iPad OS 26 is Amazing!

[Alameda]

I upgraded to iPad OS 26 and plugged my iPad into my Thunderbolt dock. Holy smokes!!! I can drag windows from the iPad screen to my 4K monitor! I can resize them! I can open multiple Safari windows. I can move windows around with the mouse, like a Mac!

Sure, with the built-in screen, this stuff doesn’t make much difference, but with a keyboard, mouse and monitor, it’s a whole new ballgame. Sadly, Safari and other browsers are still limited by Apple’s iOS browser engine, but I can open a presentation in Keynote and edit it, which was barely do-able before. I’m very impressed with how much better iPad is as a desktop OS.

 

[CalMin]

Fully agree!

I just sold my M3 Air laptop, so the iPad is doing double duty for a while as an iPad and as my non-work laptop. I've only spent a couple of hours with it, but holy smokes does it feel capable when docked! I mean - email and Safari type tasks feel very MacOS desktop like when plugged into an external monitor.

That said, the more I use it, the more 'walls' I am sure I will bump into. With 16GB RAM and 2TB, my M2 iPad Pro has better specs than my MacBook, so I don't know why they just don't let it run macOS when docked. I mean, this move has made iPadOS so close to macOS that the constraints will over time lead to some frustrations.

I had an MS Surface Pro for a while, and while it kind of sucked as a tablet, Microsoft was onto something with this form factor. Imagine an iPad dock accessory that turned the iPad into a MacBook. And while they're at it, let's have a 15" iPad as well.

 

[tomtad]

Had a play on it in the store earlier today and I got a bit overwhelmed with it to be honest. One thing I couldn't do was get to the homescreen using a trackpad, you used to press the bottom bar but now that's disappeared and doesn't reappear when you mouse over it. This seems a pretty basic interaction and I was completely lost. Anyone know how you do it?

 

[RLRabb]

Had a play on it in the store earlier today and I got a bit overwhelmed with it to be honest. One thing I couldn't do was get to the homescreen using a trackpad, you used to press the bottom bar but now that's disappeared and doesn't reappear when you mouse over it. This seems a pretty basic interaction and I was completely lost. Anyone know how you do it?

Three finger upward flick on the trackpad. But you have to flick, because if you drag up slowly it simply reveals all of your current open windows. You can also press Command-H on the keyboard.

 

[says_stuff]

I upgraded to iPad OS 26 and plugged my iPad into my Thunderbolt dock. Holy smokes!!! I can drag windows from the iPad screen to my 4K monitor! I can resize them! I can open multiple Safari windows. I can move windows around with the mouse, like a Mac!

Sure, with the built-in screen, this stuff doesn’t make much difference, but with a keyboard, mouse and monitor, it’s a whole new ballgame. Sadly, Safari and other browsers are still limited by Apple’s iOS browser engine, but I can open a presentation in Keynote and edit it, which was barely do-able before. I’m very impressed with how much better iPad is as a desktop OS.

What you are describing has been around since ipados16 though? How is this different?

How To Use Your iPad With an External Monitor

For years, Apple made its iPad fanbase feel like second-class citizens as iPadOS largely felt like an afterthought. While iPadOS 15 laid the groundwork

appletoolbox.com

 

[Alameda]

What you are describing has been around since ipados16 though? How is this different?

How To Use Your iPad With an External Monitor

For years, Apple made its iPad fanbase feel like second-class citizens as iPadOS largely felt like an afterthought. While iPadOS 15 laid the groundwork

appletoolbox.com

Yes, you could use an external monitor before but window management was controlled using “Stage Manager,” which was very limiting… like “put these two app windows side by side”. Now you can just drag windows and resize them.

It has a few bugs, I think mostly because some iPad apps need specific ratios. But it generally works well. For instance, you can grab a browser window tab and drag it to create a separate window.

 

[says_stuff]

Yes, you could use an external monitor before but window management was controlled using “Stage Manager,” which was very limiting… like “put these two app windows side by side”. Now you can just drag windows and resize them.

It has a few bugs, I think mostly because some iPad apps need specific ratios. But it generally works well. For instance, you can grab a browser window tab and drag it to create a separate window.

No you can drag and resize separate windows just fine.. not sure what you mean.

 

[uacd]

I don’t currently have an iPad but maybe will get one in the future, I wonder can you turn off the iPad display or just minimize the brightness to save battery life while you are connected to external monitor? Not planning to do that much often but it is what I always use on my MacBook.

Also, does this mode work via AirPlay or it just mirrors the screen like in old days?

 

[says_stuff]

Since ipados16 the m1+ ipads could connect to “extend” to the external monitor, allowing you to use other windowed apps than what you had open in the ipad (not mirroring).

No, you still can’t turn off the ipad to save battery, a dock that lets you connect to the monitor plus charge simultaneously is a safe bet though.

 

[ITsJamie]

I don’t currently have an iPad but maybe will get one in the future, I wonder can you turn off the iPad display or just minimize the brightness to save battery life while you are connected to external monitor? Not planning to do that much often but it is what I always use on my MacBook.

Also, does this mode work via AirPlay or it just mirrors the screen like in old days?

I use an USB-C hub with HDMI port with optional power input for the charger OR you can use a smart-keyboard ($$$). The latter has a separate charge port to keep the iPad charged. I was quite happy about the update, until I found out some important apps I daily use don't support the second screen anyways. It's quite a niche and the app developers wouldn't fix or update in near future. So I gave up and use my macbook again.

To answer your initial question: well yes you could dim (not lock) the iPad screen, the dock appears on the second screen as well. Just open the apps on the external screen.