Apple’s iPadOS 26 has arrived after months of betas, and it’s not just a facelift; it’s one of the biggest shifts in what the iPad feels like. With a design language now called Liquid Glass, UI elements, icons, widgets, even the Lock Screen clock are translucent, refract light, respond to what’s behind them, and offer new “clear”, tinted, or dark looks. This isn’t merely cosmetic; Apple says Liquid Glass “reflects and refracts content in real time … reacting to user input” to bring more focus to what you care about.
Multitasking gets the biggest overhaul. Split View and Slide Over are replaced with a full windowing system: apps can be resized, dragged, tiled, minimized, or closed via Mac-like traffic-light buttons, and laid out freely. There’s a new menu bar (swipe down from the top or use a cursor) and Exposé-style overview to quickly find open windows. If you like using Stage Manager, external displays, or have a setup with multiple apps, this change makes the iPad feel much closer to a full laptop.
New apps & stronger Apple Intelligence
iPadOS 26 also adds several first-party apps: Preview (for viewing and editing PDFs/images with Apple Pencil and AutoFill), Journal (for capturing thoughts with touch or pencil), and a full Phone app (letting you take/manage calls, live translations, and call screening) that ties the iPad more closely into the Apple device ecosystem.
Apple Intelligence is more tightly woven in. Users who opt in can use ChatGPT-powered tools like “onscreen awareness,” enhanced writing tools with support for GPT-5, richer image-style generation, live translations in Messages, FaceTime captions, and the Phone app.
Rough edges: bugs & usability concerns
Not everything is perfect. Some users, especially during beta testing, reported glitches like video playback problems (videos turning black on Instagram, YouTube, etc.), app misbehaviour, and occasional instability. There are also concerns about legibility: when transparency and refractive effects are heavy, UI elements risk becoming harder to read, especially for users with visual impairments. Early feedback led Apple to tone down some of the glassiness in navigation bars and buttons
For everyday users, iPadOS 26 could be a game-changer or at least a serious upgrade. If you use iPads for sketching, studying, note-taking, dual tasks (e-mail + browser + writing), or even video calls, the windowing remodel, the new apps, and smarter AI tools will make those workflows smoother. On the other hand, if you mostly consume media or use a device without much external display or pointer support, the changes are more aesthetic and incremental.
Despite some early bugs, iPadOS 26 is a strong step forward. Apple has addressed many long-standing complaints about multitasking, productivity, and inter-device synergy. The Liquid Glass design may not win over everyone, but paired with the depth of new functionality, this update pushes the iPad much closer to being a versatile tool that can flex between creativity, work, and casual use.
If you own a recent iPad, installing iPadOS 26 is well worth considering, especially if you want these improved productivity features. Just back up your data, give it a few days to settle (to allow any patches), and enjoy the leap forward.
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