iPadOS 17 hands-on review: A modest update

The public beta for iPadOS 17 is here and it delivers a number of useful updates for some of the best iPads.

This isn’t a revolutionary update over iPadOS 16. In fact, many of its new features are on the best iPhones. That said, the new personalization and productivity features will help you get more from the slate, both for work and play.

I’ve gone hands-on with the developer beta of iPadOS 17 beta and find it a decent, if mild, update to the operating system fueling Apple’s tablets. With the public beta now live, I want to give you my early impressions of iPadOS 17 and tell you about its most notable features.

Here’s what I think of iPadOS 17 so far.

iPadOS 17 hands-on review: Release date

The iPadOS 17 developer beta went live in early June after WWDC 2023, with the public beta going live in July. We’ll have to wait until the fall for the full release of iPadOS 17.

If that release schedule sounds familiar, it’s because this is the usual cadence Apple tends to follow for its operating system updates. Unless anything drastic happens, we should see the full version in September or October.

iPadOS 17 hands-on review: Compatibility and supported devices

As with iPadOS 16, support for some older iPads will be dropped. To be specific, iPadOS 17 will support newer models like the 6th generation iPad, 5th generation iPad Mini, 3rd generation iPad Air, 2nd generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and the 3rd generation iPad Air. Any iPads released this year will also have access to iPadOS 17.

If you have an iPad older than those mentioned above, you’re out of luck. But that’s par for the course with new OS updates.

iPadOS 17 hands-on review: Biggest new features

Stage Manager

Stage Manager was one of the biggest features introduced in last year’s iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura. It’s received some quality-of-life upgrades that help you be more productive. It’s not totally different, but I appreciate the subtle changes.

You now have the freedom to place windows wherever you want on the screen. You’re also able to resize windows via pinch and zoom gestures, which works as intuitively as you’d expect. If you want, you can also select from a list of preset window arrangements — with options differing based on the kind of app in question.

Placing windows where you’d like when using Stage Manager works well. I also like how unused tabs placed beside the large window you’re working on have an almost transparent quality — which makes them seem less distracting.

Stage Manager isn’t the game-changing productivity booster I expected on either iPad or Macs, but it’s good that Apple is trying to make the feature more useful.

Personalized lock screen

iPadOS 17 is getting its own version of the lock screen experience from iOS 16 — replete with a slew of customization options. This includes a photo shuffling option that displays different photos during the course of the day. There’s even a new live photo option that casts a slow-motion zoom-in effect on the lock screen wallpaper.

You can choose the lock screen’s fonts, font weight, colors and color combinations. Real-time notifications also pop up on the lock screen — ensuring you don’t miss important messages from loved ones (or a food delivery). But if you don’t want to receive notifications on your iPad, you can always disable this feature.

The new lock screen experience comes from iPhones, but it makes a great addition to iPads. In fact, it’s one of those features that should have been added last year. Regardless, it’s a great inclusion that helps your iPad truly feel like your device.

Health app in iPadOS 17

Speaking of features that should have been added ages ago, the health app is finally on iPadOS 17.

Though this app isn’t all that different than its iPhone counterpart, the fact you can view all your heath data on the iPad’s screen makes a big (pun intended) difference. Best of all, your data gets synced between all your compatible Apple devices.

If you’re into monitoring your health and own an iPad, this feature will be advantageous.

Interactive widgets

Widgets aren’t new to iPads but with iPadOS 17, you can interact with them on the lock screen. On top of that, widgets now blend better with the background so that you can focus on whatever task you’re performing.

The ability to tap on a widget right from the lock screen is pretty handy. If, for example, you want a more detailed weather report, you launch the weather app right from the lock screen without unlocking the iPad to find the weather widget. I also like how the lock screen widgets blend into the background.

iPadOS 17 hands-on review: Other features

PDF editor

Editing PDFs on mobile devices is a tricky proposition. Thankfully, iPadOS 17’s Notes app now automatically detects fields you can edit. This also works for documents you’ve taken photos of. You can even share a PDF between iPads and edit it in real time.

Profiles in Safari

Safari users can now create separate profiles on Apple’s web browser. For example, you can create a profile for work and one for personal browsing. These profiles store their own windows, tab groups, cookies and history.

Support for webcams on external displays

If you’re not happy using the iPad’s camera for video calls, you can now use the built-in webcam on an external display.

FaceTime reactions

Like iOS 17, iPadOS 17 has new features for FaceTime calls. You’ll be able to leave audio or video messages if someone doesn’t pick up your call, for instance. And like macOS Sonoma, you can activate animations by performing gestures like giving a thumbs up. Said animations include balloons, fireworks and more. I couldn’t get this feature to work when I Facetimed with a friend, but I’ll chalk that up to this being a beta.

iPadOS 17 hands-on review: Outlook

iPadOS 17 doesn't reinvent the proverbial wheel. Like I said up top, most of the operating system’s new features come from iOS. You could argue this makes iPads feel even more like giant iPhones than tablets.

While there’s some validity to that, adding features like the Health app and lock screen widgets add versatility to iPads and make the tablet a more useful, more personalized device.

The iPadOS 17 public beta will run through the rest of the summer and will surely receive a handful of updates before its official launch in the fall. I’m going to continue testing the operating system along the way so be sure to check back for additional updates.