iPadOS 26 is an Absolute Mess

[GhostPepper]

Whatever argument I make... you already made your mind up

And I've been an iPad user since the 2nd generation (2011)... haven't wavered since.

I’ve read your posts in the forum. It seems whatever argument anyone makes, you already have your mind made up because they have your unwavering support.

And unfortunately Apple decided it was time to move on from the limitation surrounding pre-existing multitasking... I don't understand how people refuse to except that side of it.

Did you mean accept?

Respectfully, from reading your posts, it would seem like Apple, in your opinion, is incapable of bad UI design/choices.

iPadOS had “limited pre existing multitasking” because originally it didn’t have mouse controls and it was built entirely around touch controls. The touch controls is what “limited” it. It also had a home button which was a simple and clever button that was easy for anyone to use. Now that’s no longer the case, and iPadOS 26 is a shift towards the UI being more efficient (less steps) by using a mouse.

Which I don’t have a problem with! I don’t mind iPadOS having better mouse controls. It needed to improve. But make all of that entirely optional and don’t remove features, especially for iPad and iPad mini owners. I can’t think of any good reason that there isn’t a “Classic iPadOS” option in the multitasking section.

 

[Nikhil72]

Yeah, there's just no convincing me, an iPad Mini user, that a fully windowed environment is a good design decision for a roughly 8" screen operated by touch.

Maybe this stuff should be gated differently depending upon "mode"? (touch vs kb/pointer)

I'm just venting out loud.

Modern Apple DGAF about any usability or user desires anymore.
This whole thing is just a financial engineering operation at this point.

Tim has fully "Cooked" it.

I find it quite amazing that I can multitask easily via touch on my iPad mini while on the go.

I find it interesting people lambast Apple for not adding multitasking to iPhones. Or that the eventual folding phone will multitask. Yet the 8” iPad mini is too small for multitasking?

Again, simultaneous windows fully open? Nah. Overlapping quickly tappable ones? Pretty great.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I find it interesting people lambast Apple for not adding multitasking to iPhones.

Who on Earth is asking for windowed multi-tasking on their iPhone?

Very important to always mention windowed multi-tasking.
We already have multi-tasking on all devices and have for years and years.

The windowed part is what's new here.

 

[Ludatyk]

I’ve read your posts in the forum. It seems whatever argument anyone makes, you already have your mind made up because they have your unwavering support.

Not necessarily. Because I am in agreement that SplitView takes more steps in this new multitasking system... I hope Apple comes up with a better system in place to help those users who favor the former way to do SplitView. You take it as I think Apple can do no wrong... I've criticized them in the past for various decision.

PadOS had “limited pre existing multitasking” because originally it didn’t have mouse controls and it was built entirely around touch controls. The touch controls is what “limited” it. Now that’s no longer the case, and iPadOS 26 is a shift towards the UI being more efficient (less steps) by using a mouse.

The limitation surrounding pre-existing multitasking stem for the fact you are restricted to two windows and the 3rd window (SlideOver) was overlayed impacted the view of the windows.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Y'all that like playing around with all these windows, with your finger, on iPad, go for it I guess.

Can we just have some "Classic iPadOS" options to have the iOS18 and older ways still?

Some of us still have iPads for the more traditional and simple experience and have ZERO interest in trying to do full desktop OS stuff on there.

 

[TigerMSTR]

Y'all that like playing around with all these windows, with your finger, on iPad, go for it I guess.

Can we just have some "Classic iPadOS" options to have the iOS18 and older ways still?

Some of us still have iPads for the more traditional and simple experience and have ZERO interest in trying to do full desktop OS stuff on there.

In iPadOS 26 I’m doing the exact same things I was doing in OS 18. Only difference is I’m wasting a lot of time fiddling with windows.

 

[turbineseaplane]

In iPadOS 26 I’m doing the exact same things I was doing in OS 18. Only difference is I’m wasting a lot of time fiddling with windows.

Right -- that's kinda what I don't wanna do -lol 😂

 

[GhostPepper]

The limitation surrounding pre-existing multitasking stem for the fact you are restricted to two windows and the 3rd window (SlideOver) was overlayed impacted the view of the windows.

Which stems from the fact that there weren’t mouse controls.

The hardware was capable of a Windowed UI for years before Stage Manager released. 8th generation iPads can run iPadOS 26, those came out in 2020. Stage Manager didn’t come out until 2022, and at the time we were led to believe that only the iPad Pro line was capable of it…

iPadOS 26 windowed UI (with the traffic lights, File menu bar, downloads folder in the dock, etc) is a progression towards MacOS, which is a mouse only platform. This was a UI design choice, not a matter of whether or not the iPad was capable of handling it.

 

[GDF]

What's so maddening about all of this is that there are many folks (myself included) who specifially like the iPad for how simple and straightforward it always was.

Jamming in all this added complexity just continues to move it in the wrong direction.

Apple is too captured by the hyper vocal audience segment trying to do Mac things with iPad hardware.

I wish they'd split out iPadOSPro for iPadPro devices to do all this "sort of like a Mac, but not" iPad stuff and leave the OG iPad experience many of us love so much ... alone.

I agree with you. They took things that were so easy to use in iOS 18 and made them much more difficult in iOS 26 so far. Nothing to me makes sense in iOS 26 and definitely a step backwards. Very frustrating. It does not need to be this complicated, as was so easy before. It takes multiple steps to do what were single steps before, that I could do in seconds.

 

[achappy]

It’s amazing to me somehow touching and holding the traffic lights for about half a second and selecting the half screen “Fill and Layout” option, which will automatically put apps in split screen without having to select or even touch the second app, is somehow “extremely complex” and so much harder than before. No keyboard or mouse needed. It’s ridiculously simple.

And if you want to flip the apps, just press and hold the right window and select the same Fill and Arrange Option and they will flip and still be split screen. That’s the problem with these so called “quick take” videos. The person doesn’t even bother to learn the OS and what’s possible.

 

[Nikhil72]

It’s amazing to me somehow touching and holding the traffic lights for about half a second and selecting the half screen “Fill and Layout” option, which will automatically put apps in split screen without having to select or even touch the second app, is somehow “extremely complex” and so much harder than before. No keyboard or mouse needed. It’s ridiculously simple.

And if you want to flip the apps, just press and hold the right window and select the same Fill and Layout Option and they will flip and still be split screen. That’s the problem with these so called “quick take” videos. The person doesn’t even bother to learn the OS and what’s possible.

That’s what so many of these complaints here sound like to me. “They ruined it” = “I’m unwilling to learn a new paradigm even if it’s qualitatively better or finessed”

 

[Ludatyk]

Which stems from the fact that there weren’t mouse controls.

I'm confused. What does mouse control have to do with pre-existing multitasking limitations? I could do pre-existing multitasking with mouse input.

iPadOS 26 windowed UI (with the traffic lights, File menu bar, downloads folder in the dock, etc) is a progression towards MacOS, which is a mouse only platform. This was a UI design choice, not a matter of whether or not the iPad was capable of handling it.

Not necessarily a progression towards macOS... more so just influenced by it. And can you blame Apple, every criticism levied at the iPad is in comparison to the Mac. How limited it is when comes to multitasking, file management and background tasks restrictions.

As an iPad user, we always strived to do more with it and iPadOS 26 gives us that ability... and I think Apple is aware there is this balance they have to keep... for iPad users who prefer the traditional way of things. That's why they kept full screen mode and everything is not set in stone... it's always going to be improvements.

 

[turbineseaplane]

@achappy & @Nikhil72

For people that don't want it to become more complex, or take any more steps or time to do things ... it's just flat out a downgrade.

And this is at the expense of what we already have and use (things like slideover).

Can you just for a moment consider that for folks who love the simple and more original single tasking of the iPad, but maybe occasionally with a flair of multitask (a quick slideover for instance), this is all more cumbersome and going in a direction that is not why we like iPads.

Rather that attacking folks and calling them "complainers" or "unwilling to learn"...

Can you just take a second to realize that this is all going in a direction that isn't wanted by some of us.

We are not using iPads to try to have an "almost Mac" experience.

 

[achappy]

@achappy & @Nikhil72

For people that don't want it to become more complex, or take any more steps or time to do things ... it's just flat out a downgrade.

And this is at the expense of what we already have and use (things like slideover).

Can you just for a moment consider that for folks who love the simple and more original single tasking of the iPad, but maybe occasionally with a flair of multitask (a quick slideover for instance), this is all more cumbersome and going in a direction that is not why we like iPads.

Rather that attacking folks and calling them "complainers" or "unwilling to learn"...

Can you just take a second to realize that this is all going in a direction that isn't wanted by some of us.

We are not using iPads to try to have an "almost Mac" experience.

My contention is that you can absolutely still do that with 26. Having more options doesn’t necessary make it more complex. In Windowed mode, you can still use full screen apps as before and if you have an app or two that you use to have in slide over can now just be floating windows. instead of swiping from the right you simply swipe up and select the app. I just don’t see how that flow is more complex, slower or harder than Slide Over. It’s just different. But the rest of the time it can be full screen as before. You get to choose.

But if you choose to do more, 26 gives you so much flexibility and liking that flexibility and the productivity it adds doesn’t somehow make me want an almost Mac experience. To me, it’s just an enhanced iPad experience.

 

[TigerMSTR]

It’s amazing to me somehow touching and holding the traffic lights for about half a second and selecting the half screen “Fill and Layout” option, which will automatically put apps in split screen without having to select or even touch the second app, is somehow “extremely complex” and so much harder than before. No keyboard or mouse needed. It’s ridiculously simple.

And if you want to flip the apps, just press and hold the right window and select the same Fill and Layout Option and they will flip and still be split screen. That’s the problem with these so called “quick take” videos. The person doesn’t even bother to learn the OS and what’s possible.

That’s what so many of these complaints here sound like to me. “They ruined it” = “I’m unwilling to learn a new paradigm even if it’s qualitatively better or finessed”

It’s not unwillingness to learn. It’s that the new design is objectively slower than what we had before, taking more steps, etc…

 

[GDF]

It’s amazing to me somehow touching and holding the traffic lights for about half a second and selecting the half screen “Fill and Layout” option, which will automatically put apps in split screen without having to select or even touch the second app, is somehow “extremely complex” and so much harder than before. No keyboard or mouse needed. It’s ridiculously simple.

And if you want to flip the apps, just press and hold the right window and select the same Fill and Layout Option and they will flip and still be split screen. That’s the problem with these so called “quick take” videos. The person doesn’t even bother to learn the OS and what’s possible.

How is it easier? I guess I am just dumb. When I do what you say to do, the one app that I am in goes 1/2 screen (perfect), but when I open a second app it does not automatically fill in to the other side of the screen like SplitView did, unless I drag it to make it take up 1/2 the screen. Previously, it just did it.

Hopefully, I am just missing something and not getting it. Should not be this complex though.

 

[TigerMSTR]

It’s amazing to me somehow touching and holding the traffic lights for about half a second and selecting the half screen “Fill and Layout” option, which will automatically put apps in split screen without having to select or even touch the second app, is somehow “extremely complex” and so much harder than before. No keyboard or mouse needed. It’s ridiculously simple.

And if you want to flip the apps, just press and hold the right window and select the same Fill and Layout Option and they will flip and still be split screen. That’s the problem with these so called “quick take” videos. The person doesn’t even bother to learn the OS and what’s possible.

That’s what so many of these complaints here sound like to me. “They ruined it” = “I’m unwilling to learn a new paradigm even if it’s qualitatively better or finessed”

It’s not unwillingness to learn. It’s that the new design is objectively slower than what we had before, taking more steps, etc…

Also the new gestures are janky as hell and don’t work half the time.

 

[GDF]

@achappy & @Nikhil72

For people that don't want it to become more complex, or take any more steps or time to do things ... it's just flat out a downgrade.

And this is at the expense of what we already have and use (things like slideover).

Can you just for a moment consider that for folks who love the simple and more original single tasking of the iPad, but maybe occasionally with a flair of multitask (a quick slideover for instance), this is all more cumbersome and going in a direction that is not why we like iPads.

Rather that attacking folks and calling them "complainers" or "unwilling to learn"...

Can you just take a second to realize that this is all going in a direction that isn't wanted by some of us.

We are not using iPads to try to have an "almost Mac" experience.

Totally agree. I don’t want a Mac experience, if I did would use my MacBook Air, Pro or Mac Mini. I want the simplest experience possible, which is exactly how iOS 18 was.

If Apple would just make a laptop that was touch screen, that would stop this I want the iPad to be just like a Mac nonsense. And even if they did that I would still use my iPad most of the time if it was simple as it used to be.

 

[GhostPepper]

I'm confused. What does mouse control have to do with pre-existing multitasking limitations? I could do pre-existing multitasking with mouse input.

When you say “pre-existing multitasking” we’re talking about multitasking features that have been around long before they added mouse controls. When the iPad was a touch only product, there were going to be limitations on how to implement multitasking using only your finger. It wasn’t that the hardware was incapable of powering a windowed UI. It’s that managing that without a precision tool like a mouse cursor would be cumbersome, which it is.

The addition of mouse controls is what has led to Stage Manager and now iPadOS 26.

Not necessarily a progression towards macOS... more so just influenced by it.

Don’t you think you’re splitting hairs a bit here?

for iPad users who prefer the traditional way of things. That's why they kept full screen mode

Well yea at the bare minimum I’d expect the apps to still be able to open in full screen.

 

[achappy]

How is it easier? I guess I am just dumb. When I do what you say to do, the one app that I am in goes 1/2 screen (perfect), but when I open a second app it does not automatically fill in to the other side of the screen like SplitView did, unless I drag it to make it take up 1/2 the screen. Previously, it just did it.

Hopefully, I am just missing something and not getting it. Should not be this complex though.

You are selecting the wrong option. There’s a “Move and Resize” section and a “Fill and Arrange” and they are labeled according to what they do. The Fill and Arrange is the one that quickly puts two apps into Split Screen and you don’t even touch the second app. The Move and Resize is just what it says. It moves and resizes the window.

Different options and different multitasking flows that’s quickly accessible via touch, keyboard and mouse. Not sure how this is complex.

 

[throAU]

There’s an entire genre of tech reviewers whose iPad reviews almost entirely consist of them complaining that it’s not a Mac. It’s like buying a Prius and then posting a video complaining about how it’s not an F-150. It never made any sense to me.

As someone who wants more from the iPad - no I don't just want a Mac. I have a Mac for Mac things, but sometimes I don't want to take both with me.

A Mac doesn't have a touch UI and I can't draw on it, etc. The iPad has legitimate uses that a Mac, even a MacBook Air will not cover.

What I want, and what apple is close to is a UI on a very portable device that can do both touch based apps and light duty desktop class apps.

The hardware is capable, the UI just needs tweaks. Which is what they're working on.

 

[TigerMSTR]

This operating system is a major upgrade if you’re a Stage Manager user AND you have a Magic Keyboard. But if you don’t fit into the aforementioned categories, this OS is a UX downgrade.

When I bought my iPad, windowing was optional. I never would have bought this device if I knew that less than a year later they’d make windowing mandatory to utilize any kind of multitasking. Indeed, one of the reasons I preferred an iPad over the Mac was that the iPad didn’t force me to manage a windowing environment.

This new OS upsets me because Apple has totally demolished the value proposition that attracted me to the iPad in the first place. Namely, the simplicity of the iPadOS platform. An iPad that is both more complicated, and less capable than a Mac has no value for me.

 

[throAU]

First, Like others have mentioned, give the iPad Pro and iPad Air lines a different OS than the iPad and iPad mini. The iPad Pro/Air can have features the rest do not. If anything, it would help justify the absurd cost of the iPad Pro. Keep the focus on touch controls on the smaller, budget friendly tablets.

They literally did this with the initial releases of stage manager and people complained. And rightly so; the hardware is capable.

 

[throAU]

This ‘in-between’ solution (that Apple themselves criticised Microsoft for) doesn’t make sense to me from a portability or value standpoint; not only is it thicker and virtually as heavy as a MacBook, but the combination of a decent iPad with a folio enters, or exceeds, MacBook pricing territory.

It may be on par with a MacBook in size and weight and cost - but it can do things a MacBook can not.

The keyboard and trackpad becomes user replaceable. It has a more secure OS. It has touch and pencil support.

 

[throAU]

The iPad Pro is not cheap. Putting the same processor they use in the desktops into a tablet, then charging more for the tablet, that was a choice, one that’s going to welcome direct comparisons.

The iPad Pro has a much better display than the MacBook Air; if you want to compare, you really need to compare the 12.9" iPad Pro with accessories to the M4 MacBook Pro. And even then the screen is still better on the iPad Pro.