Earlier this month, at WWDC 2019 Apple announced iOS 13 and its fork for tablets, iPadOS. The developer beta for both was already available and now the public beta is also out. You can download iOS 13 on compatible iPhones, iPod Touch and iPadOS on compatible tablets. Since we’re all about tablets, I should mention that you need at least an iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 4 to run the new OS.
You should back up your iOS device via iTunes, in case you want to downgrade and keep the data. If you’re on macOS Catalina, you can select the device from Locations in the Finger sidebar and make a backup fast by clicking Manage Backups and Archive. iPadOS brings quite a few novelties, like a revamped Files app, with cloud review and a column view.
The OS also lets you read files on USB drives, SD cards too, hooked up to the iPads via accessories. Safari from iPadOS now opens desktop versions of sites. There’s also a download manager. Probably the biggest novelty is the split screen inside third party apps, plus the widgets on homescreens. Dark Mode is also here, Swype input too and a simplified Slide Over pops up too.
Here’s how you can install iPadOS:
- 1. Perform an iTunes backup
- 2. Open the Apple public beta page on your device
- 3. Enroll the device by downloading the beta profile from here
- 4. Enter Settings>General>Software Update and then you should see the iOS 13 beta up for download. You can press “Download and Install” now.
- 5. Expect a reboot and then you have the beta available.
