Apple has confirmed plans to delay the launch of iPadOS 16 until later in the year.
It was first reported in Bloomberg last month that the company could hold back the release of the new operating system until it could be happy with the Stage Manager experience, and now it’s been confirmed that consumers will have to wait a little while longer than the usual September release date for iPadOS.
Speaking of the update in a statement, Apple said: “This is an especially big year for iPadOS. 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.”
It’s thought that Apple has pushed back the launch of the software so it can further tweak and improve Stage Manager which is one of the biggest features on this year’s update. Since the first iPadOS 16 beta, the software has been criticized for being unstable, and it requires an iPad with an M1 chip to work.
Apple is also widely expected to announce new iPad models in October, so holding back the release will mean it can show off new features and hardware at the same time. When the software does release, Apple will ship iPadOS 16.1 rather than iPadOS 16 so that it stays in line with the iOS 16 release schedule.
For developers, a split release can be difficult: most only develop one app that works across iPadOS and iOS, and holding off the release of iPadOS means that some may have to delay their updated apps.
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