With iPadOS 26, Apple’s iPad is about to get a lot more useful

iPadOS 26 takes a huge leap forward and pushes the unique capabilities and versatility of iPad even further.
Apple on Monday previewed iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release ever, taking a huge leap forward and pushing the unique capabilities and versatility of iPad even further. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad, making the experience even more expressive and delightful. While maintaining the simplicity of iPad, iPadOS 26 introduces an entirely new powerful and intuitive windowing system with new features that help users control, organize, and switch between apps. Apple Intelligence becomes even more capable and integrated across iPadOS 26, with new features that help users communicate, express themselves, and get things done, including Live Translation, new ways to create with Genmoji and Image Playground,1 and intelligent actions with Shortcuts. The supercharged Files app offers new ways to organize files and customize folders. And with Folders in the dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. The Preview app comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app to view and edit PDFs, with powerful features like Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill built in. And with Background Tasks, audio input selection, and Local capture, iPadOS 26 unlocks new capabilities for creative pros working with audio and video.
Daniel Howley for Yahoo Finance:
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It’s an enormous departure from Apple’s previous strategy, which saw the company hold off on adding too many multitasking features to its iPad line out of fear of cannibalizing its MacBook Air.
The updates include the ability to use windowed versions of apps that you can move and resize just as you would on a Mac… Apple also added a new menu bar at the top of the iPad’s screen where you can access options like app-specific commands, similar to the Mac.
The sweeping changes are all part of Apple’s iPadOS 26, which includes the company’s new Liquid Glass design language…
Apple’s iPad segment is its smallest business, bringing in $26.6 billion of the company’s $391 billion in total revenue in 2024, down 6% year over year. The iPhone brought in $201.1 billion, while the Mac generated $29.9 billion. The software update, however, could give consumers a bigger reason to choose an iPad over a MacBook Air, helping to goose sales.
Still, the move isn’t exactly a death knell for the Air. A full-size laptop still offers more performance and flexibility than a tablet. And customers looking for more powerful systems will continue to opt for the MacBook Pro.

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MacDailyNews Take: One thing is for sure: iPadOS 26 is going to sell more iPad hardware.

iPadOS 26 finally delivers a Mac-like windowing system and menu bar to iPad
MacDailyNews Take: We really wonder if Apple held windowing and a menu bar from iPad for a year like this when they’re light on new stuff at a WWDC. This could have been done years ago. Regardless, it’s…
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) June 9, 2025

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