iPadOS 26 is an Absolute Mess

[Agathon]

Never tried that. Will see what happens when I get home to my iPad. In all previous versions of iPadOS, it was a swipe up from the bottom (or, of course, a tap of the home button).

I checked. Swiping down from the top of the window gets rid of it but doesn't exit the app (it minimises it). The app is still available in exposé if you swipe up a short way from the bottom of the screen. So basically:

• Flick up to make window full screen
• Flick left to pin to left side
• Flick right to pin to right side
• Flick down to minimise.

I can see why they got rid of slide over now. It's basically redundant. I did have some confusion trying to swipe up. Took me a while to get used to the different swipe for showing the Home Screen and showing exposé. It's also a pain swiping down in Music if you have the cover art displayed as it sometimes minimises the app when you want to show the main interface.

 

[01cowherd]

It's also inconsistent with how the buttons work on MacOS, which makes it even more braindead of a choice.

I didn't want to get into that in my comment, but yeah.

If anyone is still on the beta, maybe send feedback for this behavior? Because it's ridiculous. I downgraded myself I don't want to subject myself to iPadOS26 anymore.

It took Apple an entire year to allow disabling spellcheck in handwritten notes after they "helpfully" added it in iPadOS 18. I and others left feedback after every OS update. I'm mostly done leaving feedback at this point when it takes them a whole OS cycle to add a simple toggle to fix something they ruined. I'll just complain on forums instead; it seems to have about the same effect.

Also, the yellow button acts differently depending on whether you have Stage Manager enabled

To be fair to iPadOS, this is also mostly how it works on macOS. Minimizing windows in Stage Manager puts them in the recent apps instead of minimizing to the dock.

 

[revs]

I checked. Swiping down from the top of the window gets rid of it but doesn't exit the app (it minimises it). The app is still available in exposé if you swipe up a short way from the bottom of the screen. So basically:

• Flick up to make window full screen
• Flick left to pin to left side
• Flick right to pin to right side
• Flick down to minimise.

I can see why they got rid of slide over now. It's basically redundant. I did have some confusion trying to swipe up. Took me a while to get used to the different swipe for showing the Home Screen and showing exposé. It's also a pain swiping down in Music if you have the cover art displayed as it sometimes minimises the app when you want to show the main interface.

Yep flick down to ‘close’/minimise.

Double tapping the titlebar area also goes between full screen and windowed sizes.

I’ve been using iPadOS 26 exclusively with the MagicKeyboard case and absolutely love it. But next week I’ll be exclusively using it without a keyboard/touchpad, so it’ll be interesting to find out my thoughts after that.

I don’t think slide over is redundant, I think theres still space for a ‘Always on Top’ option or something like that.

 

[revs]

Yellow to minimise took me a while to work out, but the minimised windows will show in expose, or right clicking/tap and hold the app icon and it will show ‘open windows’

 

[revs]

I'll probably switch between windowed mode and full-screen mode often, but I was just curious as to whether or not I was missing an easy way to exit the app and get back to the home screen. Doesn't need to completely force-quit the app... just exit like swiping up on the home bar used to do (and still does in full-screen mode).

I'm also not certain as to the difference between hitting the yellow minimize button and the red close button. Is the red close button actually force-quitting the app completely? I presume then that the yellow minimize button then is more akin to swiping up on the home bar in full-screen mode?

4 or 5 finger pinch on the screen and it will show the home screen icons?

In full screen the app will disappear, in windowed mode they do that thing where they move off to the side

 

[Agathon]

I’ve been using iPadOS 26 exclusively with the MagicKeyboard case and absolutely love it. But next week I’ll be exclusively using it without a keyboard/touchpad, so it’ll be interesting to find out my thoughts after that.

I'm doing the opposite: picking up a magic keyboard in the next couple of weeks. It's looking like I will be able to do a lot of my work on my Pro now.

 

[revs]

I'm doing the opposite: picking up a magic keyboard in the next couple of weeks. It's looking like I will be able to do a lot of my work on my Pro now.

I hope you can!

It can do 95% of what I need, and enough that I only took the iPad/MK away with me a few weeks ago, and no laptop. I still need a ‘real’ computer, but it covers 95% of my use and I can see a future in which I just get a desktop and iPad and don’t get a laptop.`

Make sure you turn off trackpad inertia in settings.

 

[says_stuff]

this all feels like we are kids fighting about the last piece of candy (more macos on ipad or no, leave it as it is) and parent apple decided that, well noone gets it then (neither mac nor ipad). I liked split view and slide over so much that i have been ipad only for the last years, i even traded my ipad pro 11 to get an ipad air 13 so i could have so much more space for split view :/ how very patronizing

How disappointing this all is when a perfectly working system gets discarded unnecessarily and why do we get no say in it, i mean i bought the damn thing with a certain expectation? And how stupid it is to completely change the way people utilize the machine they bought. I have nothing but complaints about this whole ordeal.

 

[richpjr]

this all feels like we are kids fighting about the last piece of candy (more macos on ipad or no, leave it as it is) and parent apple decided that, well noone gets it then (neither mac nor ipad). I liked split view and slide over so much that i have been ipad only for the last years, i even traded my ipad pro 11 to get an ipad air 13 so i could have so much more space for split view :/ how very patronizing

How disappointing this all is when a perfectly working system gets discarded unnecessarily and why do we get no say in it, i mean i bought the damn thing with a certain expectation? And how stupid it is to completely change the way people utilize the machine they bought. I have nothing but complaints about this whole ordeal.

It wasn't working perfectly for a lot of people, hence the reason it was changed. It now works far better for my uses than before, but clearly everyone has their own preferences.

 

[says_stuff]

It wasn't working perfectly for a lot of people, hence the reason it was changed. It now works far better for my uses than before, but clearly everyone has their own preferences.

Well i buy my stuff based on how they currently work though, so buying it, meant it was perfect to me.

Any changes should be additional to the experience or optional, why cant they try to satisfy us all, when the option was right there. Isnt this viewed as anticonsumerist behaviour?

 

[richpjr]

Well i buy my stuff based on how they currently work though, so buying it, meant it was perfect to me.

Any changes should be additional to the experience or optional, why cant they try to satisfy us all, when the option was right there. Isnt this viewed as anticonsumerist behaviour?

The assumption with this is that the majority of users feel as you do. I'd guess the vast majority of users use full screen and this is not even something they'd notice. Power users, who are a fraction of the user base, seem split on whether the changes suck or are a good idea.

 

[says_stuff]

The assumption with this is that the majority of users feel as you do. I'd guess the vast majority of users use full screen and this is not even something they'd notice. Power users, who are a fraction of the user base, seem split on whether the changes suck or are a good idea.

If the majority of the users are not happy and utilizing the product why did they buy it on the first place though, expecting changes? And who decides that even a small part of the user base can get the short stick after they gave their money.

 

[richpjr]

If the majority of the users are not happy and utilizing the product why did they buy it on the first place though, expecting changes? And who decides that even a small part of the user base can get the short stick after they gave their money.

Who said the majority of users are unhappy? My point is the majority of users use a fraction of the features and wouldn’t notice the changes. A small set of users are divided about the changes.

 

[GhostPepper]

It now works far better for my uses than before

Just curious, which iPad model do you use and do you use a keyboard and/or trackpad with it?

 

[DaSal]

We’re going to find out if regular users like this change soon enough. Once it drops and everyone starts upgrading, we’ll start noticing. There’s probably a few likely outcomes:

- Most users only use fullscreen and don’t notice at all. There’s no public outcry. The fight will keep going on between power users - but none of us will have the data to back up what most users really prefer. Only Apple knows that. (But unfortunately, I don’t believe Apple is making their choices based on user satisfcation, but rather on what generates good publicity from tech YouTubers and drives sales of expensive new iPad Pro’s and Magic Keboards)
- Many users do use SplitScreen and SlideOver, but actually prefer the new multitasking. There will be a minority that prefer the old setup but they’ll be out of luck.
- Many users do use SplitScreen and SlideOver and hate the new multitasking. Socials will be flooded with complaints, and Apple will either quietly restore the features or just force the new multitasking down our throats.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Anyone else getting constant stuttering in YouTube? It's so bad I am really regretting trying the beta.

Edit: Hmm this may not be the right thread actually.

 

[TigerMSTR]

Anyone else getting constant stuttering in YouTube? It's so bad I am really regretting trying the beta.

Not at all. Only in Safari.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I guess I would just ask everybody talking about all the flicking and gesturing to look at some of that from the perspective of a traditional normal iPad user….

And realize how convoluted and confusing some of that that potentially is.
One thing to keep in mind is just how often the wrong thing gets triggered on these types of devices.

It can be super frustrating.

I really long for an OG iPad experience.

 

[TigerMSTR]

One thing to keep in mind is just how often the wrong thing gets triggered on these types of devices.

It feels like the gestures haves less than a 50% success rate.

Meaning that more than 50% of the time, the gestures invoke the wrong function. And then the user has to clean up after it.

 

[achappy]

So we dropped off my son at college yesterday. He’s never used an external monitor as he was used to just using his iPad since his XBox was in the basement. After we setup his XBox with the 27” 4K monitor on his desk, I said “This is a perfect setup for the iPad where you can also connect it to the monitor for school work”.

After connecting his iPad, he proceeds to play around with it, opening Word, Excel and then a few other apps all at once on the external monitor with the Magic Keyboard. Seeing what it would be like. Then he proceeds to open up a few apps on his iPad and then puts them split screen using touch on the traffic lights. Plays around with moving apps from one to the other. He just turns to me and smiles.

No complaints about no slide over, no complaints about having to use extra steps for the Split screen. Just enjoying what he can do now with the iPad and an external monitor.

 

[turbineseaplane]

No complaints about no slide over, no complaints about having to use extra steps for the Split screen. Just enjoying what he can do now with the iPad and an external monitor.

He's 18

I'm expecting the frustrations will more likely be with those of us who've been using iPads since he was 3 years old.

 

[says_stuff]

So we dropped off my son at college yesterday. He’s never used an external monitor as he was used to just using his iPad since his XBox was in the basement. After we setup his XBox with the 27” 4K monitor on his desk, I said “This is a perfect setup for the iPad where you can also connect it to the monitor for school work”.

After connecting his iPad, he proceeds to play around with it, opening Word, Excel and then a few other apps all at once on the external monitor with the Magic Keyboard. Seeing what it would be like. Then he proceeds to open up a few apps on his iPad and then puts them split screen using touch on the traffic lights. Plays around with moving apps from one to the other. He just turns to me and smiles.

No complaints about no slide over, no complaints about having to use extra steps for the Split screen. Just enjoying what he can do now with the iPad and an external monitor.

Good for him. I'm happy for your family. can we also get our thing too so we can all be happy?

 

[achappy]

He's 18

I'm expecting the frustrations will more likely be with those of us who've been using iPads since he was 3 years old.

So now there’s a minimum age for complaining? The iPad hasn’t had Split Screen that long so what did you complain about before?

 

[GDF]

So we dropped off my son at college yesterday. He’s never used an external monitor as he was used to just using his iPad since his XBox was in the basement. After we setup his XBox with the 27” 4K monitor on his desk, I said “This is a perfect setup for the iPad where you can also connect it to the monitor for school work”.

After connecting his iPad, he proceeds to play around with it, opening Word, Excel and then a few other apps all at once on the external monitor with the Magic Keyboard. Seeing what it would be like. Then he proceeds to open up a few apps on his iPad and then puts them split screen using touch on the traffic lights. Plays around with moving apps from one to the other. He just turns to me and smiles.

No complaints about no slide over, no complaints about having to use extra steps for the Split screen. Just enjoying what he can do now with the iPad and an external monitor.

That is awesome for him, but that does not mean others can’t miss Split View or Slide Over. As, I keep saying, I am a power user with Magic Keyboard and touch and I still wish I could get those back, at the very least Apple should have them in Full Screen App Mode.

Everyone is different and there is nothing wrong with some of us that wanting those back. I just want a traditional iPad experience and not a Mac one. Have plenty of Apple laptops and a Mac Mini to do the computer experience. 🙂

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

I think that slide over is useless, and split screen slightly more useful than that, but I still think Apple shouldn’t have removed them. They could have been kept as part of the classic mode of operation. I would still never use them, but no one’s forcing me to.