Microsoft Whiteboard for iPhone and iPad gets first new batch of features since launch

Microsoft today rolled out the first major update to its Whiteboard collaboration app for iPhone and iPad since its initial launch in September. Several new features are coming along for the ride in this update, bringing a hand-drawn effect for recognized shapes, an Accessibility Checker to make sure your whiteboard is easy to read for everyone, and the ability to lock images to the background.

Here's the rundown of all of what's new:

  • Lock any image to the whiteboard background and never worry about accidentally erasing, moving or having to recreate template-like content again.
  • Make sure your whiteboard is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit with a new Accessibility Checker.
  • Access improved sticky note editing experience. Just double tap to add text & let your ideas flow fast.
  • Your recognized shapes and tables now have a hand-drawn effect applied to them to help you impress your peers with your penmanship.
  • When opening a whiteboard, we now show you a fancy loading animation to help pass the time (and so you don't sit wondering if anything is happening).
  • A sprinkling of usability, performance and bug fixes to make your whiteboarding experience a bit more polished.

Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital collaboration tool built to support brainstorming sessions for individuals and teams. You can either ink with or type with a keyboard to jot down and flesh out ideas, and images can be easily added to each board. Extra smarts, such as shape recognition and the ability to automatically recognize and format a table, are tagging along here as well.

Whiteboard is available for free on the App Store and for Windows 10, as well as on the web on the web in preview for commercial users. In either case, you'll have to have a Microsoft Account or Office 365 account to get started.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl