The iPadOS 17 software update is expected to be announced during the WWDC23 opening keynote on June 5 and now a new report suggests that there are some notable improvements coming to one of the features added when iPadOS 16 arrived in late 2022.
An update that was designed to help give owners of every iPad something new to use, not just those with the best iPads, iPadOS 16 brought with it Stage Manager. That was also a feature that was brought to the Mac with macOS 13 Ventura, but it's the iPad version that we're focusing on here.
That's because a new leak claims that Apple is about to make some changes to Stage Manager that could help turn its tablets into even more capable laptop replacement machines, especially when connected to an external display like the Studio Display.
New features galore
It's worth noting right out of the gate that this latest rumor comes via the Twitter leaker @analyst941 who has a short history with these things. They successfully shared details about the iPhone 14 Pro and the Dynamic Island before the phone was announced in September 2022, but they've been very active in the build up to WWDC23. Time will tell whether their claims are accurate, but keep an open mind when reading on.
All of that being said, the leaker says that multiple Stage Manager improvements are coming including:
- External monitor webcam support.
- Audio output source settings.
- Stream Multiple audio/vid sources at once with Stage Manager on.
- Resizable dock (in external display settings only)
- Sleep iPad display; external display stays on.
Being able to connect an iPad to an external monitor and use its webcam could be a big deal for people who use their iPad during work, while the other changes appear more aimed at power users.
As for when iPadOS 17 will arrive, that WWDC announcement will likely be followed by months of betas. Then, a final version of iPadOS 17 is expected to be released to the world in or around September alongside iOS 17 as well as software updates for the Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
