad provides, this seems like a curious omission.
Of course, it’s possible that this feature will make its way into subsequent iPadOS 16 betas, and ultimately into the final release. There’s plenty of time before the autumn rollout after all. But it certainly seems curious that the feature Apple is most proud about in its new mobile OS is completely absent on its new tablet OS.
Apple chose its (somewhat rushed) iPadOS 16 announcement to instead highlight its new M1 chip-enabled enhancements, including a new Stage manager UI, Virtual Memory Swap memory optimisation, and the ability to increase the pixel density of the iPad’s display.
It also mentioned that the Weather app is finally coming to iPad, which is a small but significant win.
You might like…
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.
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.
