Apple to delay major iPad update so new features can be improved, report claims

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Apple could delay the release of its major upcoming iPad software update, according to a new reports.

The new update, iPadOS 16, was unveiled at Apple’s WWDC event in June. It included a range of features, mostly notably “Stage Manager”, which introduces a whole new way of multitasking on the iPad.

Usually, that update would be expected in September, alongside the new iPhones and their own software update.

But the release date looks set to be delayed by a month, in part to ensure that Stage Manager feature can be properly finished, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

That new feature has proven controversial even before it has been released. It initially sparked backlash because it is limited to newer iPads, and then early reviewers suggested that the tool felt unfinished and needed more work.

As well as allowing for extra time to finish the new feature, delaying the release would allow for extra resources to be used on iOS 16, the update that will arrive alongside the iPhone 14 in September.

And it would mean that the release of new iPad software would come at the same time as new Apple hardware, which tends to be released at its own event in October.

In addition to the Stage Manager feature, the iPadOS update also brings new changes including putting the Weather app on the tablet for the first time.

Apple’s releases have already been slightly delayed. It made the public beta of the new software available later than usual, suggesting that the software could require more work.

The new Mac update also brings its own version of Stage Manager, though that has attracted less controversy. Updates to MacOS usually arrive in October.

For years, the updates for iPhone and iPad have been released simultaneously. Until very recently, they were even officially the same software – both known as iOS – though Apple split iPadOS into a separate brand in 2019.

The Bloomberg report noted that the release schedule could change as Apple moves towards the release date in September.