OpenAI has released the first major update to its ChatGPT iOS app, with the new version adding native iPad support, as well as compatibility with Siri and Shortcuts.
New drag and drop functionality has also been added to the immensely popular generative AI chatbot, which is now available as an iOS download in over 40 countries. At the time of writing, it was still No.1 in the App Store in 31 of them.
Here's a closer look at the new ChatGPT features for its iOS app and why we think they're worth getting excited about.
ChatGPT App Lands on iPad
Arguably the biggest deal of ChatGPT's new iOS update is the arrival of native iPad support for OpenAI's ChatGPT app.
Previously, the ChatGPT app had been available on iPad, but only in the sense that the iOS app technically worked on Apple's tablet devices. It didn't look great, as the display window was sized for an iPhone. Plus some of the best ways for businesses to use ChatGPT weren't on offer.
Now, you'll find that ChatGPT not only looks slick on the iPad, but is fully optimized for iPadOS, meaning you can use its full screen powers as they were intended. This includes the iPad's split-screen mode, which has emerged as such a valuable productivity and collaboration tool.
Coupled with the arrival of drag and drop, it's easy to see how useful ChatGPT could be on the iPad, with the potential to ask the AI bot for information in one window, then drag the answer to share with your co-workers in a Slack or Teams channel.
Read our full iPad buyers' guide here: Which iPad Should I Buy?
Siri and Shortcuts Integration
The other headline additions to the ChatGPT app are support for Siri and Shortcuts. At its most basic level, this means you can now ask Siri to open the AI tool for you, just like you can with all your other favorite apps.
However, the real power here lies in the new possibilities for automating processes between ChatGPT and other apps.
While you can't tell Siri to draw on ChatGPT's AI expertise when answering questions – yet – you can program custom prompts that automate what the bot does with the info you ask it for. By using Shortcuts, you can now tell ChatGPT to automatically share or save the responses it generates to other apps – Notes or Docs, for example.
This means power users of ChatGPT won't have to manually trawl through their request history to find that one key fact they need to bring to the meeting, it'll be neatly filed away somewhere instead.
ChatGPT Release for Android Promised Soon
If there's one thing still missing from ChatGPT's push on to mobile devices, it's that the AI chatbot is currently only ready to party with Apple devices.
OpenAI has given Android users the slightly inevitable “coming soon” promise, but for now those running Google's mobile operating must use ChatGPT as a web app. It's still plenty powerful, just potentially not as convenient or slick.
OpenAI released the first version of its ChatGPT for iOS app in early May, following close on the heels of the ChatGPT Premium release in February. Here's to hoping the releases keep on coming and Android users get their wish later this summer.
