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Every year, Apple brings new features to its various operating systems, and this year looks to be a particularly interesting one for the iPad. During WWDC 2024, the tech giant revealed several new features, including a few AI-powered ones, which will be coming to the iPad with the release of iPadOS 18 later this year.
Starting off, iPadOS 18 will get a lot of the customization features that we already saw revealed with iOS 18, like more control over your home screen design and more individual control over how your Control Center looks. But one of the most sought-after features coming to iPad is a seemingly simple one: a calculator app.
Apple isn’t just bringing a regular old calculator to class, of course. The company has been working on various AI features—which it is calling Apple Intelligence—to create new functionality that works seamlessly with the iPad and Apple Pencil. A core part of these comes into play with the Calculator, which also works hand-in-hand with a new function called Math Notes.
Credit: Apple
With Math Notes, you can take notes about math on your iPad using the Apple Pencil, and as you input information into various math problems and equations, the page will update. This allows users to write out mathematical expressions and then see them instantly solved in their own handwriting. You can even change the various parts of the equation to see the answer change in real-time, at least based on what we’ve seen from Apple’s debut at WWDC.
Math Notes is built directly into the new Calculator app on the iPad, so you can input the information that you want to see and then quickly convert it to handwritten information. The Calculator also comes with a built-in History, which keeps track of previous calculations so you can look at them again later if needed.
I use my iPad and Apple Pencil as one of my primary note-taking methods, and while I’ve gotten better at writing on the iPad over the years, my handwriting is far from pretty, and erasing things can sometimes be difficult. It looks like Apple is trying to improve all of that, though, as it introduced a new Smart Script feature, which can take handwritten notes and clean them up to make them “fluid, flexible, and easier to read.” The goal here is that the machine learning behind Smart Script will still keep the handwriting similar to your own, so it still feels like you’re writing it all out.
Credit: Apple
Apple has also updated how you can erase things using the Apple Pencil. With iPadOS 18, you’ll be able to erase parts of a paragraph and then watch as the system automatically refits the content to fill the new space. This will all be available directly in the Notes app, which is also getting some enhancements to the way you type text, too, with new organization options for notes contents, the ability to collapse sections under headings and subheadings, and even the option to select from five new highlighter colors to make text stand out.
Other areas that Apple has redesigned include a new tab bar that floats above applications to help complement the sidebar in various apps like Apple TV +. This is meant to make things easier to navigate, Apple says, and should unlock a “new way to customize in-app experiences.” The redesigned Photos app also appears in iPadOS 18, as expected, giving you an even bigger canvas to explore how Apple has changed things up.
Messages on iPadOS 18 will also get the new Send Later option, which allows you to schedule text messages to people directly in the Messages app. This will include the newly redesigned Tapbacks, emoji reactions, and stickers, too. All of the new Safari-related features expected in macOS Sequoia will also make the jump to iPadOS 18, including Highlights, the new Reader experience, and summaries of long articles. The updated Passwords app will also be on iPad, giving you access to wifi passwords, app and web passwords, as well as verification codes and security alerts across multiple devices.
Credit: Apple
SharePlay is also getting an update to include more options for drawing on your screen, allowing you to point out specific points and even ask for permission to remotely control a device. Game Mode will offer more immersive Personalized Spatial Audio, as well as support for upcoming titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Apple Maps, Reminders, and Calendar are all getting updates, too, to make these apps more accessible and useful for users. And Accessibility features like Eye Tracking and Vocal Shortcuts will be front and center in the update when it releases this fall.
Privacy controls like hidden apps and locked content will also make the jump to iPad with the next Apple tablet update, including more ways to manage which Bluetooth devices can access your device, as well as what information they can access on it. And for users with an iPad powered by an M-series chip, new Apple Intelligence features like Rewrite, Proofread, and Image Playground will also be available later this year.
