Update: iPadOS 16 is rolling out now, though it may take a few minutes before it shows up for some users.
First announced in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, iPadOS 16 is Apple's next-generation operating system for iPad. Developers and public beta testers have spent the past few months trying out the new versions while Apple has been refining them, and a full public release is now right around the corner.
The update includes a number of new features and changes such as updates to apps like Notes, Mail, and Messages, Live Text, Visual Look Up, and Dictation enhancements.
iPadOS 16 gets a Weather app for the first time, and also offers a range of "pro" features that are exclusive to recent iPad Pro models and the latest iPad Air. For example, Stage Manager brings a new way to multitask with multiple overlapping windows and full external display support.
iPadOS 16 Release Date and Time
Both iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 became available for registered members of Apple's developer program immediately following the WWDC keynote on June 7, and Apple released the public beta on July 11. Apple originally said iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 would be officially be released in "the fall" of 2022, without specifying a precise date.
In early August, Bloomberg reported that Apple was planning to delay the launch of iPadOS 16 until October, which meant the iPad software would not launch alongside the new iOS as it typically does. Apple later confirmed that iPadOS 16 would indeed be launched sometime in October, some weeks after iOS 16 launched on September 12.
Alongside a spate of hardware updates via press releases on October 18, Apple finally announced that iPadOS 16 will launch on Monday, October 24.
Apple's operating system releases typically happen around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, but the company has not announced an exact time for the iPadOS 16 release. Assuming the typical 10:00 a.m. Pacific launch time, iPadOS 16 will be available at approximately these times around the world:
- Honolulu, Hawaii — 7:00 a.m. HST
- Anchorage, Alaska — 9:00 a.m. AKDT
- Cupertino, California — 10:00 a.m. PDT
- Phoenix, Arizona — 10:00 a.m. MST
- Vancouver, Canada — 10:00 a.m. PDT
- Denver, Colorado — 11:00 a.m. MDT
- Dallas, Texas — 12:00 noon CDT
- New York, New York — 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Toronto, Canada — 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Halifax, Canada — 2:00 p.m. ADT
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — 2:00 p.m. BRT
- London, United Kingdom — 6:00 p.m. BST
- Berlin, Germany — 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Paris, France — 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Cape Town, South Africa — 7:00 p.m. SAST
- Moscow, Russia — 8:00 p.m. MSK
- Helsinki, Finland — 8:00 p.m. EEST
- Istanbul, Turkey — 8:00 p.m. TRT
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates — 9:00 p.m. GST
- Delhi, India — 10:30 p.m. IST
- Jakarta, Indonesia — 12:00 a.m. WIB next day
- Shanghai, China — 1:00 a.m. CST next day
- Singapore — 1:00 a.m. SGT next day
- Perth, Australia — 1:00 a.m. AWST next day
- Hong Kong — 1:00 a.m. HKT next day
- Seoul, South Korea — 2:00 a.m. KST next day
- Tokyo, Japan — 2:00 a.m. JST next day
- Adelaide, Australia — 3:30 a.m. ACDT next day
- Sydney, Australia — 4:00 a.m. AEDT next day
- Auckland, New Zealand — 6:00 a.m. NZDT next day
Device Compatibility
iPadOS 16 is compatible with the iPad (5th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), and all iPad Pro models.