iPadOS 14 is the second major release of the

iPadOS iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its iPad line of tablet computers. It is a rebranded variant of iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones, renamed to reflect the diverging features of the two product ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...

developed by

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

for their

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, ...

line of

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being com ...

s. It was announced on June 22, 2020 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as the successor to iPadOS 13, making it the second version of the iPadOS

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

from iOS. It was released to the public on September 16, 2020. It was succeeded by

iPadOS 15 iPadOS 15 is the third major release of the iPadOS operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. The successor to iPadOS 14, it was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 7, 2 ...

on September 20, 2021.

History

Updates

The first developer beta of iPadOS 14 was released on June 22, 2020 and the first public beta was released on July 9, 2020. iPadOS 14 was officially released on September 16, 2020. There was no public beta testing of 14.1.

Features

Home screen

Widgets

To the left of the first page, the Today View now has new redesigned widgets. Widgets may be added, with options for small, medium, or large widgets, but the widgets can no longer collapse or expand. Widgets of the same size may be stacked over each other and swiped between for convenience; a Smart Stack may be placed which automatically show the most relevant widget to the user based on the time of day. Unlike in iOS 14, widgets cannot be placed directly on to the home screen in iPadOS 14; this was only allowed starting in

Compact UI

A series of changes were made in iPadOS 14 to reduce the visual space taken by previously full-screen interfaces; such interfaces now appear and hover in front of an app, allowing for touch (and therefore multitasking) on the app behind. Voice calling interfaces, including Phone, or other third-party apps such as

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debi ...

, are made substantially thinner, taking approximately as much space as a notification. Siri's interface is now also compact.

Search and Siri

Improvements to the Search feature on the home screen were made, including a refined UI, quick launcher for apps, more detailed web search, shortcuts to in-app search, and improved as-you-type search suggestions. The search function now appears and functions more like the Spotlight Search feature of

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

. In addition to being made compact,

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...

can now answer a broader set of questions and translate more languages. Users can also share their ETA with contacts and ask for cycling directions.

Storage

iPadOS 14 gains the ability to mount encrypted external drives. However, this capability is limited to APFS-encrypted drives. Upon connecting an APFS-encrypted external drive to the USB-C port on the iPad, the Files app will present the external drive on the sidebar. Selecting the drive will prompt the user to enter the password to unlock the drive.

Supported devices

All the devices that supported iPadOS 13 also support iPadOS 14. Devices include: * iPad Air 2 * iPad Air (3rd generation) * iPad Air (4th generation) *

iPad (5th generation) The iPad 9.7-inch (officially iPad (5th generation)) is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. After its announcement on March 21, 2017, conflicting naming conventions spawned a number of different names, including ...

iPad (6th generation) The iPad 9.7-inch (officially iPad (6th generation)) is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on March 27, 2018, during an education-focused event at Lane Tech High School in Chicago and is the ...

* iPad (7th generation) *

iPad (8th generation) The iPad 10.2-inch (officially iPad (8th generation)) is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. as the successor to the 7th-generation iPad. It was announced on September 15, 2020 and released on September 18, 2020. Features ...

* iPad Mini 4 * iPad Mini (5th generation) * iPad Pro (all models)

References

External links

* – official site * – official developer site
iOS Reference Library
at the Apple Developer site {{Navboxes, list= {{iOS {{Apple Inc. operating systems {{Darwin derivations {{Unix-like {{Operating system {{Mobile operating systems {{Apple Inc. 14 IPad Apple Inc. operating systems Mach (kernel) Mobile operating systems Products introduced in 2020 Tablet operating systems