iPadOS 18 takes iPad to the next level with Apple Intelligence, the introduction of Calculator with Math Notes, new handwriting tools in Notes, additional ways to customize iPad, and more

CUPERTINO, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 10, 2024 — Apple® today previewed iPadOS® 18, a major release that enhances the iPad® experience, making it more versatile and intelligent than ever. With iPadOS 18, Calculator comes to iPad with Math Notes, along with new handwriting tools in Notes — all designed for Apple Pencil®. iPad users now have more ways to customize the Home Screen and Control Center, and with iPadOS 18, users receive the biggest redesign of the Photos app to date and new ways to express themselves in Messages.

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iPadOS 18 takes iPad to the next level with new ways to customize iPad and the introduction of Calculator with Math Notes. (Graphic: Business Wire)

iPadOS 18 also introduces Apple Intelligence™, the personal intelligence system for iPhone®, iPad, and Mac® that combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant. Built with privacy from the ground up, Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iPadOS 18, iOS 18, and macOS® Sequoia. It understands and creates language and images, takes action across apps, and draws from personal context, simplifying and accelerating everyday tasks. Taking full advantage of the power of Apple silicon and the Neural Engine, Apple Intelligence will be supported on iPad models with an M-series chip.¹

“Our most versatile device is becoming even more powerful and intelligent than ever with iPadOS 18,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With fun new ways to personalize the Home Screen, a redesigned Photos experience, major updates to the Notes app, the addition of Calculator with Math Notes, and the groundbreaking introduction of Apple Intelligence, iPadOS 18 brings incredible new features designed for the unique capabilities of iPad, making it even easier for users to get tasks done.”

Calculator on iPad Delivers a New Way to Solve with Math Notes

An all-new Math Notes calculator allows users to type or write out mathematical expressions and see them instantly solved in their own handwriting. They can also assign values to variables when learning new concepts in class, calculating a budget, and more. With a new graphing feature, users can write or type an equation and insert a graph with just one tap, and can even add multiple equations on the same graph to see how they relate. And Math Notes are automatically accessible in the Notes app in the new Math Notes folder.

The basic and scientific calculators on iPad make it easy to view complete expressions before completing them. History helps users keep track of previous calculations, and unit conversions let users quickly convert length, weight, currencies, and more.

More Flexible Handwritten Notes with Smart Script

With the power of Apple Pencil, Smart Script makes handwritten notes fluid, flexible, and easier to read, all while maintaining the look and feel of a user’s personal handwriting. Smart Script allows users to write quickly without sacrificing legibility by smoothing and straightening handwritten text in real time. And it makes editing handwritten text just as simple as editing typed text. With Apple Pencil, users can easily add space, scratch out a sentence, or even paste typed text in their own handwriting, and the paragraph will automatically reflow to fit the new content.

The Notes app brings enhancements to typed text, too. For added convenience, users can now organize the content of their notes by collapsing sections under headings or subheadings. And for information that needs to stand out, they can choose from five new text highlight colors.

More Ways to Customize iPad

iPadOS 18 introduces even more options for users to express themselves, including brand-new ways to customize the Home Screen and app icons as well as Control Center. App icons and widgets can be placed in any open position on the Home Screen to create the ideal layout and let a user’s wallpaper shine through. They can be customized to appear exactly how users want — light, dark, or with a tint. Users can also make all the app icons and widgets appear even larger, removing the name underneath, for a new streamlined look.

Control Center has been redesigned to provide easier access to many of the things users do every day, and it gets new levels of customization and flexibility. The redesign delivers quick access to new groups of a user’s most-utilized controls, such as media playback, Home controls, and connectivity, as well as the ability to easily swipe between each. Users can now add controls from supported third-party apps into Control Center all from one place. Developers can take advantage of the new Controls API to let their users accomplish even more tasks, like quickly unlocking a vehicle or instantly capturing content for social media.

A New Tab Bar Brings Easier Navigation

A redesigned tab bar floats above app content and complements the sidebar to help users stay focused on what matters most while keeping favorite tabs within reach. The new floating tab bar elegantly morphs into the sidebar so users can dive deeper into an app’s full functionality. With the redesigned tab bar, iPad users can reorder or add other tabs from the sidebar, unlocking an entirely new way to customize in-app experiences.

A Redesigned Photos App to Relive Special Moments

The Photos app receives its biggest redesign yet — which takes advantage of the larger display on iPad — automatically keeping libraries organized so users can spend less time searching and more time enjoying their best moments. A simplified, single view displays a familiar grid, and new collections help users browse by themes without having to organize content into albums. Plus, collections can be pinned to keep favorites easily accessible. A new carousel view presents highlights that update each day and feature favorite people, pets, places, and more. Autoplaying content throughout the app brings libraries to life, so past moments can be enjoyed while browsing. Because each user’s photo library is unique, the app is customizable, so users can organize collections, pin collections to access frequently, and include what’s most important to them in the carousel view.

New Ways to Stay Connected in Messages

Messages receives big updates to the ways users express themselves and stay connected. Text formatting like bold, underline, italics, and all-new animated text effects bring iMessage® conversations to life, and with redesigned Tapbacks, users can react to a message with any emoji or sticker. Messages in iPadOS 18 introduces the ability to schedule messages to send at a later time, helping users stay fully in control of when and how they are connecting with their closest contacts.

Safari Enables Distraction-Free Browsing

Safari®, the world’s fastest browser,² now offers an even easier way to discover information on the web with Highlights and a redesigned Reader experience. Using machine learning, Safari can surface key information about a webpage. For example, users can review a summary to get the gist of an article; quickly see the location of a restaurant, hotel, or landmark; or listen to an artist’s track right from an article about the song or album. Additionally, with a redesigned Reader view, there are even more ways to enjoy a streamlined presentation of an article and its summary.

New Privacy Controls

iPadOS 18 gives users even more ways to control who can see their apps, how they share their contacts, and how their iPad connects to accessories. Locked and hidden apps offer users peace of mind that information they want to keep private, such as app notifications and content, will not inadvertently be seen by others. Users can now lock an app; and for additional privacy, they can hide an app, moving it to a locked, hidden apps folder. When an app is locked or hidden, content like messages or emails inside the app are hidden from search, notifications, and other places across the system.