Apple announced today that the next versions of macOS and iPadOS will be released to the public on October 24th. Both updates have been available as beta versions to developers and users since this summer, and a near-final version of each OS should be released to those testers soon.
The iPadOS 16 update works on all iPad Pros, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini fifth generation and later, and iPad Air 3rd generation and later, dropping support for the venerable iPad Air 2 and a few others. models (it will also ship on all new iPads announced by Apple today). macOS Ventura updates typically require a Mac released in 2017 or later, so support for various models released between 2013 and 2016 is ending.
Both updates include some of the features of iOS 16 on iPad and Mac, including editing and deleting iMessages, improved search in Mail, passcode support in Safari, a new larger-screen Weather app and a redesigned Home app, improved gamepad support, and more. other. Both also include a version of the Stage Manager windowing feature, and Ventura includes a redesigned System Settings app.
The macOS update has a fairly typical development cycle, with nearly a dozen ever-improving betas being released between early June and early October. The iPadOS update was a bit rougher, almost exclusively due to Stage Manager’s new multitasking features. The release of iPadOS 16 has been officially delayed from September to October, so it will be released next week instead of alongside iOS 16 last month.
Initially, Stage Manager required an iPad Air or Pro M1 and true external display support, something the iPad has never had since its launch in 2010. At the end of September, Apple expanded Stage Manager compatibility to 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro models with A12X and A12Z processors, but delayed multi-monitor support until a later update. Some Apple developers and media have pointed out that Stage Manager is still buggy and crash-prone in recent beta releases.