Apple is making a more useful iPad according to reports. With apples new OS coming to the iPad, there are tons of features to be expected including a Drivekit on the iPadOS 16. Apple also revealed that a new expansion will make iPad devices open to more accessories than ever.
DriveKit
DriveKit, one of the many updates that would be heading to iPadOS 16. It was designed to enable manufacturers and developers to create drivers specifically for iPads for the first time, and even build multi-platform drivers.
This tool has been made available to a lot of users since 2019 on macOS Catalina, allowing third-party USB and thunderbolt accessories to be connected to the macOS devices, but is arriving on the iPad also.
DriveKit for iPad
In a video that announced the launch, Apple stated that the Driverkit would be bringing in tons of more flexibility and choice for developers and end-users alike, keeping exactly the same macOS experience for users on iPad.
“Drivekit brought about a new method to extend the system that seems to be more reliable and secure, running in userspace,” Apple’s Souvik Banerjee noted.
Banerjee added that the launch was especially aimed at the professional iPad users that have to rely on external hardware that was not compatible with their device.
Drivekit on iPadOS 16
Drivekit API in iPadOS 16 will support USB, PCI, and audio devices, and if a developer has created a driver with Driverkit on Mac, it can now get ported directly over to iPad with no changes needed.
The news that was noted by Banerjee noted is made possible “Due to the M1 chip power” that is in some iPad models, meaning that users would be able to connect Thunderbolt audio interfaces which include microphones or headsets on the iPad for the first time.
Each of the drivers will only work when the linked external device is connected, and any new drivers are to be enabled manually in the iPad settings app right after being installed, where they can also get toggled on or off by the user at any given time.
Drivekit Compactibility
Once an App is developed and submitted to the App Store, Apple would make sure that users that can make use of them are only those with the correct drivers in order to ensure that there are no compatibility issues.
Currently, Ipads running on the M1 Hardware would offer to support for the DriverKit, which is at the moment now available.
