"Far out" signs that Apple is afraid iPad update is going to overshadow iPhone 14 series

So, here we are. Most of the year 2022 has slinked away, and we're entering September. If you're a tech enthusiast, you know what that means – it's time for a big Apple event.

Indeed, the iPhone 14 launch event has officially been confirmed for September 7. It bears the tagline "Far out", which, as vague as it is, is probably somehow related to the new features we're expecting to come with iPhone 14.

Always-on display has been rumored for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, which will reportedly not just light up a few pixels on their displays, to show small elements like notification icons, but might even keep a wallpaper on the screen at all times. Even when the phone is locked and unused. If that's the case – then impressive, how that won't tank the battery life.

Another thing speculated to be coming is satellite connectivity, which we expected for the iPhone 13, but was delayed for iPhone 14, and it could particularly be related to that "Far out" tagline.

But even more likely – astrophotography is seemingly for sure coming to the new iPhones, which means they'll be able to take literally "Far out" images of astronomical objects. Sounds plausible that this is what Apple's referring to, right? Especially considering the star-themed iPhone 14 promo materials.

So is that feature, along with the fact that the higher-end iPhone 14 models will drop the notch for i-shaped cutouts, enough to make the iPhone 14 a big deal? Yeah, probably, but I personally would have hoped for more.



Here's the thing, though – what's really getting some major, long-needed updates soon will be the iPad instead, not the iPhone. Unfortunately for us iPad fans, the iPhone is Apple's main thing right now, though. So it would seem that the iPad's next software update was delayed so as to not overshadow the iPhone 14 series, as well as iOS 16, which itself will notably bring customizable lock screens…

Big update for iPad, could've overshadowed iPhone 14… so iPadOS 16 got delayed? There might be another reason

While this is essentially what the iPhone 14 series might be getting, alongside a new "Max" model and no "mini", let's talk about what is coming in the iPad world, and why Apple's decision to delay iPadOS 16 might not just be to let the new iPhones shine, even if it certainly looks that way.

The first ever iPads were a big deal – large touchscreen tablets that you could watch your movies on, browse the web on, send and get emails on… The web itself was different and more unoptimized for phones and tablets back in 2010, so just being able to browse it on a big screen with touch gestures was awesome. But back then, and for many following years, the iPad was just a blown-up iPhone, running the same operating system, and relying on the same apps.

However, in 2019 Apple finally branched the iPad's operating system from iOS, and aptly called it iPadOS. iPadOS 13 was the first iPad-centered OS (operating system), bringing some much-needed features for power users who wanted to multitask on their big tablet. Picture-in-picture, split-screen multitasking, slide-over apps, mouse support, and other features some of us were starting to hope against actually eventually made it to the iPad.

With that, more and more professional users started buying the iPad Pro, drawing on it, writing on it, editing videos on it and even producing music on it. I've personally tried all of that, and can concur that even if it's a bit janky and unconventional, if you're coming from a PC – it's all possible, and can even be very fun to do on an iPad.

Particularly artists have all the necessary tools to truly make some incredible things, while, say, music producers and video editors are still limited by the software (apps) the iPad has to work with.

But I digress, the point is – the iPad has become a legitimate computer-replacement for many creatives, not just for people who simply wish to watch movies and videos, or play mobile games.

And while it has split-screen apps and a Slide Over feature, the former just supports two at a time, and the latter is clunky as all heck; I personally never use it. And I'm not alone in having expected the iPad to get better, PC-like multitasking. I was hoping for that last year when iPadOS 15 rolled around, but was left disappointed. But thankfully, the lightning of disappointment won't strike twice.

iPadOS 16 is bringing a feature called Stage Manager to iPads that have the M1 chip inside. Stage Manager is a multitasking feature that's also coming to MacBooks in pretty much the same shape and form. So there's no doubt this is finally PC-like multitasking on the iPad!

Check out our iPadOS 16 preview for details, but what Stage Manager essentially does is allow iPad power users to work with many apps at a time more efficiently, with the press of a toggle.

You'll still have the familiar, old split-screen feature, if you'd rather keep things simple, but if you enable Stage Manager once iPadOS 16 comes to your M1 iPad, the old split-screen will be replaced with actual windowed apps.

Yes, your iPad apps will open in resizable and moveable windows (limited sizes and positions, though), and you'll get a fixed dock with your favorite apps, always visible for quick and easy access. On the left side of the screen, you'll have your various apps opened in groups, to switch between at any time.

In total, with Stage Manager, you can have up to four apps open on-screen at a time, or up to eight if you connect your iPad to an external display! That's some progress from what we've had so far!



And since this upcoming iPad feature is such a big deal; so anticipated by long-time iPad fans such as myself, it's no surprise Apple has chosen to delay iPadOS 16 for later this year, so that the iPhone and its iOS 16 can take center stage during the September 7 event, without any threat of being overshadowed. This is, again, my speculation, though.

But there's another reason why I believe iPadOS 16 is being delayed, and it's much easier to buy into…

Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 is currently pretty buggy, and on occasion – not very intuitive to use. I've used the iPadOS 16 beta for a couple of months now, and can confirm – while it's amazing to finally have such powerful multitasking on the iPad, one that I've been hoping for for years, it could use more work. It's simply not ready for a public release.

So the fact that Stage Manager is still a bit buggy would most likely be why iPadOS 16 is getting delayed for about a month. But trust me – it will be worth the wait.

And it's not like there won't be anything else for iPad fans to get excited about during the upcoming Apple event. The Cupertino company is expected to release a new budget iPad, 10th generation, and a new iPad Pro, possibly powered by an M2 chip. However, those two announcements haven't been officially confirmed, so with the delay of iPadOS 16, we can reasonably expect delays for any new iPads also.

We'll see next week, won't we?

Are you excited for the new iPads and iPadOS 16? Excited for iPhone 14?

Let us know if you're excited for what's coming soon in the world of iPads and iPhones, or if you expected something bigger from Apple this year around?

Do you believe we might also see a few surprise announcements, perhaps a sneak peek of the Apple AR Glasses?