iPadOS 18 was recently released alongside iOS 18, and it brings a bunch of tweaks, improvements, and new features to Apple’s tablets. However, if you own one of Apple’s latest iPads, you can’t download it yet.
iPadOS 18 was initially available for the iPad Pro 11-inch (2024) and iPad Pro 13-inch (2024), but some users found the update rendered their devices unusable, preventing them from turning on. Apple subsequently sent out replacement iPads.
It is unclear exactly how many users have been affected, but there are discussions on Reddit and elsewhere have reported the issue. It’s so widespread that Apple temporarily blocked iPad Pro (2024) users from downloading the update.
In a statement to MacRumorsApple said: “We have temporarily removed the iPadOS 18 update for M4 iPad Pro models while we work to resolve an issue impacting a small number of devices.”
A challenging chipset?
It’s not clear why this is happening, but the fact that Apple mentions the M4 chipset and the fact that the issue only occurs on iPad Pros with that chipset suggests that the M4 chip could somehow be the culprit.
Don’t worry if you’ve already updated your iPad – if iPadOS 18 were to brick yours, it looks like it would happen during the update process, so if you’ve already successfully updated your iPad should be fine. If yours did brick during the update, it’s worth reaching out to Apple, as it looks like Apple will have to replace it.
Other iPad models should be safe to download iPadOS 18, so if you’re using an older device you don’t need to wait. As for M4 iPad Pro users who have yet to update, we don’t know how quickly Apple will resolve this issue and make iPadOS 18 available again, but we’d imagine the company is working to make it available as soon as possible.
In any case, the wait will be worth it, because iPadOS 18 brings even more customization to your home screen, the addition of a calculator app, the ability to customize the colors of apps and widgets, the ability to lock and hide apps, a redesigned Photos app, and much more.