- iPadOS 26 introduces a new Liquid Glass design with a translucent effect and improved windowing system.
- Users can now resize any window and open the menu bar for any app, similar to macOS, on the iPad.
- The update brings new Apple Intelligence capabilities, the Preview and Journal app, and improvements to the Files app.
When Apple announced the M4 iPad Pro last year, everyone asked Apple to bring a macOS-like versatility to take advantage of the powerful chipset. Well, it seems like the Cupertino giant listened, as they have announced iPadOS 26 at WWDC with new multitasking capabilities.
The new iPadOS 26 debuts with Apple’s “Liquid Glass” redesign, bringing a translucent effect visible in all UI elements. Like buttons, menus, dock, icons, control center, lockscreen, and within the apps themselves. The new, clear look is elegant, adding a more refined and modern touch to the OS.
Apart from the upgraded visuals, the biggest highlight in iPadOS 26 is the new windowing system. Taking cues right from macOS, you can now resize app windows and place them anywhere you like. You will also see the familiar red, yellow, and green windowing buttons at the top left of every window.
Resized apps will remember their size and position when opened again. And this new windowing system also plays well with Stage Manager. You can swipe down from the top to bring up menu options available for an app, like macOS. Apple is also opening up this feature so developers can create menus for their own apps on iPad.
Apple has also made the Preview app part of iPadOS 26. So you can now jot down a quick sketch, edit, or mark PDFs and images with Apple Pencil. The Files app also received some improvements. It now lets you see a detailed view of documents in resizable columns and set default apps for different file types. You can even drag a folder from the Files app to the dock if you use it frequently.
Other changes include the addition of a new Apple Games app, the ability to select different microphones for separate apps, a new Apple Intelligence feature, a 3D graphing feature in Math Notes in the Calculator app, and Accessibility Reader mode, which is a system-wide reader mode for those who are blind.
Now iPadOS 26 is going to be available for iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Air (M2 and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (A16), iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad mini (5th generation and later). However, the Apple Intelligence features are only coming to iPad mini (A17 Pro) and M-series iPads.
