The new iPad Pro and iPad Air will begin arriving to customers over the next 24 hours. It appears that the initial batch of the devices will have a special build of iPadOS 17.4 preinstalled, but an iPadOS 17.5 software update will be available in the Settings app right away, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.
iPadOS 17.5 has a special build number of 21F84 on the new iPads, and modified release notes that mention improved document scanning:
Apple News+
• Offline mode in Apple News+ gives you access to the Today feed and News+ tab, even when you don’t have an internet connection
• Quartiles is a new and original daily word game that is now available in Apple News+
• Scoreboard in News+ Puzzles gives you access to new player data for Crossword, Mini Crossword and Quartiles, including stats and streaksTracking Notifications
• Cross-Platform Tracking Detection delivers notifications to users if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they do not own is moving with them, regardless of what operating system the device is paired withDocument Scanning
• Document scanning is improved on the new iPad Air and iPad Pro
The new iPad Pro models with the M4 chip are equipped with “adaptive True Tone flash” for improved document scanning. It is unclear if the feature requires iPadOS 17.5, or if the update simply further optimizes the functionality.
With adaptive True Tone flash and AI, the new iPad Pro can eliminate shadows on scanned documents, as Apple explained in a press release:
It also now features a new adaptive True Tone flash that makes document scanning on the new iPad Pro better than ever. Using AI, the new iPad Pro automatically identifies documents right in the Camera app, and if a shadow is in the way, it instantly takes multiple photos with the new adaptive flash, stitching the scan together for a dramatically better scan.
Improved document scanning will be available in the Camera, Files, and Notes apps, and third-party apps will be able to offer the feature too.
The new iPad Air does not have adaptive True Tone flash, so it is unclear how document scanning is improved on those models, as Apple indicates.
iPadOS 17.5 was already released on Monday for all other iPads, with a build number of 21F79 and no mention of improved document scanning.
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