iPadOS 26 Finally Bridges iPad-Mac Gap With New Features

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Apple's latest announcement has been making waves across the tech world, and honestly, it's about time. Apple just rolled out iPadOS 26 at WWDC 2025, bringing what many are calling the most significant transformation since the iPad's debut. Unlike the typical incremental updates we've grown accustomed to—minor interface tweaks, a few new shortcuts, maybe some enhanced widgets—this latest update delivers a comprehensive suite of powerful new features that genuinely elevate the iPad's capabilities, finally bridging that persistent gap between touch-first tablet and legitimate desktop replacement.

With Apple releasing the first public betas of iOS and iPadOS 26 last week, users can finally get their hands on what's being hailed as a game-changing evolution. This represents Apple's bold, long-awaited answer to years of user requests for genuine desktop-class functionality on the iPad.

The windowing revolution: finally, true Mac-like multitasking

Here's where things get really interesting. The biggest transformation in iPadOS 26 is undoubtedly its entirely new windowing system, and it's a complete game-changer for how you'll think about iPad multitasking. Head into Settings → Multitasking & Gestures, and you'll discover a new Windowed Apps mode that essentially transforms your iPad experience into something remarkably similar to working on a Mac—you can arrange and resize multiple windows in a single space with the kind of flexibility you've probably been craving for years.

The new windowing system gives users the freedom to fluidly resize app windows, position them exactly where they want, and—here's the kicker—open significantly more windows simultaneously than ever before. Thanks to a new windowing engine built from the ground up, users can now run more than four windows at once in the same workspace.

This performance leap translates into real-world productivity gains that were simply impossible before. The folks at MacStories tested this extensively and found that on an M4 iPad Pro, they could consistently operate 12 windows simultaneously before hitting memory limitations. Imagine running Final Cut Pro for video editing, Safari with multiple research tabs, Notes for project planning, Mail for correspondence, and several other productivity apps all at once—that's the kind of professional workflow that's now genuinely feasible on an iPad.

Menu bars and window controls that feel familiar

Now here's what makes this transformation feel genuinely Mac-like rather than just a half-hearted attempt at desktop functionality. Apple has thoughtfully implemented interface details that will immediately feel familiar to Mac users. In the top-left corner of every window, you'll now find three familiar traffic lights borrowed straight from macOS—the close, minimize, and maximize controls that Mac users have been using for decades.

But Apple didn't stop at just copying the visual elements. Long-pressing these buttons reveals Mac-style Move & Resize and Fill & Arrange options, plus a clever new feature that lets you park apps off-screen to Add a New Window (assuming the app supports multiple windows). It's these kinds of thoughtful implementations that show Apple really understands how people want to work with windows.

The menu bar implementation is equally impressive. Within any active app, simply swipe down from the top of the screen and you'll see a fully functioning macOS-style menu bar appear. This new menu bar intelligently organizes both app-related commands and system-level windowing commands, creating a cohesive experience that actually makes sense.

What's particularly exciting for power users is that developers can now customize the menu bar with their own application-specific drop-downs. Creative apps might offer quick access to brush settings or layer controls, while productivity tools could surface formatting options or collaboration features—this opens up possibilities for much deeper functionality than we've seen before.

Files app gets a major desktop-class upgrade

For anyone who's struggled with file management on iPad—which is to say, nearly everyone who's tried to do serious work—iPadOS 26 addresses the most frustrating pain points head-on. Previously, simple tasks like organizing project folders, finding files by type, or working with complex directory structures felt clunky and limited compared to desktop alternatives.

The Files app now includes a comprehensive new List view featuring resizable columns and collapsible folders, plus improved filtering options that make navigating complex file structures much more manageable. You can finally sort and organize files with the kind of granular control that productivity workflows demand.

Customization gets a significant boost as well. The app now supports folder customization with custom colors, icons, and emoji—and crucially, all of these customizations sync seamlessly across your devices. It's a small touch, but it makes organizing your files feel more personal and visually intuitive.

Perhaps most importantly for productivity workflows, you can now set a default app for opening specific files or file types in Files, thanks to a new Open With... option in the contextual dropdown menu. This addresses one of the most frequently voiced frustrations about iPadOS file management.

The Dock integration gets smarter too. In the Files app, long press on any folder and you'll see a new Add to Dock option in the contextual dropdown menu. Speaking of the Dock, iPadOS 26 expands its capacity—you can now fit up to 23 icons in the Dock, giving you much more flexibility for organizing your most-used apps and folders.

New apps bridge the Mac-iPad gap

Apple's strategy becomes clearer when you look at the new apps making their iPad debut. Most notably, the iPad finally includes the Mac's long-standing Preview app, complete with Apple Pencil support for a truly iPad-native experience. The Preview app allows users to view, edit, and mark up PDFs and images, or create quick sketches with Apple Pencil—combining the best of Mac functionality with iPad's unique input capabilities.

The app selection continues to expand in ways that support Apple's ecosystem integration strategy. The Phone app makes its iPad debut, working through a connected iPhone with Wi-Fi calling capabilities. While this might seem like an odd addition at first glance, it actually makes perfect sense for users who want to handle calls while working on their iPad without constantly switching devices.

Additionally, Journal comes to iPad, making it easy for users to capture and write about everyday moments or special events. The larger iPad screen and Apple Pencil support should make journaling feel much more natural and spacious compared to the iPhone experience. These additions collectively represent Apple's broader vision of closing ecosystem gaps and making the iPad a more complete computing platform.

Background processing finally arrives

This might be the feature that power users have been waiting for most eagerly. iPadOS 26 introduces support for processor-intensive background tasks, treating them as Live Activities complete with status indicators and controls. No more babysitting your iPad while it exports a video or processes a large file.

Apple provides a perfect example of how this works in practice: when exporting a Final Cut video, you'll see a completion percentage displayed alongside a button to stop the export if needed. The task continues running even if you switch to other apps, finally giving the iPad the kind of desktop-class multitasking capabilities that creative professionals have been demanding.

Under the hood, iPadOS 26 unlocks the ability to perform computationally intensive Background Tasks through an updated Background Tasks API. Beyond video export, this opens up possibilities for photo batch processing, large file compression, data analysis, and complex rendering tasks—basically any heavy-duty processing work that previously required you to keep the app active and wait.

What's the bottom line?

After more than a month of testing, the verdict is clear: iPadOS 26 has fundamentally revolutionized iPad workflows. This update manages to accomplish something genuinely challenging—it succeeds in preserving the iPad's intuitive, touch-first nature while unlocking tremendous functionality for advanced users who need more sophisticated capabilities.

Yes, there are still differences between iPad and Mac workflows. As one reviewer noted, iPads remain more app-focused, similar to the iPhone experience, and the app ecosystems aren't identical. But these differences are becoming less like fundamental obstacles and more like different philosophical approaches to achieving the same productive goals.

For anyone wondering whether this finally makes the iPad a legitimate laptop replacement, the answer really depends on your specific workflow needs and preferences. What's undeniably clear: iPadOS 26 transforms the Apple iPad into the ultraportable computer it was always meant to be.

The update is expected to launch this fall, but if you're feeling adventurous, you can experience it right now through the iPadOS 26 public beta. Just be prepared for a bit of a learning curve as you discover capabilities you never knew your iPad possessed—and maybe prepare to rethink what you thought you knew about the boundaries between tablets and computers.