iPadOS 18 is now generally available with many new features and enhancements. While there are no Apple Intelligence features in the initial release, there’s still plenty to be excited about. Here are the top five features that I’ve found as I’ve been using the betas over the summer.

New Calculator App

After years of complaints, Apple has finally delivered a first party calculator app for iPad users. The calculator app has both basic and scientific calculator modes, and can also perform currency conversion. Like a good iPadOS citizen, the calculator app supports both Split View and Slide Over.

Math Notes

Math Notes leverages the handwriting recognition of iPadOS with machine learning to let you write mathematic equations using the Apple Pencil, that the system can solve for you. Your mileage may vary depending on the legibility of your handwriting. You can even generate graphs for equations and have them updated instantly as you change the equation.

Smart Script

Another machine learning driven feature is Smart Script in Apple Notes. The system will learn your handwriting over time and be able to adjust your writing to be more legible, without fundamentally altering it. For those of us with terrible handwriting, this won’t totally fix it, and it isn’t perfect, but the improvements are very noticeable.

Home Screen Customization

Continuing the trend of the past few iPadOS releases, iPadOS 18 gives users additional home screen customization options. Users can now have free spaces between your app icons and widgets. Apps can now have dark mode icons, and there’s even support for tinting your home screen icons to a color of your choosing.

Customizable Tab Bar

Apps in iPadOS 18 now have the option to utilize a new tab bar control that supports user customization. In apps like Music or TV, you can add to, and in some cases remove, the default tab bar options.

Bonus Feature: Files App Supports Formatting External Drives

A long requested feature has finally been brought to the Files app. iPadOS users can now erase and format external drives from their iPad. Supported file formats are APFS (standard or encrypted), ExFAT, or FAT32.