What’s the difference with iPad OS and iOS?

With the release of version 13, Apple made it clear that iOS, for iPhone and iPod touches, is diverging from iPadOS for iPads. iPads, in iPadOS, does and will include features specific for iPads that won’t be available on iPhones and iPod touches with iOS.

So iPads will only be able to get iPadOS, while iPhones will only be able to get iOS.

See -> iPadOS - Apple versus iOS 13 - Apple

I will admit it’s a bad habit to just say iOS13 for what runs on the iPad, when it is iPad OS13.

There are things the ipad can do that the phone cannot and the difference in names is likely to acknowledge the support for keyboards (attached, not just bluetooth) as well as the pencil and portable hard drives.

With each new OS update it is likely that ipads and phones/touches abilities will grow further and further apart.

Hello,

iPadOS runs on iPad devices whereas iOS runs on iPhone and iPod touch devices.

iPadOS - Apple

iOS 13 - Apple

There is nothing to worry about. The device installs what it should install. You cannot put iOS13 on an iPad, it installs iPadOS.