How iPadOS 16 intends to deliver “desktop-worthy apps”

Apple has not forgotten the iPad this year! The most impressive novelty is obviously the arrival of Stage Manager which offers a whole new way of working on several apps in parallel and which is a promising solution for all those who felt limited by the old approach to multitasking.

But Stage Manager is not the only novelty and with iPadOS 16, Apple intends to offer “desktop-worthy apps”, nothing less. During WWDC, Craig Federighi presented a series of changes under the hat “ Desktop-class apps “, apps that must behave more like those we know on a traditional computer. In reality, these features aren’t always exclusive to iPads, they benefit the iPhone as well, but they make more sense on a tablet.

There is a bit of everything in this section, so here is the program:

(Slightly) modular toolbars inspired by the Mac

Here is a function that comes directly from macOS. Apps designed for the tablet can incorporate a modular toolbar, with the ability to change the order and even choose the icons there. Without going as far as on a Mac, it’s an interesting change to choose the most useful functions in each app.

Changing the toolbar is done via the catch-all icon… placed at the top right of the screen. A new “Customize toolbar” option will be there if the app allows it, like here in Mail. If available, the available icons are displayed below the toolbar, those there go into edit mode shaking, and you can drag and drop the items to your liking.