When iOS 16 launched last year on Monday, September 12, it arrived alone. Due to development issues mostly associated with Stage Manager, Apple decided to delay iPadOS 16 to October 24, 2022. The company skipped iPadOS 16.0 entirely, jumping straight to version 16.1 which it released alongside iOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura 13.
That won’t be the case this year, according to Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reports that “it sounds like iPadOS 17.0 will arrive simultaneously with the new iPhone software.” Apple is still testing the new operating systems ahead of their release in just a few weeks, with the eighth beta of iOS 17 arriving just last week.
iPadOS 17 has fewer new features than iPadOS 16, with the headline feature being the new personalized Lock Screen from iOS 16 and the Health app. There are also several iOS 17 features, including stickers, FaceTime audio messages, and Safari profiles.
Apple usually releases the next version of macOS at a later date, so macOS Sonoma is unlikely to launch until October alongside several new M3 Macs.
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will likely arrive on Monday, September 18 at noon ET following the iPhone 15 Wonderlust event on Tuesday, September 12.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.