Samah Labib wrote Friday, September 22, 2023 06:00 AM Although we did not see any New iPads This year, Apple has just unleashed iPadOS 17, a major update to its tablet operating system that promises new life in any recent iPad model you already own.
Once you install iPadOS 17, you’ll be able to enjoy your iPhone’s lock screen features on the larger screen, as well as the interactive widgets that also came to the iPhone in this year’s iOS 17 update. Additionally, iPadOS 17 features some great improvements to Stage Manager, and a new Health app. tablet, greatly improved PDF support in Notes, and even a background wallpaper from the original iPad era.
Like its iPhone counterpart, iPadOS 17 leaves a few older Apple iPads behind, but that’s to be expected.
If you’re still using the first iPad Pro from 2015 or the 9.7-inch iPad Pro from early 2016, iPadOS 16 is the end of the road for you. The same also applies to the fifth generation iPad released in early 2017.
However, the good news is that these are the only outliers, and iPadOS 17 supports every iPad released after June 2017, starting with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, the 12.9-inch second generation, and the sixth generation iPad in early 2018.
Of course, not all of the new features in iPadOS 17 will be available on these older models. Some features, like feedback and gestures in video calls and Screen Distance, require an iPad with a TrueDepth camera, and others, like keyboard auto-correct improvements, require more silicon. Power found in newer models.
Make a backup of your iPad
It’s always a good idea to make sure you have a backup before installing any major version of iPadOS. Although update issues are rare these days, they’re not completely unheard of, and if you’re affected by them, you’ll be happy to take extra precautions.
You can find instructions on how to back up your iPad.
It’s also worth noting that you can’t restore a backup created from a newer version of iPadOS on an iPad running an older version. If you use iCloud to back up your iPad, you may also want to keep an additional iPadOS 16 backup on your Mac or PC. Personal just in case you need to come back later for some reason.
Only the three most recent iPad backups are stored in iCloud, and since your iPad automatically backs up every 24 hours, it won’t be long before your iPadOS 16 backup disappears from iCloud.
How to install iPadOS 17 on your iPad
Since most people have automatic updates enabled by default, it’s likely that iPadOS 17 will find its way to your iPad — eventually. However, this may take a while to appear, so if you want to get it sooner, it’s best to go to the Settings app and download it manually. Here’s how.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPad.
Step 2: Select General.
Step 3: Select Software Update.
Step 4: By default, your iPad will offer you the latest update for whatever major iPadOS version you’re using. While you don’t necessarily need to update to that first, we recommend doing so as an intermediate step if you’re coming from a much older version, like iPadOS 15 or even an early version of iPadOS 16.
However, as long as you’re using iPadOS 16.4 or later, you’re safe to jump directly to iPadOS 17, in which case you can move on to the next step.
Step 5: Under Also Available, select iPadOS 17.0.
Step 6: When the iPadOS 17 update appears on the next screen, select Download and install and agree to the terms and conditions screens that appear to start installing it.
Step 7: It may take up to an hour or more to download, set up and then install the iPadOS 17 beta on your iPad. Once this process is complete, your device will reboot and take you through the usual series of welcome and setup screens.
