iPadOS 17 brings personalized lock screen, interactive widgets, PDF features, and more

Apple walked through new features coming to the iPad in iPadOS 17 this fall. The new software update brings significant improvements to widgets and lock screen, and the Notes app, in addition to introducing the Health app on iPad. The tablet operating system also packs many of the new iOS 17 features.

iPad users can now customize the lock screen to make it more personal with images from their library. It can be a static photo, a dynamic set of photos that shuffle, or a Live Photo. The date and time can be customized using different font styles and colors, too. Apple is bringing Live Activities to iPadOS, offering real-time information such as sports score or food delivery order right on the lock screen.

The widgets on iPadOS 17 are interactive and can trigger actions like turning on the lights, playing a song, or marking a reminder as complete. The interactive widgets are available on the lock screen and home screen.

Apple is making working with PDFs even easier. In iPadOS 17, users can quickly add details such as names, addresses, and emails to PDF files from Contacts, thanks to machine learning. Furthermore, the Notes app now supports full-width PDFs, making it easier to navigate and annotate the document directly in the Notes app. There’s also live collaboration through which updates appear in real time in a note shared among users.

The Health app comes to the iPadOS 17 with an optimized design for the iPad’s display. Users can receive insights into their health data with interactive charts, and can track their medications, use Cycle Tracking, log their emotions and moods, among other features.

Moreover, the iPadOS 17 comes along improvements to Messages and FaceTime as seen in iOS 17. Safari now has switchable Profiles, which has their own history, cookies, Tag Groups, and Favorites. The iPadOS 17 software update will be available to the public later this fall. Supported iPad models include:

• iPad (6th generation and later)
• iPad mini (5th generation and later)
• iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
• 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later)
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation and later)

Apple Developer Program members can now access the developer beta of iPadOS 17, with the public beta releasing next month.