iPadOS 26 is a big update for your iPad. It makes your iPad even more like a computer. This new version helps you do more work. It also makes your iPad easier to use. Let’s look at some cool new features. We will also learn how to use them well.
A Fresh New Look: Liquid Glass
The first thing you will notice is the new look. Apple calls it “Liquid Glass.” It makes everything on your screen look beautiful. Icons are updated. Menus are clear and shiny. It adds life to what you see. It also makes things feel more alive when you touch them.
The Lock Screen is new too. The time on the Lock Screen changes with your photo. It moves around to keep your picture clear. When you move your iPad, your photo shows a cool 3D effect. This makes your iPad feel more personal.
You can pick new looks for app icons. You can choose light or dark. There are also new colored tints. You can even choose a clear look. This lets you make your iPad truly yours.
Powerful Multitasking: Work Smarter, Not Harder
iPadOS 26 changes how you use many apps at once. It’s now more like a Mac computer. You can open many app windows. You can move them around. You can also change their size. This helps you work on many things at the same time.
Windowing System:
The old ways of multitasking, like Split View and Slide Over, are gone. Now, you have a new windowing system. You can open up to 12 app windows. This is much more than before.
- Resizing Windows: You can drag the corners of an app window to make it bigger or smaller. Apps change their layout to fit the new size. For example, the Settings app will look like an iPhone when it’s small.
- Arranging Windows: You can arrange windows with a quick flick. Just drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen. You can even split your iPad screen into thirds or quarters. This helps you see many apps clearly.
- Window Controls: Apps now have “traffic light” buttons. These are red, yellow, and green. They are like on a Mac. The red button closes an app. The yellow button makes it small. The green button makes it full screen. You can also hover over the green button to snap windows into different layouts. You can do side-by-side or even a quad view. This works on all iPads that run iPadOS 26.
- Minimizing Apps: Click the yellow traffic light button to send an app to the Dock. Tap it in the Dock to bring it back to its size and place. This saves time when you switch tasks.
- Exposé: This is a cool way to see all your open apps. Swipe up and hold on the screen. Or, if you have a trackpad, swipe up with four fingers. You will see all your windows spread out. Then, tap on the app you want to use. This makes finding the right window easy.
- Menu Bar: Now, you can swipe down from the top of an app to see a menu bar. It’s like on a Mac. It has options like “File,” “Edit,” and “View.” In Safari, you can quickly get to bookmarks or history from here.
Folders in the Dock:
You can now put folders right into your Dock. This is a big help for getting to your files fast. Just long-press a folder in the Files app. Then, choose “Add to Dock.” When you tap the folder in the Dock, its contents will fan out. This is just like on macOS.
Background Tasks:
Your iPad can now do big tasks in the background. If you are downloading a large file, you can still use your iPad for other things. You will see a Live Activity to check the download’s progress. This means your iPad is even better at juggling many jobs.
Supercharging the Files App
The Files app has gotten much better. It helps you find and organize your files faster.
- New Folder Colours and Customization: You can now change folder colours. You can also add emojis or icons to folders. This makes your important folders stand out.
- Updated List View: The Files app has a new list view. You can change the size of columns. You can also fold and unfold folders to see what’s inside. This is a lot like the Mac’s Files app.
- Set Default Apps: You can choose which app opens certain file types. For example, you can set PDF files to always open in the Preview app. To do this, long-press a file in Files. Then, select “Open With.” Choose your preferred app.
Introducing the Preview App:
The Preview app is new to the iPad. It is a very useful app for PDFs and images. You can open them. You can edit them. You can also mark them up. It works very well with Apple Pencil. You can draw, sign documents, or highlight text. You can also convert files to JPEG, PNG, or PDF.
Apple Intelligence: Smarter Than Ever
Apple Intelligence is built into iPadOS 26. It makes your iPad much smarter.
- Live Translation: This feature helps you talk across different languages. It translates texts in Messages. It shows live translated words in FaceTime. It also gives you spoken translations for calls in the Phone app. This works directly on your iPad. So, your personal talks stay private.
- Smarter Reminders: Reminders can now suggest tasks for you. It can suggest grocery items. It can even suggest things to follow up on. It does this based on your emails, websites, or other things on your iPad. It can also put related reminders into groups.
- Intelligent Actions in Shortcuts: Shortcuts can now do more. They can summarize text. They can create images. They can even use Apple Intelligence models to give you answers. This makes your shortcuts more powerful.
- Express Yourself with Images: You can now mix emojis and words to make new images. This is called Image Playground. You can find more styles in Image Playground. You can also have more control when making images that look like your family and friends. This uses Genmoji and Image Playground.
- Call Screening: The Phone app is now on iPad. It has features like Call Screening. This helps you avoid unwanted calls. It collects information from the caller. Then, it gives you details. You can decide if you want to answer or not.
- Hold Assist: If you are on hold, Hold Assist will tell you when a real person is available. This saves your time.
Staying Connected and Organized
iPadOS 26 has many small changes that help you stay connected and organized.
- Phone App on iPad: You can now make and take calls directly on your iPad. It has all the familiar features from the iPhone.
- Messages Improvements:
- Screen New Senders: You can approve numbers you don’t know. New tools detect spam. You control who appears in your chat list.
- Conversation Backgrounds: You can add a background to any chat. Choose from many options. Or use your own photos. This makes your chats more personal.
- Contact Posters: When someone calls you on Phone or FaceTime, their contact poster looks great on your iPad screen.
- Polls in Messages: You can create polls in group chats. Everyone can add options and see votes. Apple Intelligence can even suggest a poll when it thinks one would be useful.
- Journal App on iPad: The Journal app is now on iPad. You can write entries with your Apple Pencil. You can create different journals for different topics. For example, one for travel and one for work. You can also add images to your entries. A map view shows entries based on their location.
- Notes App Enhancements: The Notes app has a refined look. It has advanced formatting options. It also has a better share sheet. It integrates better with Safari. You can create snippets from Safari right into Notes.
- Photos App Customization: You can remove, reorder, and pin photo collections. This helps you organize them how you like. You can hide collections you don’t want to see. You can also choose to hide featured content and memories.
Gaming on iPadOS 26
Gaming on iPad gets its own special place with iPadOS 26.
- Dedicated Games App: There’s a new “Games” app. It’s a central spot for all your games. You can see all the games you have installed. You can also see all the games you have ever downloaded.
- Home Tab: The Home tab shows new games. It also shows games you were recently playing.
- Play with Friends: The app shows what your Game Center friends are playing. You can challenge them to games. You can also compare high scores.
- Apple Arcade: If you have Apple Arcade, you can find and play all your games here.
- Library: This tab lists every game you have downloaded. You can sort them by name or when you last played. You can also filter to see only installed games, games that work with controllers, or Apple Arcade titles.
- Controller Support: The Games app works well with game controllers. This is good news for serious gamers.
Enhanced Safari and Privacy
Safari in iPadOS 26 also gets some important updates.
- Liquid Glass Design: Safari has the same Liquid Glass look. The address bar, tab view, and buttons look clearer and more modern.
- Compact Tab Bar: The tab bar is smaller. It takes up less space. When you scroll down, it shrinks even more. This lets you focus on the website.
- Web Apps: When you add a website to your Home Screen, it will always open as a web app. This makes websites feel more like regular apps. You can turn this off if you want.
- Advanced Tracking Prevention: Safari now has better protection against tracking. It stops websites from following you across different sites. This helps keep your online activity private.
- HDR Image Support: Safari can now show HDR images. These images have brighter whites and deeper blacks. They also have better colors.
- Digital Credentials API: Safari now supports a new way to share identity documents. You can use your Apple Wallet to share things like a driver’s license. This is private and secure. It uses Face ID or Touch ID.
Tips for Better Battery Life
Even with all these new features, you want your iPad battery to last. Here are some tips:
- Dim the Screen: A brighter screen uses more power. Open Control Center and lower the brightness.
- Auto-Brightness: Turn on Auto-Brightness. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size. This makes your screen adjust to the light around you. It saves battery.
- Use Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi uses less power than cellular data. Keep Wi-Fi on when you can.
- Low Power Mode: Turn on Low Power Mode when your battery is low. It makes your screen dimmer. It also slows down some background tasks. This helps your battery last longer.
- Location Services: Some apps use your location all the time. Turn off Location Services for apps that don’t need it. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
- Background App Refresh: Many apps refresh in the background. This uses battery. Turn off Background App Refresh for apps you don’t need to update constantly. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
Making iPadOS 26 Your Own: Customization
iPadOS 26 gives you many ways to make your iPad feel unique.
- Lock Screen: We already talked about the new Lock Screen. You can customize the time and your photo.
- Home Screen Widgets: Add, edit, and remove widgets on your Home Screen. You can move apps and widgets around.
- Control Center: Change what shortcuts appear in Control Center. You can quickly access settings you use often.
- Text Size and Zoom: Adjust the text size to make it easier to read. You can also zoom in on the screen.
- Default Apps: Choose your preferred apps for certain tasks. For example, set a different web browser as your default if you don’t want to use Safari.
- Keyboard Feedback: iPadOS 26 brings back key preview functionality. This shows you a small popup of the letter you are typing. It can help with typing accuracy. You can turn it on in Settings.
Accessibility Features
Apple continues to make iPadOS more accessible for everyone.
- Accessibility Reader: This new feature provides a customized reading experience across the system. It helps make text easier to read.
- Braille Access: There’s a new interface for iPads that connects to braille displays.
- Live Captions: Get real-time text of spoken audio. This works for apps or live conversations.
- Sound Recognition: Your iPad can recognize certain sounds. For example, it can tell you if a fire alarm is going off.
- Custom Voice: You can create a voice that sounds like you. Then, you can have your typed words spoken out loud.
- Vehicle Motion Cues: This feature helps reduce motion sickness. It uses visual cues on the screen to match the vehicle’s movement.
iPadOS 26 is a big leap forward. It makes the iPad more powerful and flexible. It brings many Mac-like features. It also keeps the simple touch-first experience. By using these tips and tricks, you can truly master your iPad and make it work perfectly for you.
FAQs about iPadOS 26
1. What is the biggest new change in iPadOS 26?
The biggest new change is the redesigned windowing system. It lets you open and manage many app windows at once, just like a computer.
2. Can I still use Split View and Slide Over in iPadOS 26?
No, Split View and Slide Over are replaced by the new windowing system. This new system offers more flexible ways to multitask.
3. What is “Liquid Glass” design?
Liquid Glass is the new visual look of iPadOS 26. It makes app icons and menus look more clear, shiny, and alive with transparency effects.
4. How does Apple Intelligence help me on my iPad?
Apple Intelligence makes your iPad smarter. It helps with things like translating languages, suggesting reminders, and creating images from your words.
5. Is the Files app better in iPadOS 26?
Yes, the Files app is much better. You can now use new folder colours, customize folders, and easily drag folders to the Dock for quick access.
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