Here’s why Apple is likely to delay the release of iPadOS 16 by one month
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg had the following scoop on Wednesday:
Apple Inc. expects to delay its next major iPad software update by about a month, taking the unusual step of not releasing it at the same time as the new iPhone software, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
For the last several years, the tech giant has released major iPad and iPhone software updates, known as iPadOS and iOS, at the same time in September. This time around, Apple plans to put out iOS 16 during the usual period but not launch iPadOS 16 until October, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
Of course we can’t know for sure, but to me this feels like an expectations-setting intentional leak from Apple. They want to this news to come out now so that it’s not a surprise or perceived as a big deal when iOS 16 drops in September. Why the delay? Gurman continues:
The delay of the software is due, at least in part, to an ambitious effort to overhaul the iPad’s multitasking capabilities. The update includes a feature called Stage Manager that lets users operate several tasks at the same time, resize windows and bounce between different clusters of apps.
From the moment I saw the headline I knew this had to be the reason. Stage Manager is a big change to iPadOS. While most iPad users will never use this feature (at least in the near term), it has the potential to be a game changer for people who use an iPad as a laptop replacement as it brings significant advancements to multitasking and finally brings true external display support to iPadOS. It’s the kind of feature that is worth getting right.
Also from Gurman:
During beta testing, the system has drawn criticism from some developers and users for its bugs, a confusing interface and lack of compatibility with most iPads.
I haven’t written much about the controversy over Stage Manager requiring an M1 processor, but it’s certainly been one of the two big controversies post-WWDC. (The other one being the base SSD configuration on the new M2 MacBook Air and M2 13-inch MacBook Pro, which I addressed here.) Even as someone “affected by” this limitation since my current iPad doesn’t have an M1 chip, this has never bothered me personally. Given the resource demands of multitasking and external display support, it made sense to me that in internal testing they found the experience of using Stage Manager on a pre-M1 iPad insufficient. I do wonder if part of the delay involves bringing Stage Manager, even if in a limited fashion, to non-M1 iPads. I wouldn’t bet on that, but it’s something I’m wondering about given the negative reaction to the limitation.
While it is unusual for iPadOS not to be released alongside iOS, there’s some precedent involving similar delays. The annual macOS rollout used to occur every September like clockwork. Starting with macOS Catalina it moved to October. Big Sur wasn’t released until mid-November the following year, and last year Monterey moved the macOS release back to October.
Is the delay bad news? Well, it’s certainly not nothing. It’s at least negative PR for Apple since it implies that they couldn’t meet their usual release schedule. But I’d rather them delay the release by a month if they can substantially workout whatever issues are driving the delay than for them to rush out unfinished software.
I saw someone on Twitter speculate that Stage Manager may not be part of the initial iPadOS 16 rollout in October, but would rather be a Spring 2023 addition. There is some precedent for this as well. Universal Control, one of the marque features of last year’s OS releases was delayed by several months. But when it finally came out, it was rock solid. Still, my guess is that Stage Manager will be part of iPadOS 16 when it launches in October. Otherwise my guess is they’d release iPadOS 16 alongside iOS 16, just without Stage Manager. It doesn’t feel to me as if there’s enough new features in iPadOS 16 apart from Stage Manager that would justify delaying the launch.
I guess we’ll all see sometime in October!
See also: The iPad just took a huge leap toward replacing your laptop