iPadOS 18 is the sixth and current major release of

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iPadOS iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. It was given a name distinct from iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones to reflect the diverging features of the two product lines, suc ...

operating system for the

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

. It was revealed at the 2024

Worldwide Developers Conference The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...

(WWDC). It is the direct successor to iPadOS 17 and was announced alongside iOS 18,

macOS Sequoia macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the twenty-first and current major release of Apple Inc., Apple's macOS operating system, the successor to macOS Sonoma. It was announced at Worldwide Developers Conference#2024, WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024. In li ...

, visionOS 2, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18. iPadOS 18 is the first version of iPadOS to include Apple’s Calculator application for iPad, as well as Apple Intelligence. iPadOS 18 is the final version of iPadOS that supports the seventh-generation iPad.

System features

Apple Intelligence

The Apple Intelligence platform is available in iPadOS 18.1 and beyond on iPads that have an M1 SoC or later. Apple intelligence also adds Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and large language models, a new version of

Siri Siri ( , backronym: Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) is a digital assistant purchased, developed, and popularized by Apple Inc., which is included in the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, Apple TV, audioOS, and visionOS operating sys ...

, and other features, such as the image creation tools.

Stage Manager

Stage Manager is a new window management feature on the iPad. Full screen app windows may be resized to any predetermined size by dragging the app's corner markers. Calculator, for example, may be resized to a smaller window having iPhone's tall aspect ratios.

Home screen

iPadOS 18 features many of the new home screen customization features introduced in iOS 18 such as icon tinting, dark themed icons, and the ability to move icons anywhere.

Calculator

iPadOS 18’s Calculator introduces Math Notes, a new feature that allows users to perform and track calculations on separate sheets, solve mathematical equations, and plot functions on graphs. With integrated handwriting recognition, Math Notes automatically evaluates user input and displays the results in their own handwriting. The redesigned Calculator app, now shared between iOS and iPadOS, marks the first time an official calculator has been available for iPad.

Control Center

Similarly to iOS 18, the Control Center is now more customizable with resizable buttons, shortcuts, and functions.

Notes

iPadOS's Notes app includes Smart Script which uses

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...

to model and straighten a user's handwriting. It can also generate additional handwritten text in the user's style. The newly introduced Math Notes feature can be performed inside the Notes app and Smart Script can be used to write the answer of the calculation in the user's handwriting style.

Locking/hiding applications

In iPadOS 18, applications that are visible to the user can be locked, or hidden. Locked apps require passcode/biometric authentication to run. Hidden apps are moved to a designated 'Hidden' folder in the App Library; accessing that folder requires passcode/biometric authentication.

Issues

iPad Pro (M4) bricking issues

Many users trying to upgrade iPad Pro models with M4 chips ( iPad Pro (M4)) to iPadOS 18.0 reported that the device powered off during the update process, causing the iPad to become bricked. Apple pulled the update and blocked installation and restoration to iPadOS 18.0 on M4 iPad Pros. On October 3, 2024, Apple released iPadOS 18.0.1, which allowed iPad Pro with M4 chips to update to iPadOS 18 without potential bricking issues.

In-app purchasing blockage

During the update of iPadOS 18.2 on December 11 2024, many users were unable to make in-app purchases, gaining much of its notoriety. This issue was fixed after the release of iPadOS 18.3 in late January 2025.

Supported devices

iPadOS 18 drops support for the iPad (6th generation) and the iPad Pro (2nd generation), which feature an A10 SoC and an A10X SoC, respectively. However, iPadOS 18 continues to support the iPad (7th generation), which also features an A10 SoC. This marks the first time Apple has dropped support for an iPad while retaining support for another model featuring the same or a less powerful

system on a chip A system on a chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit that combines most or all key components of a computer or Electronics, electronic system onto a single microchip. Typically, an SoC includes a central processing unit (CPU) with computer memory, ...

. The operating system also drops support for all iPads that use the original 9.7-inch display size. The iPad (7th generation) is the only supported iPad without Apple Neural Engine, while the iPad Air (3rd generation) is the only supported iPad with a 10.5-inch display. The new Apple Intelligence functions require iPads with an A17 Pro SoC, or an M1 SoC or later, which are only available on the iPad Mini (7th generation or later), iPad Air (5th generation or later), and iPad Pro (5th generation or later). iPads with an A10 SoC have limited support. iPads with an A12, A13, A14, A15, or A16 SoC have features that are not supported on older iPads. iPads with an A12X or A12Z SoC have partial support. iPads with an M-series or A17 Pro SoC have full support. The following models are supported: * iPad (7th generation) * iPad (8th generation) * iPad (9th generation) * iPad (10th generation) * iPad (11th generation) * iPad Mini (5th generation) *

iPad Mini (6th generation) The sixth-generation iPad Mini (stylized and marketed as iPad mini and colloquially referred to as iPad Mini 6) is a tablet computer in the iPad Mini line, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on September 14, 2021, and releas ...

Release history

The first developer beta of iPadOS 18 was released on June 10, 2024.

References

{{Apple operating systems 18 Apple Inc. operating systems Mobile operating systems Tablet operating systems 2024 software Products introduced in 2024