iPadOS 26: Hands-on With All the New Features

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iPadOS 26 is on the way, and all indications suggest that Apple has finally listened to user demands to bring macOS over to the iPad. This year’s update isn’t just a lick of paint or a few accessibility tweaks; it’s a full-on rethink of what the iPad can (and should) be.

We’ve now got desktop-style multitasking, actual window management, and a UI overhaul that borrows lots of the best elements from macOS. In this article, we’ll dive into all the new iPadOS 26 features whilst also giving some of our early feedback from using the Beta.

Let’s dive into what’s new, what’s improved, and why this could be the most meaningful iPad update in years.

1. New Features At A Glance

Category	Feature	Description
Design	Liquid Glass UI	A glass-like, translucent redesigned look across the system, with the option to make app icons see-through.
Multitasking	Windowed Mode	Files get smarter; Preview brings proper PDF editing and image annotation.
App Suite	Mac App Migration	Preview, Journal, Games, and Phone apps now native on iPad.
Productivity	Files and Preview Improvements	Files is more similar to macOS filing system; Preview brings proper PDF editing and image annotation.
Apple Intelligence	Live Translation, Genmoji	Real-time translations, more custom emoji generation options, and AI-powered screenshot search tools.
System Enhancements	Background Tasks, Input Picker	Export video or crunch numbers in the background; manually choose mics/cams.
Accessibility	Expanded Settings	Better motion handling, screen reading, and braille options.

2. My First Developer Beta Experience

For the first time ever, I installed the developer beta of iPadOS on my main iPad. Of all the announcements at WWDC 2025, iPadOS 26 excited me the most. I have very high hopes for iPadOS. Like many others, I’ve long wished Apple would just admit defeat and turn the iPad into macOS.

Related: iOS 26 explained!

Spoiler: they haven’t. But they’ve taken a significant step in the right direction.

My setup is the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro, which I downsized to from the bulky 13-inch version. I pair it with the Logitech Flip Folio – a brilliant little keyboard case without a trackpad. And honestly? I don’t miss the trackpad. It forces me to interact with the iPad more naturally as a touchscreen, which is how Apple clearly wants us to use it.

My take: M4 iPad Pro review

The current developer beta (23A5260n) is surprisingly stable. I know betas can implode at any moment, but this one feels reassuringly well-behaved compared to iOS 26.

3. Liquid Glass on iPad: Too Translucent

Liquid Glass is Apple’s attempt to make the iPad UI feel more alive. In short, Apple has redesigned the look of all its operating systems to imitate a sort of magnified, frosted glass texture. Things like the Safari toolbar, quick menus and video playback buttons are now all translucent.

This is complemented by an option to turn all app icons colourless and see-through, meaning everything becomes more unified and monochromatic. Everything’s more layered and transparent, with icons and toolbars that react to what’s behind them. It’s not revolutionary, but it does make the whole OS feel more modern, fresh and less like a stretched-out iPhone.

That said, it’s way too translucent in this beta. There’s a reason everyone who has used it is saying this. Windows poke through windows. Buttons clash with text. Sometimes, it feels like you’re using a third-party iOS skin from a shady theme pack. I’d put money on Apple toning down the glassiness before public release later this year.

4. Multitasking Features: The iPad Grows Up…A Bit

Gone are the days of Slide Over and Split View pretending to be multitasking features on the iPad. iPadOS 26 introduces full-on, windowed multitasking. You can move, resize, and layer app windows like you would on a Mac. There are even traffic light-style controls to close, minimise, and full-screen apps – red, amber, and green, of course.

They only appear in colour on the active window; the rest are greyed out, which is a nice touch. Annoyingly, you have to tap to activate the controls before actually using them, which feels like an unnecessary extra step.

iPad alternative? OnePlus Pad 3 review

You can now place windows wherever you want instead of only sizing to a predetermined grid – that alone is a huge improvement. But window snapping (as in macOS) is missing. No dragging a window to the left or right to make it fill half the screen. For someone used to macOS, this feels like a miss and is the main fly-in-the-ointment for iPadOS 26 at the moment. It makes multitasking feel more cumbersome and is something Apple could and should add before release.

For instance, if you place two windows side-by-side and then alt-tab to a third, full-screen app and then attempt to return to your side-by-side windows, only one reappears (the most recently active). That leaves you with a partially obscured full-screen app and only half of what you wanted to return to. Confused? Trust me – you need to try it.

Buying Guide: Read my best iPad list!

We have a menu bar now too, which made a surprise appearance for me when I swiped down from the top of the screen to access the Notification Centre. Do that, and iPadOS 26 reveals a macOS-like menu bar. Swipe down again and the familiar Notification Centre appears. It’s weird, new, and yet entirely familiar if you’re a Mac person.

Exposé also makes a welcome appearance. Flick up from the bottom, and you’ll see a tidy view of everything you’ve got running. It’s helpful, particularly since multitasking on the iPad can still feel like wading through soup with chopsticks.

And no, you can’t move two different windows around with two fingers. What would Steve Jobs say, eh?

5. Mac Apps Come to iPad

Four macOS mainstays have finally made the jump:

• Preview: PDF markup, form filling, and image editing that actually works with your Apple Pencil.
• Journal: Apple’s guided journaling app. Late to iPad, but it’s finally here.
• Games: Consolidates Apple Arcade, Game Center, and all your achievements into a single dashboard.
• Phone: Brings your iPhone’s call capabilities to your iPad, complete with automatic call screening and hold assist.

6. Apple Intelligence: Minor Updates

If you’ve got the right chip (A17 Pro or later), you get a few AI upgrades. The much-hyped Siri reboot is still missing in action until 2026, but here’s what you can actually use today:

• Live Translation: Translates your FaceTime, phone calls or chats in real-time.
• Genmoji: This already existed, but now you can create more complex Genmojis from text and combine two emojis into one.
• Image Playground: Enter a prompt, generate an image in the style of different AI platforms, including ChatGPT.
• Intelligent Shortcuts: Your iPad will now suggest automations based on your usage habits.

Related: Apple Intelligence review

7. Background Tasks and Manual Input Control

Two quality-of-life changes that make a difference:

1. Background Tasks: Export a 4K video or download big files while switching apps.
2. Input Picker: Choose your audio and video sources manually. External mics and webcams rejoice.

8. Other Bits Worth Knowing

• Accessibility: Upgrades to motion settings, screen reading, and braille support.
• Files app: Redesigned so you can find things more easily with collapsible folders, improved iCloud syncing and customisable folder colours.
• Notes: Built-in transcriptions of audio notes.
• Reminders: Automatic follow-up task suggestions based on emails or other content, grocery item suggestions and autonomous reminder categorisation.

Help: How to turn on AirDrop

9. Will I Use the iPad More?

Yes. But only because it’s my job.

I’m typing this in a coffee shop in London on my 11-inch iPad Pro with Logitech’s Flip Folio. Usually, I’d have my 14-inch MacBook Pro, but it stayed at home today. So far, so good.

Would I do this if I wasn’t reviewing tech for a living? Probably not. The iPad still struggles to justify its existence in a world where phones are ultra-capable and MacBooks are brilliantly portable. But iPadOS 26? It’s nudging me closer to using the iPad as a proper tool.

Related: M4 MacBook Pro review

Stay tuned for updates. I’ll be sharing more as I dig deeper into iPadOS 26, both here and on the YouTube channel.

10. Final Thoughts

iPadOS 26 is the update many of us have been waiting for, with some teething problems. It doesn’t turn the iPad into a Mac, but it acknowledges the elephant in the room: people want their iPads to be more. More flexible, more capable, more computer-like.

We get some of that, but it’s not perfect. The multitasking is a good start, but there are obvious barriers that need to be eliminated to smooth out the experience. And Apple Intelligence remains a distraction more than anything else. But this is a meaningful update that is the most significant to come out of WWDC 2025.