What you need to know
- Apple announced iPadOs 16 this week at WWDC.
- New major upgrades include multitasking and more pro features.
- A new virtual memory swap feature will unlock 16GB of RAM for the most demanding apps.
Apple's new iPadOS 16 software features a new Virtual Memory Swap feature that Android users have been enjoying for some time.
The company unveiled iPadOS 16 on Monday at WWDC 2022, bringing with it major new upgrades to multitasking, external display support, collaboration, and more.
Several major upgrades have been reserved for Apple's M1 iPads, the iPad Air and M1 iPad Pro (2021), including a brand new Virtual Memory Swap feature that will sound very familiar to Android and Windows users.
From Apple:
Powered by the performance of the Apple-designed M1 chip, Display Zoom now allows users to increase the pixel density of the display so they can view more in their apps, which is especially useful when using Split View. With Virtual Memory Swap, iPad storage can be used to expand the available memory for all apps, and delivers up to 16 gigabytes of memory for the most demanding apps, helping to make multitasking absolutely seamless.
Virtual Memory Swap takes storage space on the iPad and turns it into virtual memory, unlocking more RAM for really intensive tasks and improved multitasking, a big important feature now the iPad supports a much more expansive array of multitasking options including expanded full-screen support.
As noted, this needs the power of the M1 chip, so you'll have to be using one of Apple's best iPads to take advantage of it. The same is true of Stage Manager, borrowed from macOS Ventura as a new way to handle real multitasking and resizable windows on iPad.
The first developer beta of iPadOS is out now!
Here's everything Apple announced at WWDC 2022
The 2021 iPad Pro features much-improved performance, faster 5G radios, a creative new front-facing camera, and on the larger 12.9-inch model, a seriously great display. It's still the best tablet ever, but costs more than ever.
