Apple has released iPadOS 18.5 to the general public. This is one of the last updates to iPadOS 18 that we’ll see before iPadOS 19 in the fall. 18.5 is a pretty minor release, but there are few small changes to call out.

YouTube Version

Mail App Improvements

Additional Settings in Mail

The Mail app updates the … button in the list view section of the Mail app. In addition to the existing option to disable categories, there are options to:

• Disable the Priority Messages feature
• Disable contact photos
  

Changing both of these options would require a trip to the Settings in prior releases.

”All Mail” category is more prominent

iPadOS 18.4 included an “All Mail” category, but to get to it, you have to tap again on the category you already selected. in 18.5, this category is visible in the categories list, and can be accessed by swiping left on the category list.

Pride Harmony Wallpaper

iPadOS 18.5 includes this year’s pride month wallpaper, this one being called Pride Harmony. Usually these are wallpapers are pretty well designed, but this year’s might actually be my favorite. This wallpaper also has a cool little animation that plays when you turn on the display.

Screen Time Improvements

Screentime now offers users the option to receive a notification when a child user enters the the passcode on their device. In Settings, you should also be able to see the last time the passcode was successfully used in Screen Time Settings in the Settings app.

Buy with iPad for 3rd Party Devices with Apple TV app

If you’re using the Apple TV app on a non-Apple device, like a smart TV, iPadOS 18.5 now lets you approve purchases with your nearby iPad. When you try to buy or rent content on the smart TV app, a notification is pushed to your iPad which will allow you to approve the purchase.

This hasn’t yet been available for me to test, so this may require a server side change or updates from the television manufacturers.

AppleCare & Warranty Design Updates

The AppleCare & Warranty section got a small design refresh that matches some of the styling introduced in iPadOS 18, like the large headers. For a device with an active AppleCare subscription, there’s also an option to manage your plan right when you click into the device detail view.

As usual, this release also includes security improvements.

Less than a month to go until WWDC 2025 and our first look at iPadOS 19!