A. New Features of iPadOS 13
In this appendix, you learn the new features in iPadOS 13.
Apple’s new iPad-specific operating system is dubbed iPadOS 13. (Previously, the iPad shared the same operating system as the iPhone; the last version was iOS 12.) This new operating system adds a lot of features and enhancements for your iPad. Many of these were covered earlier in this book, but here’s a comprehensive list for you to check out.
Apps
Apple enhanced several of the apps that come bundled with your iPad.
Calendar App
The Calendar app now lets you add attachments to events you create.
Files App
The Files app has been enhanced with new display and operating options. This goes along with the iPad’s new ability to use external storage, in the form of USB drives, SD cards, and the like.
New options include
Column View with rich metadata
Document scanning (by taking a photo of documents with the Camera app)
Downloads folder
iCloud Drive folder sharing
Local storage
Quick Actions
Search suggestions
Zip and unzip file compression
Find My App
The new Find My app replaces the old Find My iPhone and Find Friends apps. It now lets you locate missing devices even if they’re not connected to Wi-Fi or cellular networks. (This works via emitting a periodic Bluetooth signal that can be detected by other Apple devices.)
Mail App
Changes to the Mail app include
New format bar above the keyboard when you’re entering text
Enhanced text formatting tools for messages
Option to choose from multiple colors when flagging a message
Ability to block all messages from a sender and move them directly to the Trash
More options on the Reply menu, including Notify Me of All Replies, Mark as Unread, Move to Junk, Move to Different Mailbox, and Mute Thread (which mutes notifications from overly active email threads)
New photo selector when attaching photos to messages
Maps App
The Maps app in iPadOS 13 is rebuilt from the ground up with improved maps and more realistic details for map items. It includes the following new features:
Look Around, which provides a 360-degree view of a location
Favorites—and the ability to build and share collections of favorite locations
Share estimated time of arrival (ETA) with others
Real-time transit times, schedules, and routes
Real-time flight status, departure and arrival times, and gate information
Updated Place cards
Messages App
Apple has made several notable changes to the Messages app, including
Automatic sharing of your name and photo when you start a new conversation
New and improved Memoji and Animoji characters and customization
Enhanced search
More detailed Details pane
Notes App
The Notes app adds the following new features:
Gallery view so you can see your notes as thumbnails
Shared folders for collaboration
Better search to recognize images inside notes
More checklist options
Photos App
The Photos app in iPadOS 13 has been significantly upgraded. Check out the following new or enhanced features:
New Photos tab that lets you browse your photo library in more convenient ways
Duplicate photos are automatically hidden
Smart photo previews, with larger cropped thumbnails
Live photos and video begin playing as you scroll through your photo library
Music for Memory movies is selected based on what you listen to in the Apple Music app
New or enhanced Definition, Enhance, Filter, Noise Reduction, Sharpen, Vibrance, Vignette, and White Balance controls
Automatically crop, straighten, or adjust perspective
In addition, video editing in the Photos app now supports the same adjustments, filters, and cropping as those available to photo editing. This is a huge improvement—and all video edits are nondestructive, so you can remove any effect you’ve applied.
Reminders App
The Reminders app has been totally redesigned with the following new features:
Quick toolbar to add dates, times, and the like
Better working with Siri, including suggested reminders
Ability to add photos and other attachments
Organizing via grouped lists, subtasks, and smart lists
Integration with Messages app
Screen Time App
Many people use the Screen Time app to manage their iPad usage and how much other people use their iPad. The app adds these new features:
Combined app limits for categories, specific apps, or websites
Extended usage data
Communication limits
Manage contact lists on children’s devices
One More Minute to get an extra 60 seconds when limit is met
Display
One of the most noticeable new features in iPadOS 13 is the Dark Mode option. This replaces the normal white background throughout the OS and selected apps with a black background, with white text. You can enable it manually from the Control Center or schedule when it turns on or off. Several new wallpapers have been optimized for Dark Mode as well.
In addition, the Home screen has been redesigned with the option to arrange icons in a tighter grid. You can also pin Today View widgets to the Home screen when it’s in landscape mode.
Keyboard
Apple has made several improvements to the way its QuickType onscreen keyboard works. These include
Floating keyboard—pinch to shrink the keyboard and then move it anywhere on the screen. (This makes more room for apps, especially on iPads with larger screens.)
QuickPath, which lets you type by swiping your finger from one letter to the next without lifting your finger.
Alternate word options appear in the predictive bar above the keyboard.
Additional language support for English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
Multitasking
iPadOS 13 dramatically improves the iPad’s multitasking capabilities. This makes the iPad more usable as a productivity tool, especially with office apps.
The new or improved multitasking features include
Display multiple apps in Slide Over mode and swipe between them
Display a Slide Over app full screen by dragging it to the top of the screen
Close a Slide Over window from the App Switcher
View multiple open windows from the same app in Split View or with the new App Exposé feature, which is great for working with multiple documents in productivity apps
Drag content within an app to open a new window
Privacy and Security
Apple is constantly improving the privacy and security for all of its devices. For the iPad, iPadOS 13 updates the following features and options:
Better control of location permissions by app
Control whether you share your location when you share a photo
Receive notifications when an app is using location in the background
Prevent apps from accessing your location without your consent when you’re using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Control how or if you share your email address with other apps
Sign in to apps and websites with your Apple ID
Use two-factor authentication to protect your Apple ID
Safari Web Browser
The Safari web browser has been enhanced with several new and updated features and options. The most notable is that Safari now displays all websites as their desktop versions. Previously, some websites displayed as mobile pages, which did not take advantage of the iPad’s larger display. Web pages should look better now than they did before.
Check out these other browser upgrades in iPadOS 13:
Updated Start page
Download Manager for downloading files from websites
Page zoom
Save open tabs as bookmarks
Ability to enable camera, microphone, and location access on a per-website basis
New options for sharing a web page via email
Warnings if you try to create a weak password on a website
Sidecar
Sidecar is a new feature in iPadOS 13 that enables you to use your iPad as a second display with an Apple Mac computer. You can choose to extend your computer desktop to your iPad or mirror your desktop on your iPad.
Sidecar also lets you use Apple Pencil on your iPad to sketch or mark up in your Mac apps. You can also create a sketch on your iPad and then insert it into a document on your Mac.
Text Editing
Your iPad’s text editing features are also enhanced in iPadOS 13. Consider the following changes that improve productivity when editing documents:
Navigate long documents and web pages by dragging the scroll bar like a scrubber.
Improved cursor navigation—just pick it up and drag it where you want, and it automatically snaps to lines and between words.
Select text by tapping and swiping. Triple tap to select a sentence, and quadruple tap to select a paragraph. Double-tap to intelligently select street addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and more.
Use new gestures to cut, copy, and paste. To copy, pinch up with three fingers. To cut, pinch in with three fingers two times. To paste, pinch out with three fingers.
Use new gestures to undo and redo operations. To undo, swipe with three fingers to the left. To redo, swipe with three fingers to the right.
To select files, folders, and email messages, tap with two fingers and drag.
Other Features
There are lots of other new and enhanced features in iPadOS 13. Here’s a quick look at the most important ones.
Accessibility
iPadOS 13 makes several new improvements to the iPad’s accessibility options. The most notable is Voice Control, which lets you control your iPad solely with voice commands, including the ability to use your voice to perform screen gestures. In addition, iPadOS 13 features more accurate audio-to-text dictation, including rich text editing via voice.
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade is a new subscription gaming service that offers more than 100 games to play. You access and download Apple Arcade games from the App Store, and you can play them offline from any Apple device. The subscription costs $4.99 per month; learn more in Appendix B, “Playing Games.”
Apple Pencil
If your iPad works with the Apple Pencil, you’ll see a redesigned tool palette, which you can now drag around the screen or minimize. There are new tools on the palette, including a pixel eraser and ruler for drawing straight lines. You can also take a screen shot with the Pencil by dragging it from either bottom corner.
Content Previews
Press and hold web links, email messages, and other items to view a thumbnail of the content.
Control Center
Control Center now lets you select Bluetooth accessories and Wi-Fi networks.
Dolby Surround Sound
If you have an iPad Pro, select movies, TV shows, and games play with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.
Fonts
iPadOS 13 adds the ability to install custom fonts from the App Store and manage installed fonts from the Settings app.
Game Controllers
You can now connect wireless PlayStation 4 and Xbox controllers to your iPad for game play using Bluetooth technology.
Performance
Apple claims that iPadOS 13 improves the performance of all iPads. Apps launch up to two times faster, unlocking via Face ID is faster, and apps from the App Store download faster.
Quick Actions
On any Home screen, press and hold an app icon to view actions you can perform with that app.
Screenshots
You can now capture screenshots of entire web pages, documents, and emails that you have to scroll through.
Volume Control
The onscreen volume control that appears when you use the Volume Up or Volume Down buttons now appears at the top of the screen where it’s less obtrusive.