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iPadOS 26 is an Absolute Mess
- Thread starter tweaknmod
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I just got the m4 iPad Pro and 26.1 is so laggy and sluggish, my iPhone is faster, whats going on, an m4 should be over kill. what have they done with iPadOS
M4 iPad Pro user here... currently on iPadOS 26.2 beta 2, but when I was on 26.1 didn't experience any lag or sluggishness.
Not saying you are wrong, only pointing out my experience doesn't reflect yours.
How long have you had the ipad for? if its no shorter than a week then it could be indexing content from one device to another. Expect it to speed up after that.
I haven’t found 26.0 or 26.1 to be laggy or slow on my previous M4 iPP or my current M5. However, I will say that the issues I experienced, first on my M4 with the 26.0 initial beta, and then with 26.1 which made things worse, and now with 26.2 which has not improved anything on my M5, have impacted the iPads much worse than on my phone. I do not put betas on my phones (bad experiences in the past), but the general releases on my phones have had several of the same issues as my iPads, just not as bad or obvious. I continue to believe that, whether it’s due to Liquid Glass or some other operating system-intensive feature, even the very newest, most powerful devices are having a hard time coping.
I've found this to be the case with Safari, but the rest of the iPadOS seems fine.
IPP 11” (M2) and IPP 11” (M5) here, both on newest iPadOS and no issues at all, I think it’s absolutely brilliant and as smooth as butter.
The new windows mode is an absolute game changer and really increases the productivity of the iPad IMO.
The new windows mode is an absolute game changer and really increases the productivity of the iPad IMO.
Honestly all i see in these forums are negativity. I dont know, even with iPadOS 26 you can use your ipad as just a tablet. Nothing is stopping you from doing that. Just keep one app open and close it. If you want to multitask you have options for that too. In 26.1 even slide over has returned and its more intuitive.
I never used an ipad to write a research article before. Always did it on my mac. Just tried it for fun this time and it was super easy. Multiple open windows and pdf’s and pages application and it all ran smoothly. I guess ram management has also improved.
I’m by no means an apple fanatic. I use a Chromebook, android phone and iPad Air and mac air. So this isn’t coming from an apple diehard
There is absolutely no way slide over is more intuitive in 26 than 18.
There is also absolutely no way you could fit multiple (more than three?) windows and pdfs in that screen in a readable usable size to write a research article.
So do you honestly think that the new way is the right way and “all the negativity” are just stubborn people incapable to use a toaster or is there a conspiracy theory you would like to share with us explaining the negative posts? Cause all i see are people pissed at the uprooting of a distinct usage mode existing for more than ten years.
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Sure you can. Specifically because apps can now be freely resized and you can stack them. Under the previous method you got two apps side by side. Usually the second app was way larger than it actually needed to be to accomplish the goal of a quick reference, but we were stuck working in a fixed-height area that could only be adjusted in horizontal width. Now you can stack multiple windows either entirely separate or partially overlapping, most importantly sized to meet their actual needs, not some artificial constraint - plus you can add a slide-over window (again, now freely moveable and resizable). It’s way, way way more flexible.
Would you please provide a screenshot of some pdf and safari windows open and maybe pages app as described? I use ipad mostly for research so I would love to know what’s in store. Two windows side by side has always been my limit to actually read and copy/write stuff, at most i would also use the additional slideover.
Thank you for the screenshot, I hoped this would be prettier than the run of the mill os. I just dont find this stacking any quicker to use when the info is not easily readable / fitting and readily available in the screen? The real limitation is the screen size. Pdfs are just a set size so there really is no use in resizing them to a size you can’t actually read/ annotate and copy from. I ve had thirteen inch laptops and the same limitation was apparent there too, they also never had an elegant way to display two (or three) windows such as the previous multitasking ux on the ipad which is why i personally ditched them. Then the multitasking ux of choice ditched me lol.
I mean, like you say that’s really a screen size problem, no longer an iPadOS problem. Window resizing works much more flexibly in iPadOS 26 however, so I question whether your concern about resizing is actually still an issue? PDF’s resize just fine as far as I can tell.
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Not sure i understand the question. In case i wasnt clear, i meant that more than two or three windows are unreadable at that size when simultaneously on screen, so im not sure how or if multiple windows are any MORE useful NOW to writing a research article. I didnt doubt that you can resize the pdfs, i only pondered what good are they at this size.
On the plus side iPadOS 26.2 beta 3 brings back splitview along with the one drag features. These can only be used in windowing mode.
Those are all readable for me on the 11” screen - especially the larger PDF which is a useable window size larger than an iPhone Pro Max. The second one was simply illustrative of the resizing capabilities of the new system.
And of course one doesn’t usually need to reference the entire page at a time, but would zoom in to the section of interest, or simply make the window a bit larger, and quickly switch between the two windows they are actually working with at any given time.
The point is that with iPadOS 26 one is no longer limited to just two windows in a work area any longer (your original claim).
My original claim was that more than two at most three windows are unreadable. Glad you can read them and use them at that size for the hours it takes to draft a research article, so i guess the issue remains for me that the new multitasking ux adds nothing for me only making evoking the split screen harder and removing the multifunctionality of the slideover which was my “quick reference” tool.
I dont get how stacking them, basicaly hiding one with the other, isnt the same as minimizing them.
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Great news. I had a feeling Apple wasn’t done tweaking this new interface.
I believe in choosing the right tool for the job, so in my research I would never willingly force myself to work on an 11” screen. No matter what operating system it ran. My iPad typically acts as a reference device next to my laptop and/or my laptop and 30” screen. The main benefit to me with the new windowing system in iPadOS 26 is that apps no longer are forced to occupy an entire screen or the entire height of part of the screen. Many apps simply did not resize properly into that available space or they resized but there was a ton of wasted space. Now I can size apps appropriate to their needs which is a major quality of life improvement. It makes the iPad feel - for the first time - like a finished device (iPad user literally since Day 1 here).
of course you should choose the right tools for the job. I did too and thats whh i chose the 13 inch ipad. My research revolves around annotating one pdf at a time, synthesizing quotes to a second window like onenote or goodnotes. That was perfectly suited for the 13inch. If i needed reference apps i would use the slideover. So you can see how a person that has perfectly matched his workflow to the device he chose would be upset at the alterations that provide nothing of value to him instead taking away a tool (slideover).
Nope.
As it currently is, split screen is more difficult to evoke, slideover cant utilize more than one app. Annoyance.
You have spent more time arguing in this thread about the shortcomings of a system *that you’ve never even used* than the (extremely minor amount) of additional time you will spend in a lifetime of setting up your windows under the new system. And - as per a post just a few minutes ago - most of those capabilities are still being added back every revision!