iPadOS 14 may include Apple's new widget feature, but currently, widgets cannot be used outside of the existing Today view in landscape mode.

This was discovered by MacRumors, who is playing with a beta version of the newly released iPadOS. The fact that it is still in beta may mean that this is not representative of the final product, at least not at this time.

On the iPad, not only are widgets limited to landscape view, but they only work on the first page of the homescreen; swipe to the second page and the widgets disappear; turn the iPad to portrait and the widgets disappear as well, leaving you with the same grid of apps you have seen since you opened the tablet The same grid of apps remains as it was when the tablet was opened.

Yet the Smart Stack remains, and the iPadOS will move widgets around depending on what widgets you want to access at a given moment. These widgets are resizable and can be grouped into different groups for different tasks. Consistent access to widgets from the homescreen would no doubt be very useful.

The iPadOS 14 beta introduces new features beyond widgets. These include improvements more shared with standard iOS 14, such as Apple Pencil handwriting recognition with Scribble, unobtrusive notifications for voice and video calls, options to change default email and browser apps, and dictation on the device.

WWDC is still going on in its new online format, and since downloading the beta, people are discovering more small improvements in Apple's software; be sure to check Tom'sGuide regularly to stay more informed.