Apple plans the next major update for iOS and iPadOS in December. According to a report by the financial news agency Bloomberg, the update will probably appear in the middle of the following month. The version number is then 16.2. Apple plans to add a number of features that have been announced but not yet released, but it won’t stop there.

still a long way to go

This should be the new free form app, a kind of virtual whiteboard, will appear alongside iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2. It allows you to create mental maps, place texts, videos and images in a free space to better develop concepts and creative ideas. The app was announced in the summer, but it’s not finished yet; after all, a beta version is already available. The Mac running macOS 13 should also have its own variant.

Also, Apple isn’t quite done yet with the new Live Activities that started with iOS 16.1 and allow apps to send current information directly to the home screen. For example, there is no option for sports programs within the TV app to transfer scores to live activities. That should continue with iOS 16.2. A new sleep widget is also planned, which can be placed on the lock screen. Allows you to set a sleep schedule and remind users to go to bed on time.

iPad is waiting for Stage Manager to finish

On the iPad, the Stage Manager window feature will probably finally be complete with iPadOS 16.2. Under iPadOS 16.1 on M1 and M2 devices, this still lacks the option to address external displays and then span windows on them. Apple had previously released the feature in beta builds, but then removed it again in the final version of iPadOS 16.1. Support for external displays with Stage Manager was one of the key new features in iPadOS 16 that Apple had already introduced in the summer.

The successor to iOS and iPadOS 16.2, version 16.3, will likely be a long time coming. The financial news agency Bloomberg believes that the updates could arrive in February or March, along with macOS 13.3 and new Mac models.

(bc)