iPadOS 26 is an Absolute Mess

[GhostPepper]

A16.

Best bang for your buck by a mile, still. Even with the gripes about iPadOS 26.

 

[GhostPepper]

90% of the people on here spent money on it.

I’m aware. People tend to have opinions on things they’ve invested in.

 

[TigerMSTR]

I reverted back to iPad OS18. Not only is it shocking how much smoother and faster SplitView and SlideOver are than the new multitasking - it's actually amazing how much smoother the OS feels overall on my M1 iPad Pro. Maybe it's showing it's age - but on iPad OS18 everything is super fast and butter smooth. On the iPad OS26 PB2 everything felt very slow, janky and buggy. Hopefully that at least will be sorted out by the final release. But I'm actually a little hesitant about that. I wonder if a September release window is actually a bit too soon for the state that it's currently in.

I'll stick on iPad OS18 until - hopefully - public outcry forces Apple te restore the older features, once this thing starts rolling out to the general public.

On my M4 iPad Pro, Public Beta 2 was very slow and janky, but PB3 is buttery smooth. So I’d give it a try if you have time to spare.

That said, I’ll also be downgrading down to iPadOS 18 in September. I have no desire to use my iPad as a convoluted imitation MacBook. I’ll upgrade whenever Apple brings back Split View + Slide Over, perhaps with the option to switch between multitasking modes depending on whether the keyboard is connected. Otherwise, the M4 iPad Pro will be the last iPad I own.

 

[martint235]

I’m aware. People tend to have opinions on things they’ve invested in.

Yep and some of them look for things to get upset about. Glad we agree

 

[GhostPepper]

Yep and some of them look for things to get upset about. Glad we agree

Nope. Voicing opinions at what is clearly a controversial change on a forum dedicated to that discourse ≠ looking for things to get upset about

I could say the same to you then, you seem to be looking for people to be upset with.

 

[martint235]

Nope. Voicing opinions at what is clearly a controversial change on a forum dedicated to that discourse ≠ looking for things to get upset about

I could say the same to you then, you seem to be looking for people to be upset with.

Nah not upset at all. I enjoy reading it. It’s people’s own time and money and theirs to decide how to spend it.

Me? I think I’ve had one small issue since DB2. Use my phone and iPad most of the day with little media watching.

 

[uacd]

ease-of-use focused UX.

Yes, yes and yes. That one line can summarize what I expect from any Apple device, not just iPad. And ease of use focused UI is almost non-existent in modern Apple operating systems. I gotta jump thru the hoops to have something working like I want it to.

I’ve asked the mods for the post to be deleted. I don’t know if they will, but I’m done.
Check my replies below if you like. This was a simple vent/rant that’s turned way too ugly for my liking.

Hey, please. Stop. You wrote what most of us think about that! I hope mods decide not to delete this one because in my opinion everything is on-point. Steve Jobs indeed would have never approved this trash that is now produced by billion lines of code by Apple’s dev team.

A rant here is not intended to change things on Apple’s end, it to engage in conversation (and relieve a little frustration, lol). That’s literally the point of forums.

Absolutely. And you inspired me to make a post but more global one: about the ease of use in iOS, iPad OS and macOS. How Apple complicates everything year by year.

Modern iPhone reminds me more of old Android from 2015. I rememeber how I and other Apple users mocked Android for ugly widgets on home screen and lock screen, for thousands of useless buttons and cryptic settings, but what is now?? Apple literally copied it all. Widgets everywhere are now their main selling point. I waste a lot of time disabling them all each time I set device from scratch.

I mean who asked for App Library? Why did they destroy settings app in iOS 18 and also on Mac OS ever since Ventura? Search option is the only thing that saves it. Why photos app is such a dumpster fire? Why their new liquid glass design language is so inconsistent and icons still use same design aesthetics as in iOS 7, is that even redesign or more like Soviet Union’s “quantum leap” “from socialism to communism” (i.e. same kind of 💩 basically)

 

[TigerMSTR]

This video has a good comparison window management between iPadOS 18 and iPadOS 26.

 

[richpjr]

Am I the only one enjoying iPadOS26? I think it's really cool, and a definite step in teh right direction.

No you aren't. I have 2 iPads (11" and 13" iPad Pro). I use my 11" in full screen mode as a media consumption device and my 13" mainly with a MKB and at times hooked up to a 32" monitor. iPadOS 26 is a giant step forward for my uses. I never used Split View so the complaints about it don't apply to my use case.

 

[TigerMSTR]

So I had YouTube and Safari in two windows. I press the maximize button on YouTube, and it moves to a new space, as expected. But the Safari window also moved into the space that YouTube moved to. So now fullscreen YouTube and windowed Safari are in the same space. I can’t recall this happening before, but it’s doing it now. Why? I have no idea.

This operating system is so confusing. Every time I press a button or utilize a gesture in this multitasking system, it feels impossible to predict what will happen next. Sometimes it will do one thing, other times it will do something else, and other times it might do nothing at all. Navigating this operating system feels like walking thru quicksand. You never know where each step will take you.

I don’t even know how I’d explain to someone who’s not tech savvy how to use this multitasking system. Just press that button and hope for the best…

 

[Slartibart]

You seem very stuck on your interpretation of the phrase “use case” and want to nitpick as to what that’s supposed to mean.

Use case, workflow, purpose, reason to buy an iPad, whatever you want to call it.

There are plenty of use cases (or however you wish to describe it) for someone to own an iPad Pro over an iPad. Are you trying to argue there isn’t? If you edit video, you may need the higher refresh rate, or the more accurate colors. You might need the Thunderbolt 4 for faster data transfer. You might need the extra storage that you can only get on a Pro. The faster chip to export video. The bigger screen. The LiDAR Scanner. Etc.

It’s no different than a professional video editor opting to buy a Mac Studio over a Mac mini, or a Mac Pro over an iMac. They have different use cases for it and therefore need the more powerful device.

Now circle all the way back to the original argument you replied to. Someone who goes to the Apple Store and sees their whole lineup, from a base iPad, to the Air, to the 2 different Pro Versions. The person who says: I really only need the iPad for $329 I don’t need the $1,099 iPad Pro, or I want the smallest form factor iPad mini. That person is more often than not, not a power user and is never going to hook up a mouse, keyboard, and external monitor, thus a different use case.

words matter. there is a difference between use case, workflow, purpose and reason. If you think otherwise, well…

 

[DaSal]

This video has a good comparison window management between iPadOS 18 and iPadOS 26.

This isn’t great. However the flicking does make it slightly less jarring. I’ve heard people talking about that flicking but that never worked for me. Is that supposed to work with touch, trackpad, or both?

For me when I quickly drag a window to one side (‘flick’) it simply causes the window to move outside of the bounds of the screen. Like it would on MacOS. It doesn’t automatically resize and take up half the screen.

 

[revs]

I really love iOS26, I use my iPad so much more now.

Having said that, I get how people miss slideover. Would be nice if they added a 'keep on top' option to the green/arrange button, then that might be a nice solution to have something always on top.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

My attitude is that you have either a Mac or an iPad, because both excel at what they are intended for.

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.

 

[Canyda]

but the combination of a decent iPad with a folio enters, or exceeds, MacBook pricing territory.

This is an excellent point. After my wife got the new iPad Air, I looked into one for myself with the magic keyboard figuring with iPadOS that I could have a "good enough" Macbook-like device. That option was going to cost me essentially the same as a base Macbook Air.

(I ended up just getting the iPad Air without a keyboard as my PC laptop still works just fine)

 

[sbassios]

To everyone who use Magic Keyboard, on iOS 18 when I was writing with the mk there was a box to show which language you use and the predictive text.. on iOS 26 it disappeared, only to me? Any solution?

 

[GhostPepper]

words matter. there is a difference between use case, workflow, purpose and reason. If you think otherwise, well…

I don’t think otherwise. I was using a broad sense of the term, and used other nouns to make it even broader because you weren’t comprehending.

When deciding which iPad model to buy, your use case, workflow, and purpose for the iPad ALL impact your reason as to which one to buy.

Hope that helps.

 

[GhostPepper]

My attitude is that you have either a Mac or an iPad, because both excel at what they are intended for.

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.

I agree with this. And I would add, as an ‘in-between’ or companion product, the iPad has been outstanding and innovating. The base model iPad is still the best value for media and moderate production. Even though I think iPadOS 26 is clunky, the fact that the cheapest iPad can run it is still impressive.

I know for a lot of iPP owners, it’s suits them perfectly and I am happy for those customers. Where I take issue: IMO the high end line was never being fully able to justify the price and promise as a viable laptop alternative, so Apple has tried to add features to iPadOS to justify the cost of their high end product, but to the detriment of the ease of use of their budget friendly products.

This entire iPadOS 26 revamp would support that. It suggests Stage Manager was a miss and that they had to start over. Now it seems as convoluted as ever. The iPad used to be a frictionless product for non-tech savvy people to pick up and put to use with a very low learning curve. Which led for a demand for it to be capable of more, hence the Pro line. But now, the amount of steps required to know for efficient use for ALL iPads is heading in the wrong direction, IMO.

 

[Ludatyk]

Where I take issue: IMO the high end line was never being fully able to justify the price and promise as a viable laptop alternative, so Apple has tried to add features to iPadOS to justify the cost of their high end product, but to the detriment of the ease of use of their budget friendly products.

But the high end line is not really tied to iPadOS related features... it's based on hardware features.

This entire iPadOS 26 revamp would support that. It suggests Stage Manager was a miss and that they had to start over.

How was Stage Manager a miss if it still exist? And they didn't start over, just made changes to it (better freedom of movement, removed the 4 window limit, windows are able to keep their size and added the traffic lights to help with window tiling).

Now it seems as convoluted as ever. The iPad used to be a frictionless product for non-tech savvy people to pick up and put to use with a very low learning curve.

If anything I argue it's more consistent across the board... before the base iPad or the Mini couldn't use Stage Manager, now it's all coherent. And for those non-tech savvy people.. they can keep it in full screen mode.

 

[dimon2242]

iPad Pro 11 (A2228) lags af, absolutely unusable on latest beta.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

(…) But now, the amount of steps required to know for efficient use for ALL iPads is heading in the wrong direction, IMO.

This is an excellent point. I think part of the problem with iPad currently is an identity crisis, which exists because the OS has a one foot in its roots and another in a different paradigm of computing, yet the two effectively cancel each other out.

We must remember that, as forum members, we are accustomed to using these devices fairly confidently, but not all users have a background in wider computing.

I dislike referring to Steve Jobs or Apple of old simply because at this point it’s become a running joke, but it is indeed quite remarkable just how disjointed iPadOS is today compared to the earliest software.

I’m not suggesting that these early devices were better simply because they had yet to land more modern features, rather that they were more enjoyable to use precisely because they represented a different category of device. A device simple and intuitive enough to be used by anyone, in a leisurely or professional manner.

Job’s initial demo of the iPad on stage in a relaxed chair said everything you needed to know about the device without even using it. It was intimate; there were no hidden menus, few gestures to learn, no distracting user interface, no convoluted settings.

iPad today is the result of Apple not learning from its own criticisms of other manufacturers, and trying to open up new markets but not really being particularly great in them. Eye candy like Liquid Glass adds nothing to productivity, and I fear that continual traditional computing features will only serve to make iPad less of the “it just works” device that kept one focused, whereas Mac has been refined with the same modes of computing for decades.

 

[richpjr]

This is an excellent point. I think part of the problem with iPad currently is an identity crisis, which exists because the OS has a one foot in its roots and another in a different paradigm of computing, yet the two effectively cancel each other out.

We must remember that, as forum members, we are accustomed to using these devices fairly confidently, but not all users have a background in wider computing.

I dislike referring to Steve Jobs or Apple of old simply because at this point it’s become a running joke, but it is indeed quite remarkable just how disjointed iPadOS is today compared to the earliest software.

I’m not suggesting that these early devices were better simply because they had yet to land more modern features, rather that they were more enjoyable to use precisely because they represented a different category of device. A device simple and intuitive enough to be used by anyone, in a leisurely or professional manner.

Job’s initial demo of the iPad on stage in a relaxed chair said everything you needed to know about the device without even using it. It was intimate; there were no hidden menus, few gestures to learn, no distracting user interface, no convoluted settings.

iPad today is the result of Apple not learning from its own criticisms of other manufacturers, and trying to open up new markets but not really being particularly great in them. Eye candy like Liquid Glass adds nothing to productivity, and I fear that continual traditional computing features will only serve to make iPad less of the “it just works” device that kept one focused, whereas Mac has been refined with the same modes of computing for decades.

The counter to this is: assuming most people are not technical like people here, I'd venture to guess most people use their iPads in full screen mode and will continue to do so with iPadOS 26 and will not notice what you see and hence won't care. A much smaller number of "power users" use things like slide over and stage manager and they are divided about it being a mess or an improvement. For my uses, the new windows system is a noticeable improvement in usability and a big improvement over slide over and stage manager. Others clearly feel differently, but that is not likely to be a big number of users.

 

[GhostPepper]

This is an excellent point. I think part of the problem with iPad currently is an identity crisis, which exists because the OS has a one foot in its roots and another in a different paradigm of computing, yet the two effectively cancel each other out.

We must remember that, as forum members, we are accustomed to using these devices fairly confidently, but not all users have a background in wider computing.

I dislike referring to Steve Jobs or Apple of old simply because at this point it’s become a running joke, but it is indeed quite remarkable just how disjointed iPadOS is today compared to the earliest software.

I’m not suggesting that these early devices were better simply because they had yet to land more modern features, rather that they were more enjoyable to use precisely because they represented a different category of device. A device simple and intuitive enough to be used by anyone, in a leisurely or professional manner.

Job’s initial demo of the iPad on stage in a relaxed chair said everything you needed to know about the device without even using it. It was intimate; there were no hidden menus, few gestures to learn, no distracting user interface, no convoluted settings.

iPad today is the result of Apple not learning from its own criticisms of other manufacturers, and trying to open up new markets but not really being particularly great in them. Eye candy like Liquid Glass adds nothing to productivity, and I fear that continual traditional computing features will only serve to make iPad less of the “it just works” device that kept one focused, whereas Mac has been refined with the same modes of computing for decades.

This was so well put. Bravo.

 

[GhostPepper]

But the high end line is not really tied to iPadOS related features... it's based on hardware features.

And every criticism of the iPad Pro since its launch is that is that the hardware inside an iPad Pro is wasted on iPadOS. Which it is. The exact same internals working inside of macOS are not only cheaper but they’re more capable.

How was Stage Manager a miss if it still exist? And they didn't start over, just made changes to it (better freedom of movement, removed the 4 window limit, windows are able to keep their size and added the traffic lights to help with window tiling).

I think we can agree Stage Manager was certainly not received as a “hit.” If it wasn’t a hit, then what was it? I think it’s accurate to say Stage Manager, while ambitious, was a major swing and miss for the company. I have never seen a bigger public display of disapproval for any Apple software launch that I can remember. iPadOS 26, to me at least, screams forget about Stage Manager! This is completely different than that! We’ve changed everything about it!

I don’t think it’s fair for you to say “they didn’t start over, they just added this and this and this and this and this and changed that and added this other brand new thing.”

iPadOS 26 isn’t a subtle tweak of Stage Manager. This was a revamp adding considerable complexity. Not to mention a strong emphasis on pointer controls. Which begs the question, why does the iPad mini run this OS? They don’t even sell a Magic Keyboard for this device, for obvious reasons.

If anything I argue it's more consistent across the board... before the base iPad or the Mini couldn't use Stage Manager, now it's all coherent. And for those non-tech savvy people.. they can keep it in full screen mode.

I’d argue that this is not akin to a choosing between a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro and therefore doesn’t need the same consistency.

From a cost perspective, it’s certainly not comparable. The cost jump from a MacBook Air to a Pro is a difference of 38%. An iPad to the cheapest iPad Pro is over 300% more! which is why there’s another iPad in the middle, the iPad Air. AND a mini version! Which by the way, has a screen less than half the size of the iPad Pro 13. It just doesn’t make sense to have one single UI that all of these devices use.

Adding steps to multitasking on iPads and ipad minis, while also removing features that worked! is a step in the wrong direction IMO.

 

[GhostPepper]

I feel like the decision to put iPadOS 26 on iPads and iPad minis is a way to convince those customers that what they actually need is an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard.