Apple has revealed a brand new growth that it hopes will make iPad units open to extra equipment than ever.
DriverKit, one of many many updates coming to iPadOS 16, will let producers and builders create drivers particularly for iPads for the primary time, and even construct multi-platform drivers.
The device has been out there since 2019 on macOS Catalina, permitting third-party USB and Thunderbolt equipment to be linked to macOS units, however is now coming to the iPad as nicely.
DriverKit for iPad
In a video (opens in new tab) asserting the launch, Apple mentioned that DriverKit would convey much more flexibility and selection for builders and end-users alike, retaining precisely the identical macOS expertise for iPad customers.
“DriverKit introduced a brand new option to lengthen the system that’s extra dependable and safe, working in userspace,” Apple’s Souvik Banerjee famous.
Banerjee added that the launch was particularly focused at skilled iPad customers who usually must depend on exterior {hardware} that wasn’t suitable with their machine.
DriverKit API in iPadOS 16 will assist USB, PCI, and audio units, and if a developer has already created a driver with DriverKit on Mac, it will probably now be ported straight over to iPad with no modifications required.
The information, which Banerjee famous is made doable “as a result of energy of the M1 chip” inside some iPad fashions, implies that customers will have the ability to join Thunderbolt audio interfaces equivalent to microphones or headsets on the iPad for the primary time.
Every driver will solely work when the linked exterior machine is linked, and any new drivers have to be enabled manually within the iPad Settings app after being put in, the place they will also be toggled on or off by the consumer at any time.
As soon as an app has been developed and submitted to the App Retailer, Apple will be certain solely customers with the proper drivers can obtain and use them to be able to guarantee there are not any compatibility points.
All iPads with M1 {hardware} will assist DriverKit, which is offered now.
