Apple announces iPadOS 18 with a built-in calculator and customizable homescreen

Apple offered a preview of iPadOS 18 during its WWDC 2024 keynote, providing a brief glimpse of the latest version of its tablet software. Along with a new built-in calculator, the software update will bring AI features like ChatGPT to Siri as well as new customizability options. Like in previous years, the new update will arrive in the fall, with a developer beta available today and a public beta slated for release next month.

The software update finally adds a built-in calculator to Apple’s tablets. This means iPad users will no longer need to download third-party apps, which are often chock-full of ads and rarely optimized for the iPad’s larger form factor, just to perform simple math calculations.

The new calculator also works with Apple Pencil, so you can solve math problems after writing them out with the stylus. Apple is also introducing Smart Script, which is a Notes app feature that improves the appearance of text as you write using machine learning. It’s capable of recreating your own handwriting style, too, as well as spell-checking you and transforming typed text into your own style.

The forthcoming software update will also introduce the recently rumored “Passwords” app, as well as a few new iOS 18 features. These include new ways to personalize your homescreen and third-party app integration for Control Center, as well as features like a dark mode for app icons. The forthcoming OS update also introduces new iMessage features, such as the ability to schedule messages and use a Tapback reaction with any emoji, as well as new privacy controls like the ability to hide apps.

Other new features include a new screen-sharing feature in SharePlay that allows you to remotely control another person’s iPad, redesigned Settings and Photos apps, and a customizable floating tab that makes it easier to navigate apps.

The software update also brought plenty of AI-powered features to Apple’s tablet lineup. Apple users will be able to use ChatGPT via Siri without an account, and you’ll soon be able to create your own custom emoji and images. Siri can also now answer more questions and perform specific tasks in and across apps, from proofreading to text summarizing. Apple introduced a new accessibility feature, too, which lets people with physical disabilities control their devices with just their eyes.

The news comes a month after Apple updated its iPad lineup with several new tablets, including an M4-powered iPad Pro and an M2-powered iPad Air. For the first time, the high-end Pro models sport OLED displays, while the iPad Air comes in two sizes: 11 and 13 inches. Both will be compatible with iPadOS 18 at launch, as will a number of older iPad models.