7 hours ago
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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- In iPadOS 26, the summation of a Mac-like windowing system, a paper bar, a existent cursor, and a much-improved Files app makes the iPad a batch amended for getting enactment done.
- There are inactive a mates missing features that would marque a large quality successful iPadOS 26.
- While iPadOS 26 makes the iPad a overmuch much implicit device, powerfulness users shouldn't expect to get productivity benefits versus utilizing a Mac.
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The iPad and the Mac person ever been complimentary devices with a fewer overlapping functions -- until iPadOS 26, which brings them a batch person together. The large question since Apple announced iPadOS 26 astatine WWDC 2025 successful June has been, "Does this mean I tin yet usage my iPad to regenerate my laptop?"
The reply for maine is, "No." But that doesn't mean that iPadOS 26 isn't a large measurement forward. I've been utilizing the betas of iPadOS connected a regular ground for the past 2 months and I recovered a batch to like. Let's excavation into the champion caller features that I deliberation you're going to emotion connected your iPad erstwhile the caller bundle arrives.
How I tested iPadOS 26
I tried iPadOS 26 connected an 11-inch M4 iPad Pro, truthful that I could justice it arsenic a instrumentality with laptop-like show and capabilities (and a laptop-like terms astatine $1,899 for the configuration I used). The exemplary I utilized had a Tandem OLED show with nano-texture glass, which exceeds the show prime of immoderate MacBook Pro you tin buy, astatine slightest successful presumption of colour gamut, opposition ratio, highest brightness, effect times, and achromatic levels.
Also: Every iPad exemplary that supports iPadOS 26 (and which ones won't beryllium compatible)
Make nary mistake, this M4 iPad Pro is by acold the champion iPad I person ever used. In fact, it's the astir susceptible tablet I've ever used. But that doesn't marque it a laptop killer. There are inactive things an iPad does amended than a laptop, and determination are inactive things that are overmuch amended done connected a laptop. But we'll get to that successful a moment.
My 4 favourite features successful iPadOS 26
1. The caller windowing system: At agelong last, Apple has brought a Mac-like windowing strategy to the iPad and it's done it successful a almighty and elegant way. The 3 acquainted green, yellow, and reddish dots for close, minimize, and maximize are present contiguous connected iPad windows, arsenic agelong arsenic you take Windowed Apps alternatively than Full-Screen Apps oregon Stage Manager successful your Settings. But present you tin resize windows to your heart's content, overlap windows, and multi-task amended than ever. Several times I resized windows without meaning to and I'm inactive not definite what I'm doing incorrect that triggers that. In different words, it's not cleanable yet, but it inactive works truly well. And champion of all, Apple built it into the underlying iPadOS truthful that the diagnostic comes to virtually each iPad models that person been released since 2020.
New windowing strategy connected iPadOS 26.
2. The paper bar: When you swipe down from the apical of the surface portion you're successful an app, a Mac-like paper barroom present appears. This exposes a batch of functions and options that you'd antecedently person to excavation done the Settings paper to access. That's a win. As much analyzable apps follow the paper barroom it's going to beryllium 1 of the sneaky powerfulness idiosyncratic features that radical are going to love.
The iPadOS 26 paper bar.
3. A existent cursor: The iPad has had rodent enactment and a cursor for respective years now, but the iPad's mentation of a cursor was a circular dot that mimicked the extremity of your digit since it's a touchscreen device. I was thrilled to spot that iPadOS 26 replaced the dot with a triangular arrow that looks and feels overmuch much similar a existent rodent and is simply a batch much precise for moving with the caller windowing strategy and digging done the caller paper bar.
Also: Your iPad is getting a immense upgrade for free. Features I can't hold to usage connected iPadOS 26
So, iPadOS 26 present has an arrow cursor.
4. A afloat functional Files app: Managing files has agelong been 1 of the astir frustrating things connected the iPad. I bash a batch of speechmaking connected the iPad -- it's a large speechmaking device, and adjacent much truthful with the nano-texture Tandem OLED show that blocks glare and fingerprints. But traditionally, it has often been hard and taken excessively galore steps to get documents downloaded from the web to the iPad and past unfastened them successful an app for speedy and casual reading. In iPadOS 26, I navigated to a website successful Safari and recovered a PDF, swiped down to entree the paper bar, clicked File | Save As and past navigated to a folder and saved it there. I opened the caller Files app, easy located the file, and I rapidly popped it unfastened successful the caller Preview app -- different 1 of the champion additions to iPadOS 26.
The iPadOS 26 Files app.
Two things inactive missing successful iPadOS 26
1. A Mac-like Spaces strategy to signifier sets of windows: Once I started resizing and moving windows astir connected iPadOS, I automatically wanted to acceptable up my strategy utilizing 1 of my favourite features connected the Mac: Spaces. This lets you signifier a acceptable of windows, apps, a browser logged into your regular services, etc. And past you tin make different space/desktop with a antithetic acceptable of things. I often usage antithetic spaces for enactment apps, idiosyncratic apps, photograph editing, inheritance media players, and task spaces wherever I'm moving connected thing specific. And 1 of the champion parts connected the Mac is that you tin swipe up with 3 fingers connected your rodent touchpad and it volition amusement each of your spaces and you tin rapidly determination to the 1 you want. In iPadOS 26, I regularly recovered myself wanting to swipe up with 3 fingers connected the touchpad. While the iPad has StageManager that does thing similar, it's conscionable not arsenic intuitive, fast, and flexible arsenic Spaces. The iPad needs this.
Also: iPadOS 26 is turning my iPad Air into the ultraportable laptop it was meant to be
2. Clamshell mode: Now that iPadOS 26 has the iPad acting much similar a Mac successful immoderate cardinal ways and has the quality to link to outer monitors, different 1 of the cardinal Mac capabilities that would beryllium large to import would beryllium clamshell mode. This is wherever you link to an outer show and past adjacent the Mac, efficaciously making it run much similar a desktop arsenic you enactment solely connected the show portion utilizing an outer rodent and keyboard. For example, this came up for maine erstwhile I was astatine an offsite squad gathering and we needed to dial-in a colleague. I hooked up my iPad to a TV successful the league country and utilized it to tally Google Meet due to the fact that I needed to beryllium doing thing other connected my laptop. The lone occupation with the setup was that the iPad had to beryllium unfastened adjacent to the TV, truthful we saw the aforesaid representation connected the iPad and the TV astatine the aforesaid time, which was distracting. Clamshell mode would lick this and would marque the iPad adjacent much similar a grown-up computer.
Here's the Apple iPadOS 26 fastener surface connected an 11-inch iPad Pro M4.
Where does this permission the iPad?
As a instrumentality to bash your time job, the iPad remains what it has ever been -- a airy computing instrumentality that's not arsenic susceptible for enactment arsenic a laptop. But, iPadOS 26 has made the iPad a overmuch much susceptible machine that's a batch little frustrating to usage for doing much almighty tasks.
And let's not forget, determination are inactive plentifulness of things the iPad does amended than a laptop. It's amended for mobile connectivity erstwhile you usage the built-in 5G due to the fact that you seldom ever person to interest astir Wi-Fi oregon hotspots. It's amended for drafting and taking handwritten notes with an Apple Pencil due to the fact that you can't bash those things connected astir laptops. It's amended for watching astir movies, shows, and videos due to the fact that it has a amended show and it has apps that are often faster and easier to propulsion up content. And for work, it's often amended for single-task jobs wherever you request to absorption and artifact retired distractions.
Still, if you request to dense multitasking, usage aggregate monitors, copy-and-paste information betwixt apps, manipulate ample information sets, run analyzable software, oregon usage shortcuts and scripts to automate cardinal functions, past you're inactive going to beryllium overmuch happier and much productive utilizing a Mac (or a Linux oregon Windows machine).
Nevertheless, iPadOS 26 makes the iPad consciousness similar the inevitable instrumentality it was ever meant to be. And that deserves a chapeau tip.
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