iPadOS 26 Review: The iPad is Now More Like a Mac

[AppleTO]

I don't really disagree, but I thought I'd just leave this here in all of it's 9", 512x342 detail:

Inside the Original Macintosh - Low End MacLow End Mac

Found on Google from lowendmac.com

images.app.goo.gl

It'll never catch on

That’s a fair point. But, it used to be a lot more doable. These days UIs use massive elements with tons of whitespace. This didn’t use to be the case.

I don’t go back that far, but I do remember 800x600 being the norm, and very useable.

 

[Shirasaki]

Alternatively, segmenting the market with different types of devices for different use cases and price points; a standard and smart business strategy.

And segment the software market using the same strategy, while those software being incompatible with each other, exactly what 1980s to 1990s tech world was. Why stick with android and iOS when we can have liberalOS, redOS, harmonyOS, udroid and more? Then devs would pick and choose whatever platform they want to target, and users buy into one of 13 different ecosystems. Make fragmentation the norm.

 

[Shirasaki]

For macOS Apple should consider making it a bit more distinct from iPadOS, less round window corners and a more mouse pointer-appropriate CC.

macOS was and still is distinct from iPadOS, which IS iOS. Apple wants to make both iPadOS and macOS as similar as possible so one day they can kill macOS, which is the unsafe OS.

Wish list I know but add multi-user accounts… no Tim I don’t want to buy an iPad for each member of my family to use.

Tim: buy it or don’t use it. That’s our Apple way. We will never introduce multiuser support to iPadOS.

Does iPad OS have a normal file system or is it still the same sandboxed thing in iOS

iPadOS doesn’t and will never have normal file system because it IS iOS.

 

[jlc1978]

And segment the software market using the same strategy, while those software being incompatible with each other,

I don’t get Microsoft’s approch. They want to sell Office subscriptions and don’t care what device you use. I have Office on several Macs, PcCs and an iPad. Now that iPads have the power to run a full featured Office why not make it and sell more subscriptions? They aren’t really in the hardware business like Apple, and being platform agnostic where there is a large enough user base makes sense to me. It’s not like a Mac user that decided an iPad meets their needs will drop Office.

 

[goldmac2006]

Will it support full screen on external monitors/TVs for non-Pro iPads?

iPads should have Thunderbolt 5 ports. This way, we won’t have to use HDMI to USB-C dongles to connect them. Additionally, we should inherit MacBook features into iPads, especially since iPadOS 26 now resembles macOS!

 

[jlc1978]

iPadOS doesn’t and will never have normal file system because it IS iOS.

It doesn’t have to, it just needs one where a user can save,open and find the files they need. The issue is people are used to specific way a file system should work, and changing a paradigm is hard. That’s why it’s hard to get users to switch OS’s or software.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple wants to make both iPadOS and macOS as similar as possible so one day they can kill macOS, which is the unsafe OS.

macOS is not unsafe

macOS App distribution isn’t locked down and monopolized by Apple, which is the only threat it poses.

 

[bluespark]

The issue that prevents me from going completely iPad is the apps. Office is too stripped down and no good IDE to code. Apple could make it more Mac like but unless apps follows it still is not doing it for me. YMMV.

Contact the developers. There is no reason for many apps to be stripped down the way they are.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

A bit more I said.

 

[Dolmio]

I actually think they have done a great job for once with ipad OS is it perfect - no but it’s a massive improvement over what was there ! Im also of the view mac os isnt really suitable for ipad as i like to use the ipad without the keyboard sometimes and this works well especially the flip to lock 2 windows half screen and the traffic lights that expand when you go over them. I think this is a great spring board for productivity use and maybe in ipad OS 27 we can get multiuser support , multi audio playback at the same time etc 👌🏾

 

[theluggage]

That’s a fair point. But, it used to be a lot more doable. These days UIs use massive elements with tons of whitespace. This didn’t use to be the case.

Yes - Classic MacOS was very space efficient. Modern UI design, quite the opposite. Partly because a touch interface needs bigger, widely-spaced icons - partly pure form-over-function and PowerPoint-centred design.

 

[theluggage]

Now that iPads have the power to run a full featured Office why not make it and sell more subscriptions?

You answered your own question:

I have Office on several Macs, PcCs [...]

...which you can have with a single Microsoft 365 subscription that includes the iPad (you can get individual 'one off' licenses but Microsoft would prefer to sell you an annual subscription). MS aren't going to sell many subscriptions on the strength of a better iPad version - the people who need full-featured Office are the ones most likely to already have a 365 subscription for laptops/desktops.

Plus, MS might not be as hardware-centric as Apple, but they do have their surface tablet range (a direct iPad competitor), plus they make noney from licensing Windows to every other PC maker, many of whom have tablets and/or convertible machines. One of the key distinctions between Windows tablets and convertibles is that they run full Windows and can run full Office. So it's not in MS's interest to help iPad too much.

(Personally, I find that attaching a keyboard and pointing device to an iPad turns a great purpose-designed handheld device into a lousy kludge of a laptop. iPadOS can narrow the difference on software features but it can't fix the ergonomics of a laptop that you can't use on your lap or a handheld that you can't pick up without unhooking the keyboard - the iPad Pro seems to me to have a niche in applications where touch/stylus and built-in rear camera are useful enough to outweight the ergonomic mess.)

 

[MasterControlProgram]

My biggest issue with the window resizing (I’m not sure if it’s fixed on the latest beta) is it always seems to put the resize handle on the wrong corner. If I have a tall narrow window docked to the left of the screen, it puts the resize handle on the bottom left corner which means all I can do is make it narrower. Surely users might also want to make windows wider and therefore it would make much more sense to allow resizing from the right corner (or just let us use both corners!)

The lack of slide over is a big loss too, as I’d usually keep the music app there so I can swipe it in, change album and swipe it away again. I’m overall excited by the changes, but there are key things which still don’t work very well.

 

[Isamilis]

Like iOS 26, iPadOS 26 adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass material, for an interface that's glossy, shiny, and more transparent than before. But Liquid Glass isn't the biggest change that Apple made to the iPad's software. Multitasking got a much needed revamp that lets you use an iPad like a Mac, if that's what you want to do.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

In iPadOS 26, iPad windows work like Mac windows. You can open up multiple app windows, move them around on the display, and layer them over one another if you want. You can essentially put them anywhere you want.

Some older iPads are limited to four open app windows at a time, but if you have a newer model, you can have more apps open and running at one time, swapping between them with a tap. Every iPad that's able to run iPadOS 26 can use the new multitasking features in some capacity.

The updated windowing is opt-in, so when you install iPadOS 26, you can decide whether you want to use apps in full screen or use multitasking. It's great that people who want to use an iPad like a Mac finally have that option, and the window system is a much better solution than the Slide Over and Split View multitasking.

If you turn on windowing and then want to turn it off later, you can just swipe down into Control Center and hit the new toggle.

Speaking of Slide Over and Split View, those are gone. Stage Manager is still around, so if you use that in your iPad workflow for grouping up different apps and changing workspaces, it's still available to you.

Resizing windows in iPadOS 26 is simple. There's a small "handle" at the bottom right corner of every window, and if you tap it and drag, you can change the size of the open window. You can open additional apps from the dock or by tapping over to the Home Screen.

To move an open app window, drag it from the menu bar at the top. That's also new, by the way. Apps on the iPad have Mac-like menu bars where you'll find relevant in-app options, though keep in mind third-party developers need to update their apps to take advantage of this functionality. You can close an app, minimize an app, or make an app full screen using the "traffic light" buttons at the top left of each iPad window, which are borrowed directly from the Mac.

If you long press on those buttons, you'll see several options for moving, resizing, and arranging your open windows. You can move an app to the top, bottom, left, or right of the display, or choose one of the tiling options for displaying up to four apps in a neat arrangement.

The dock features an App Library to make it easy to get to all of the apps you have installed on your iPad. If you swipe up from the bottom of the iPad's display, your open windows are swept to the sides in a new Exposé view so you can get a clear view of everything that's open.

To add one more Mac-like touch, Apple turned the iPad's cursor into an arrow. So if you're using a peripheral like the Magic Keyboard's trackpad, the cursor now looks like it does on the Mac.

If you don't want to use any of these multitasking features and prefer iPad apps to be full screen, you can just keep using the iPad in the same way you always have.

There are some other nice features that are worth mentioning in iPadOS 26 beyond the multitasking.

• Files - There's a Mac-style list view for the iPad files app, so you don't need to view everything in a tiled view like before. Columns are resizable, and folders can be customized with colors and emoji. It's a nice change if you use the Files app regularly, but the best part for power users may be the option to choose a default app for a particular file type.
  
• Background Tasks - If you download a large file, export a large video file, or do something similar that's going to take a long time, you can now run those tasks in the background. For exporting an FCP video, for example, you can start the process, open up another app, and see progress through a Live Activity interface.
  
• Phone app - iPadOS 26 brings the Phone app to the iPad, and it works through Wi-Fi calling on an iPhone associated with your Apple Account. This is likely of limited use for a lot of people, but it's useful to have the option to place a call from the iPad. Tools like Call Screening, Live Translation, and Hold Assist work on the iPad.

There are other useful and/or fun features on the iPad that are new in iPadOS 26, but almost everything else is also in iOS 26 and available on the iPhone. We did an iOS 26 review that discusses new features in Messages, Apple Music, Photos, Camera, and more.

Availability

iPadOS 26 is available to developers, and as of this week, public beta testers. It came out on Thursday, and all you need to do to get it is sign up on Apple's beta testing website.

Should You Update?

iPadOS 26 is fairly stable, so updating should be safe. You're going to want to make a backup before you upgrade, just in case you need to go back to iOS 18.

If the iPad is a device that you use for work or anything else that's crucial, you might want to hold off. This is a beta, and while the software runs well, betas can have bugs that may not be addressed right away.

Read More

We have more on all of the features that are in iPadOS 26 in our dedicated iPadOS 26 roundup.

Article Link: iPadOS 26 Review: The iPad is Now More Like a Mac

Anyone has compared geekbench rating with 18.5?

 

[macdisciple]

I made a comment like this post title during a keynote 8 or 10 years ago, and was downvoted into oblivion. Oh well, times change...

Well that's the point — at home in particular. Users are less likely to purchase desktop computers for personal use and the market for iMacs is shrinking. Apple sees the opportunity to shift to mobile devices because they are powerful and portable. Eight years ago wasn't the right time. This is a business decision.

 

[RoadWarrior56]

I have an M1 iPad Air. I should get full use of the windowing features on that device without any speed hits. I will update the Air shortly after release, even though I am not a big fan of the “glass” interface. My other iPad is a Mini 5, which is also supposed to support iOS 26. However, I will wait awhile to update on the Mini, as I am afraid of possible performance and battery issues, at least until I get feedback on how it the update works on older devices.

 

[MysteriousStain]

Anyone who has ever given an iPad to an elderly parent is sweating right now

 

[turbineseaplane]

My other iPad is a Mini 5, which is also supposed to support iOS 26. However, I will wait awhile to update on the Mini, as I am afraid of possible performance and battery issues, at least until I get feedback on how it the update works on older devices.

Performance issues concern me for sure (on my Mini 5), but mainly I don't want to lose SlideOver & SplitView, as those are far better multitasking solutions for such a small screen.

"Windowing" on an 8" screen ≠ good.

 

[jlc1978]

Contact the developers. There is no reason for many apps to be stripped down the way they are.

Since I can use my Mac there is no compelling reason to spend time doing that; especially since it's more than one app that would need updating, and it's unlikely the main one, Office, will do so near term.

You answered your own question:

...which you can have with a single Microsoft 365 subscription that includes the iPad (you can get individual 'one off' licenses but Microsoft would prefer to sell you an annual subscription). MS aren't going to sell many subscriptions on the strength of a better iPad version - the people who need full-featured Office are the ones most likely to already have a 365 subscription for laptops/desktops.

While I agree with you overall, my point was:

1. If Apple were to make the iPad a viable Mac replacement, having full featured Office is likely to keep subscribers if they drop the Mac for an iPad,
2. If Apple attracts new iPad users that don't have Macs they would have a product that was able to fill the role Office does on a Mac

That MS hasn't done that tells me they don't see the iPad as a viable replacement for a Mac or PC. I suspect, if the iPad became a viable market, they'd look to some way to get additional revenue by having a Personal/Family offering with an optional tablet add-on for a few more Euros a month.

Plus, MS might not be as hardware-centric as Apple, but they do have their surface tablet range (a direct iPad competitor), plus they make noney from licensing Windows to every other PC maker, many of whom have tablets and/or convertible machines. One of the key distinctions between Windows tablets and convertibles is that they run full Windows and can run full Office. So it's not in MS's interest to help iPad too much.

Perhaps, but those are separate P&Ls so it is in the Office division to do what they can to generate revenue from their products.

Look at Windows365 where MS is moving to making Windows available on all sorts of OS's, on a subscription basis of course. They want subscriptions, and to that end are device agnostic.

(Personally, I find that attaching a keyboard and pointing device to an iPad turns a great purpose-designed handheld device into a lousy kludge of a laptop.

I hear you. I find myself using my iPad Pro mostly for email/web when it is not convenient to get my Mac, or as a second monitor. The keyboard is useful as a stand in those situations, and I never got used to typing on a screen.

In all honesty, my iPad Pro is overkill for how I use it. Now, if Parallels came up with a workable VM...

iPadOS can narrow the difference on software features but it can't fix the ergonomics of a laptop that you can't use on your lap or a handheld that you can't pick up without unhooking the keyboard - the iPad Pro seems to me to have a niche in applications where touch/stylus and built-in rear camera are useful enough to outweight the ergonomic mess.)

It wil be interesting to see how the iPad evolves. Beyond the connect/disconnect issue, a touch UI is very different from keyboard one,, so making the iPad Mac-like is a lot more nuanced than simply kludging MacOS onto an iPad.


Just putting macOS on an iPad would, IMHO, now you can scroll on screen instead of with a touchpad but everything else becomes more difficult.

Anyone who has ever given an iPad to an elderly parent is sweating right now

Don't upgrade. I avoid upgrading family member's devices that are working fine whenever possible to avoid the complaints about how things stopped working.

 

[Shirasaki]

macOS is not unsafe

macOS App distribution isn’t locked down and monopolized by Apple, which is the only threat it poses.

That’s Apple’s “offical claim”. I don’t find macOS unsafe. macOS can run just fine in today’s world. Of course the grossly overpriced and heavily locked down Mac App Store model never gained any serious traction and probably never will unless Apple force their hands.

 

[turbineseaplane]

That’s Apple’s “offical claim”.

It is?

May I ask where you've seen that stated?

 

[jlc1978]

That’s Apple’s “offical claim”. I don’t find macOS unsafe. macOS can run just fine in today’s world. Of course the grossly overpriced and heavily locked down Mac App Store model never gained any serious traction and probably never will unless Apple force their hands.

Not sure what you mean by overpriced. In my experience, apps cost the same no mater where I bought it, do you mean developers were gouging customers by not reducing the non App Store prices?

 

[matsan]

Wow - an afternoon with ipadOS 26 on my iPad Pro M1 and this just drives home the point how p**s-p**r Apple's ideas of multi-tasking and window management really are (including macOS here).
Trying to compose mails and reports and the experience with windowed apps is saddening and I really look back at the days with side-by-side apps in ipadOS 18. The "Fill-and-Arrange" band-aid is really disappointing.

:-/

 

[matsan]

...and can someone please explain what's going on when repeatedly swiping up from bottom of the screen (to get to the home screen or app switcher) with windowed apps moving left, right and then off the screen? Beta-behaviour I hope...

 

[justin.d]

taking away slideover remains a frankly baffling decision, and it’s unfortunately timed given whatsapp has finally launched after 15 years.

all i want to do is be able to reply to messages whilst using one other app in full screen. anything more would feel too cramped on an 11” screen.

swiping the app away afterwards was a really elegant solution, as was cycling between apps (mail, messages, x) using the home indicator. since this capability will be removed, my m4 ipad pro will remain on its current OS indefinitely.