iPadOS 16 might be delayed until October

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iPadOS 16 Stage Manager
iPad users could be waiting longer than expected for iPadOS 16.
Image: Apple

iPadOS 16 reportedly won’t be introduced in September, as expected. Instead, the next major iPad upgrade has supposedly been pushed back by a month.

The upcoming version is packed with new features, including giving iPads with an M-series processor support for floating app windows on the tablet screen and on external displays

A later-than-expected iPadOS 16 release date

Apple unveiled iPadOS 16 at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and has since released multiple rounds of betas as the company works to complete development of the operating system. This process was expected to wrap up in September, the usual month for each new iPadOS version to launch.

But apparently Apple is running into enough problems to cause it move the debut back. “Apple plans to put out iOS 16 during the usual period but not launch iPadOS 16 until October,” reports Bloomberg. It cites unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter” as its source.

As noted, the sources do not expect a similar delay for iOS 16. And watchOS 9 is also supposedly on track for a September premiere. macOS Ventura will be out in October, as is typical.

It’s about Stage Manager

Stage Manager is Apple’s name for its system that puts iPad applications into resizable, floating windows. Even better, the multitasking method works on external screens as well as the tablet’s built-in display. These were two of the most requested iPad features for many years, and they are finally coming to tablets with an M-series processor.

But getting them to work right is supposedly a bigger challenge than Apple expected, and that’s helping to push back iPadOS 16. “The delay of the software is due, at least in part, to an ambitious effort to overhaul the iPad’s multitasking capabilities,” noted Bloomberg.

It’s possible the release of the software update will be timed to coincide with the launch of the M2 iPad Pro, which is also expected this autumn.

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