It sounds like Apple wants some additional time to get work done on iPadOS 16, something that might not come as such a surprise if you’re running the beta. There’s still work to be done, and traditionally, iPadOS version has launched alongside iOS versions. The latter, being iOS 16, is likely in September, but iPadOS 16 might have to wait until October.
This is all according to Bloomerg’s often well-informed Mark Gurman:
For the last several years, the tech giant has released major iPad and iPhone software updates, known as iPadOS and iOS, at the same time in September. This time around, Apple plans to put out iOS 16 during the usual period but not launch iPadOS 16 until October, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
In theory, there’s nothing that says that iOS and iPadOS need to be on the same release schedule. After all, macOS versions typically launch months after the mobile platforms, which, of course, means issues with some features. The most prominent feature this cycle, that would suffer if the OS launches gets spread out, is the option to edit iMessages. Given the feature’s prominence, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple delays it until 16.1, which could roll out to all platforms simultaneously.
Nothing is confirmed by Apple yet, though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
