iPadOS 17: News, Release Date, and Features (2024)

The iPad has had its own operating system, iPadOS, since 2019. iPadOS 17 was announced at the 2023 WWDC.

iPadOS 17 Release Date

iPadOS 17 has been available to the general public since September 18, 2023. If your iPad is supported (see below), trigger an update to install it.

iPadOS 17 Price

Like all of Apple's operating system updates, iPadOS 17 is free to download and use.

iPadOS 17 Features

You can now customize the lock screen as you can on an iPhone. iPadOS 17 also added the following:

• Messages: Share your location with friends over a text and have audio messages converted into text.
• FaceTime: Leave a voicemail on calls the recipient doesn't answer. You can also react during a call by using hand gestures.
• Safari: The built-in web browser lets you set up multiple profiles to better organize your tabs. Safari can also automatically fill in verification codes you receive in the Mail app.
• Health: The Health app is now added to the iPad, so you can look at your health data on an iPhone or iPad.
• Screen Distance: Apple included a new feature in Screen Time that will alert you if you're holding the tablet too close to your face for too long.
• PDFs: New abilities to edit PDFs and create new PDFs when you take a picture of a form.
• Widgets: Widgets are now interactive, so you don't need to open the app to make updates.
• Stage Manager: You can resize windows to the size you want rather than only having the system resize them.
  

Supported Devices

Older versions of the iPad can't run iPadOS 17. Generally speaking, Apple supports OS updates for about five years, so the following models are compatible:

• iPad: 6th generation and later
• iPad Air: 3rd generation and up
• iPad Mini: 5th generation and newer
• iPad Pro: 1st generation and later

The Latest News About iPadOS 17

You can read all about the newest computers, laptops, and tablets here at Lifewire. Below are stories related to iPadOS 17 specifically.