When Apple unveiled the M4 iPad Pro last year, many called for macOS-style flexibility to fully harness its power. It looks like Apple took the feedback to heart at WWDC, they introduced iPadOS 26 with upgraded multitasking features to match the device’s capabilities.
iPadOS 26 debuts with Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” design, introducing a sleek translucent effect across the entire interface. You’ll see it in buttons, menus, the dock, icons, Control Center, the lock screen, and even within apps. This fresh, transparent aesthetic gives the OS a more polished and contemporary feel.
Beyond the visual overhaul, the standout feature in iPadOS 26 is the all-new windowing system. Borrowing directly from macOS, it now lets you resize app windows and move them freely around the screen. You’ll also notice the familiar red, yellow, and green window controls in the top-left corner of each window.
Apps you resize will now remember their size and position the next time you open them. The new windowing system also integrates smoothly with Stage Manager, making multitasking even more fluid. Just like on macOS, you can swipe down from the top of an app to access menu options and Apple is giving developers the tools to create custom menus for their own iPad apps as well.
Apple has brought the Preview app to iPadOS 26, letting you quickly sketch, edit, or mark up PDFs and images using the Apple Pencil. The Files app also gets some useful upgrades you can now view documents in resizable columns for better organization and set default apps for specific file types. Plus, if there’s a folder you use often, you can drag it straight to the dock for easy access.
Other notable updates include the introduction of the new Apple Games app, the option to choose different microphones for individual apps, and a new Apple Intelligence feature. The Calculator app now supports 3D graphing in Math Notes, and a new Accessibility Reader mode offers a system-wide reading experience designed for users who are blind.
iPadOS 26 will be available for a wide range of devices, including the iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and newer), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and newer), iPad Air (M2 and newer), iPad Air (3rd generation and newer), iPad (A16), iPad (8th generation and newer), iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad mini (5th generation and newer). However, Apple Intelligence features will be limited to the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip and iPads powered by M-series chips.
