Like iOS 26, iPadOS 26 adopts Apple’s new Liquid Glass materials, for an interface that is shiny, shiny, and extra clear than earlier than. However Liquid Glass is not the most important change that Apple made to the iPad‘s software program. Multitasking obtained a a lot wanted revamp that permits you to use an iPad like a Mac, if that is what you wish to do.
In iPadOS 26, iPad home windows work like Mac home windows. You may open up a number of app home windows, transfer them round on the show, and layer them over each other if you need. You may primarily put them anyplace you need.
Some older iPads are restricted to 4 open app home windows at a time, however you probably have a more recent mannequin, you may have extra apps open and operating at one time, swapping between them with a faucet. Each iPad that is capable of run iPadOS 26 can use the brand new multitasking options in some capability.
The up to date windowing is opt-in, so while you set up iPadOS 26, you may resolve whether or not you wish to use apps in full display screen or use multitasking. It is nice that individuals who wish to use an iPad like a Mac lastly have that possibility, and the window system is a a lot better resolution than the Slide Over and Cut up View multitasking.
When you activate windowing after which wish to flip it off later, you may simply swipe down into Management Heart and hit the brand new toggle.
Talking of Slide Over and Cut up View, these are gone. Stage Supervisor continues to be round, so should you use that in your iPad workflow for grouping up completely different apps and altering workspaces, it is nonetheless obtainable to you.
Resizing home windows in iPadOS 26 is straightforward. There is a small “deal with” on the backside proper nook of each window, and should you faucet it and drag, you may change the scale of the open window. You may open further apps from the dock or by tapping over to the House Display.
To maneuver an open app window, drag it from the menu bar on the prime. That is additionally new, by the best way. Apps on the iPad have Mac-like menu bars the place you may discover related in-app choices, although bear in mind third-party builders have to replace their apps to make the most of this performance. You may shut an app, decrease an app, or make an app full display screen utilizing the “visitors mild” buttons on the prime left of every iPad window, that are borrowed straight from the Mac.
When you lengthy press on these buttons, you may see a number of choices for shifting, resizing, and arranging your open home windows. You may transfer an app to the highest, backside, left, or proper of the show, or select one of many tiling choices for displaying as much as 4 apps in a neat association.
The dock options an App Library to make it straightforward to get to all the apps you’ve gotten put in in your iPad. When you swipe up from the underside of the iPad’s show, your open home windows are swept to the perimeters in a brand new Exposé view so you may get a transparent view of every thing that is open.
So as to add yet another Mac-like contact, Apple turned the iPad’s cursor into an arrow. So should you’re utilizing a peripheral just like the Magic Keyboard’s trackpad, the cursor now seems to be prefer it does on the Mac.
When you do not wish to use any of those multitasking options and like iPad apps to be full display screen, you may simply maintain utilizing the iPad in the identical method you all the time have.
There are another good options which are value mentioning in iPadOS 26 past the multitasking.
- Recordsdata – There is a Mac-style listing view for the iPad information app, so that you need not view every thing in a tiled view like earlier than. Columns are resizable, and folders may be personalized with colours and emoji. It is a good change should you use the Recordsdata app repeatedly, however the very best half for energy customers could be the possibility to decide on a default app for a selected file sort.
- Background Duties – When you obtain a big file, export a big video file, or do one thing comparable that is going to take a very long time, now you can run these duties within the background. For exporting an FCP video, for instance, you can begin the method, open up one other app, and see progress by way of a Reside Exercise interface.
- Cellphone app – iPadOS 26 brings the Cellphone app to the iPad, and it really works by way of Wi-Fi calling on an iPhone related along with your Apple Account. That is possible of restricted use for lots of people, however it’s helpful to have the choice to put a name from the iPad. Instruments like Name Screening, Reside Translation, and Maintain Help work on the iPad.
There are different helpful and/or enjoyable options on the iPad which are new in iPadOS 26, however nearly every thing else can be in iOS 26 and obtainable on the iPhone. We did an iOS 26 assessment that discusses new options in Messages, Apple Music, Images, Digicam, and extra.
Availability
iPadOS 26 is on the market to builders, and as of this week, public beta testers. It got here out on Thursday, and all it’s essential to do to get it’s enroll on Apple’s beta testing web site.
Ought to You Replace?
iPadOS 26 is pretty steady, so updating needs to be secure. You are going to wish to make a backup earlier than you improve, simply in case it’s essential to return to iOS 18.
If the iPad is a tool that you just use for work or anything that is essential, you may wish to maintain off. This can be a beta, and whereas the software program runs nicely, betas can have bugs that might not be addressed instantly.
Learn Extra
We have now extra on all the options which are in iPadOS 26 in our devoted iPadOS 26 roundup.
