.png)
On Monday, Apple revealed iPadOS 26 during its keynote talk at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025. The latest iPad operating system upgrade, dubbed the "biggest iPadOS release ever," has a visual redesign in keeping with the new Liquid Glass design language. With iPadOS 26, Apple has focused on increasing productivity on the iPad with features such as a new windowing system, audio input selection, window tiling, a new navigation bar, changes to the Files app, and a new Preview app.
iPadOS 26 Compatible Models
According to Apple, iPadOS 26 will be released as a free software upgrade for the following models:
- iPad Pro (M4)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
- iPad Air (M2 and later)
- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
- iPad (A16)
- iPad (8th generation and later)
- iPad mini (A17 Pro)
- iPad mini (5th generation and later)
Registered Apple Developers can download the developer beta update starting today, with public beta availability starting next month.
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, announced the update, saying, "iPadOS 26 is our biggest iPadOS release ever, with powerful features that take the experience to the next level and transform what users can do on iPad".
Similar to the visual improvements in iOS 26, iPadOS 26 introduces a new user interface design made using Liquid Glass. There are new options to personalize the home and lock screens, including revised app icons, light and dark tints, and a more streamlined appearance. Mail, Safari, Apple TV, Apple Music, and other applications have all received updates to their controls and navigation.
.png)
Window tiling makes advantage of the iPad's capabilities, allowing an app to be relaunched in the same size and location as the previous instance. Meanwhile, the new Expose feature opens and expands all windows at once, making it easier to transition between them.
According to Apple, this new windowing mechanism is compatible with Stage Manager as well as an external monitor. Notably, the iPadOS 26 update includes the same Apple Intelligence capabilities that the Cupertino-based tech company revealed for the iPhone. You may read all about them here.
.png)
The Files app has been redesigned and now has an enhanced List view, which allows users to see more information in the form of resizable columns and collapsible folders. It also allows you to customize your folders with custom colors, icons, and emojis that are synchronized across all Apple devices. With iPadOS 26, you may drag any folder from the Files app into the Dock.
In addition to upgrading current functionality, Apple has released a new Preview app for the iPad. It is a specific platform for sketching rapid drawings, as well as reading, modifying, and annotating PDFs and photos using touch or the Apple Pencil. It also allows them to rapidly fill out forms via Auto Fill.
.png)
Finally, iPadOS 26 allows users to execute computationally heavy background tasks. When a long-running process is begun in an app, it will appear in Live Activities, giving you a clear perspective of what's going on. Furthermore, developers may use the new Background Tasks API to include this capabilities into their apps.
