A last-minute leak ahead of Apple's WWDC 2021 has Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claiming that iPadOS 15 will bring some major changes.

Gurman, who is known for his accurate leaks, reports that iPadOS 15 will feature a redesigned notification banner and adjustments to how multiple open apps are managed.

One of the most frequently requested features on the iPad is the ability to place widgets anywhere on the home screen alongside rows of icons. According to Garman, this was finally announced this week and will allow "dynamic pieces of information" to be placed "anywhere on the screen."

It is the latter part that is important. Widgets are already available on the iPadOS, but in the area to the side of the screen. Oddly enough, the ability to place widgets anywhere is a feature of iOS 14 and later, but has so far not been added to the iPad, where the extra screen space would undoubtedly be more useful.

This is something Garman has been predicting for some time, and the fact that he mentions it again on the eve of the conference makes me very confident that widgets could indeed be quite flexible on the iPad later this year.

This added customization appears to be coming at the same time as changes to make the iPad more laptop-like, with Garman suggesting that the company will introduce "an improved multitasking system to make it easier to operate multiple apps at once."

However, anyone expecting this to signal a major change to the lock screen will likely be disappointed. The report claims that a "revamped lock screen" for both the iPhone and iPad is on Apple's radar, but apparently "some" of the planned improvements have been deferred to next year's release, so the changes you'll see this time may likely be on the modest side.

Otherwise, this article reinforces what we have heard elsewhere. Given that the Twitter hashtag for the event includes the iMessage thumbs-up logo, it is hardly surprising. Specifically, the company says that users will be able to set statuses such as "driving," "sleeping," or "at work" and have notifications delivered accordingly. The look of the incoming notification banner will also be redesigned to "place more emphasis on auto-responding to messages."

Other than iOS and iPadOS (the two operating systems share so much DNA and are usually developed in parallel), the updates are not that significant, and macOS, tvOS, and watchOS will only be minor changes. Nevertheless, for the Apple Watch, improvements to health tracking will reportedly be included, which may give some clues as to the direction of the Apple Watch Series 7.

Apple's next wearable, which may ultimately be a 2022 model, has long been rumored to incorporate blood sugar tracking.

WWDC kicks off tomorrow, and you can watch the keynote at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm BST. As usual, there will be live streaming, and you can find out how to watch WWDC 2021 here.