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iPad Q&A
Update Published October 25, 2022
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Which iPad models support iPadOS 16? Do some models "partially" support iPadOS 16? Which ones?
Apple first demonstrated iPadOS 16 on June 6, 2022 with same day availability for registered Apple Developers. It was released as a public beta on July 11, 2022 and the "final" version launched on October 24, 2022.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (iPadOS 16 - Stage Manager)
Apple provides basic iPadOS 16 compatibility in its press release, but exact feature support is scattered elsewhere in fine print and can be rather challenging to parse, so an independent analysis can be particularly useful.
New iPadOS 16 Features
In the press release for iPadOS 16, Apple heralds "powerful new productivity and collaboration features."
More specifically, the company boasts that the operating system is:
Introducing an entirely new multitasking experience with Stage Manager and full external display support, new ways to collaborate via Messages, big updates to Mail and Safari, iCloud Shared Photo Library, pro features including Reference Mode and Display Zoom, and more.
Improvements to multitasking and full external display support definitely are welcomed and worth the upgrade alone, but these features only are available for a tiny number of existing iPad models. Improvements in productivity and collaboration always are worthwhile, though. Perhaps those with other iPad devices still will find the upgrade beneficial.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (iPadOS 16 Full External Display Support)
Significant new features provided by iPadOS 16 include:
- Improved Messages: Feature additions make it easier to collaborate and share content across the iPadOS and apps.
- Freeform: A collaboration app for multiple users to make simultaneous edits to a shared workspace.
- Improved Mail: Mail finally makes it possible to schedule emails as well as adds reminders and other suggestions as has long been common with other email apps.
- iCloud Shared Photo Library: Makes it straightforward for families to share photos via a separate iCloud library.
- Improved Safari: Introduces promising new "passkey" technology with the goal of replacing cumbersome passwords entirely.
- Weather App: Finally.
- Improved Live Text & Visual Look Up: Very slick; promises to translate text and convert currencies from photos and video.
- Stage Manager & Full External Display Support: Available only for the latest iPad Air and iPad Pro models, improvements in multitasking and full external display support up to 6K with simultaneous support for four apps each on both the internal and external displays.
A great number of the improvements and additions provided by iPadOS 16 are modest, but the above are the ones that Apple considers to be most significant. However, it is very important to be aware that not all of these features are supported on all compatible devices. In fact, a large number of supported devices do not support major features at all.
Compared to its predecessor, iPadOS 15, iPadOS 16 merely drops support entirely for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4. However, it only completely supports the iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen) line. Yes, seriously.
A full list of supported iPad devices at the time iPadOS 16 was released follows. There are some substantial differences in terms of feature support documented further below.
Identification Help (Skip)
If you are not sure which iPad you have, all models can be quickly identified externally by Model Number precisely enough to determine whether or not it is supported by iPadOS 16. You also can find this Model Number in the "Settings" app on your iPad under General > Regulatory > or General > Legal & Regulatory, depending on the version of the operating system.
These particular iPad devices support iPadOS 16:
iPadOS 16 Compatible Tablets |
Model No |
If your iPad isn't listed above, it isn't compatible with iPadOS 16.
Although it is not as straightforward, you also can use the Order Number for identification, which is specified as "Model" within the iOS "Settings" app under General > About.
For example, in the United States, this "Model" within the iOS is MHQU3LL/A, which specifically refers to an iPad Pro 11" (Wi-Fi Only - 3rd Gen) in Space Gray with 256 GB of storage.
Everyi.com's Ultimate iLookup feature can identify these devices by order numbers from around the world and other identifiers, too.
All of the above iPad devices run iPadOS 16, but in fine print, Apple disclaims that some features only are supported by a subset of devices. Confusingly, Apple refers to some feature support as available with a specific model or newer and other feature support as available for iPad models with a specific processor or newer.
If you don't know what processor powers your iPad, you're not alone, and there is not an easy way to retrieve this information from the tablet itself, either. Everyi.com has you covered, though, because we always diligently have documented this information on the specs pages for each iPad.
Bottom line, only the iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen) models actually support all new features. The iPad (5th Gen), iPad (6th Gen), and iPad (7th Gen) as well as the original iPad Pro 12.9", iPad Pro 9.7", iPad Pro 10.5" and iPad Pro 12.9" (2nd Gen), on the other hand, do not support any of the below features.
Support for other iPad models varies accordingly.
Full-Size iPad
The iPad 5, iPad 6, and iPad 7 do not support any of these features. The iPad 8 and iPad 9 support some advanced features:
| iPad 8 | iPad 9 | |
| Stage Manager | No | No |
| Reference Mode | No | No |
| Live Text | Yes | Yes |
| Emojis in Text via Siri | Yes | Yes |
| Expanded Siri Capabilities | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Detection | No | No |
| Live Captions | Yes | Yes |
| Improved Dictation | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Memory Swap | No | No |
| Visual Look Up | Yes | Yes |
iPad mini
The iPad mini 4 does not run iPadOS 16 at all; the iPad mini 5 and iPad mini 6 support some advanced features:
| mini 5 | mini 6 | |
| Stage Manager | No | No |
| Reference Mode | No | No |
| Live Text | Yes | Yes |
| Emojis in Text via Siri | Yes | Yes |
| Expanded Siri Capabilities | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Detection | No | No |
| Live Captions | Yes | Yes |
| Improved Dictation | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Memory Swap | No | No |
| Visual Look Up | Yes | Yes |
iPad Air
The iPad Air 2 does not run iPadOS 16 at all. The remaining iPad Air models vary in their support for advanced features:
| Air 3 | Air 4 | Air 5 | |
| Stage Manager | No | No | Yes* |
| Reference Mode | No | No | No |
| Live Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Emojis in Text via Siri | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expanded Siri Capabilities | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Detection | No | No | No |
| Live Captions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved Dictation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Memory Swap | No | No† | Yes† |
| Visual Look Up | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* In the company's original promo copy, Apple specified that Stage Manager was compatible with the iPad Air 5th Gen, but "full external display support comes to iPad Pro with the M1 chip." Everyi.com interpreted this to mean that the iPad Air 5th Gen models, although they also have an M1 chip, do not provide full external display support. This may be a typo on Apple's part -- perhaps the iPad Air 5th Gen is compatible with both Stage Manager and full external display support -- and this is subject to confirmation/correction if needed.
† In the company's original documentation, Apple specified that Virtual Memory Swap was compatible with "iPad Air (4th generation) with a minimum of 256 GB storage," but this was an error. The feature actually is compatible with iPad Air 5th Gen models with this minimum storage capacity.
iPad Pro
The original iPad Pro 12.9", iPad Pro 9.7", iPad Pro 10.5" and iPad Pro 12.9" (2nd Gen) do not support any of these features. The iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen) supports all of these features. The iPad Pro 11" (3rd Gen) supports all of these features except for Reference Mode.
Advanced feature support for other iPad Pro models varies accordingly:
| 11" | 12.9" 3 | 11" 2 | 12.9" 4 | |
| Stage Manager | No | No | No | No |
| Reference Mode | No | No | No | No |
| Live Text | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Emojis in Text via Siri | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expanded Siri Capabilities | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Detection | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Live Captions | No | No | No | No |
| Improved Dictation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Memory Swap | No | No | No | No |
| Visual Look Up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iPadOS 16 Summary
Ultimately, the most substantial new feature in iPadOS 16 -- Stage Manager with its full external display support -- is limited to only the very latest models.
Understandably, this limitation has upset many users because it seems quite likely that lower powered models technically could support Stage Manager only on the internal display or on external displays that are smaller than 6K. The Mac, after all, has supported full external displays for decades using hardware far less powerful.
Perhaps Apple will expand support for Stage Manager in the future. If not, those with older iPad models still may find some of the new features worthwhile.
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