iPadOS 19: Release date, compatibility and features for iPads

It’s been six years since Apple decided to brand the iPad operating system iPadOS to differentiate it from iOS on the iPhone. Since then, Apple has added a handful of iPad-exclusive features, but overall, it’s still a lot like iOS.

That could change dramatically in iPadOS 19, due to arrive at WWDC and ship in September. We’ll have a chance to see what Apple has in mind at the keynote on June 9. In the meantime, here’s what we know about iPadOS 19.

iPadOS 19: Release date

The official release date has not been announced, but Apple currently has an annual cycle with its operating systems that happens in the September timeframe. Based on recent history, iPadOS 19 could be released to the public on September 15 or 22.

iPadOS 19: Compatibility

iPadOS 19: Developer and public betas

Apple makes betas of its operating systems available before the official release in September. A developer beta is released first following the WWDC keynote, so developers can immediately begin testing it with their products. The WWDC25 keynote will be held on June 9, so the developer beta should be available later that day after the keynote presentation.

Apple then releases a public beta for everyone else, which usually arrives in July, about a month after the first developer beta. Then, whenever Apple issues beta updates, the updated public beta follows a day or two after the updated developer beta.

If you are interested in using the beta, you can join Apple’s beta program. The beta program involves running software that will have some stability issues, and you are expected to provide Apple with details of any issues through the Apple Feedback app.

iPadOS 19: New features

Because iPadOS 19 never needs to leave Apple Park until it ships, rumors of its new features are harder to come than iPad hardware. But leaks still occur, and we’ll keep track of them here. Here’s what we’ve heard so far:

Major design overhaul

Apple is working on a design overhaul of iPadOS (as well as iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS). Reports state that the update will take its cues from visionOS, and the Apple Invites and Sports apps could offer some hints at what is in store. It’s also possible that Apple changes the icon shape for the first time to match the visionOS’s circular icons.

Mac-like user experience

One exciting feature rumored to be on the way is a new window management system for multitasking on the iPad. Apple released Stage Manager with iPadOS 16.1, but it hasn’t lived up to its potential. An April 2025 report from Mark Gurman claims that Apple is working on Stage Manager 2, which will incorporate the use of a menu bar that activates when the iPad is connected to a keyboard. Gurman added that iPadOS 19 will make the iPad “more like a Mac,” but he did not offer specifics.

A separate report from November 2024 claims that users will be able to pin files to the iPadOS 19 Home screen, similar to the way files can be saved to the desktop in macOS.

Low Power Mode

iPadOS 18 currently has Low Power Mode, but Majin Bu last November claimed that the system will be “reinvented” in iPadOS 19. That could mean it will lean on Apple Intelligence to manage and optimize battery life.

Apple Intelligence and Siri

Apple has hit some serious hurdles with its Apple Intelligence development, causing features to be delayed. Features that were supposed to be delivered in iPadOS 18.4 may appear sometime in 2026 in an iPadOS 19 update.

Apple had touted a major update to Siri, where it is better at natural conversations with the user. Previously expected in iPadOS 19, it is now more likely to come as a later update or in iPadOS 20. However, there will almost certainly be new Apple Intelligence features as part of iPadOS 19, especially since all new iPads (except the 11th-gen model) can now run it.

New Home app

Apple will reportedly make a major push into the smart home over the next year, and that could start with a new Home app. Numerous reports claim that Apple is developing a new “HomePad” and a new HomePod with a display that features a new “homeOS,” and Apple recently pushed all users to the new Home architecture first released in iOS 16. To go along with these new products, could present a whole new Home app in iPadOS 19.