iPadOS 26 brings a fresh design powered by Liquid Glass, a translucent visual layer that reacts to touch and light. It enhances the Lock Screen, Control Center, and Home Screen with more personalised icons, dynamic themes, and app styling options in light or dark modes.
Powerful windowing system
A fully reimagined windowing system allows users to resize, move, and organise apps more freely. Familiar controls like minimise, tile, and Exposé let users manage multiple windows. The new menu bar gives quick access to commands via swipe or cursor. The system integrates smoothly with Stage Manager and external displays.
Apple Intelligence gets smarter
Apple Intelligence is more deeply integrated in iPadOS 26. Live Translation now works in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Users can create expressive Genmoji, generate images via Image Playground, and use AI in Shortcuts for advanced automation, like summarising lecture notes or creating art styles.
Supercharged Files and Preview App
The Files app now offers custom folder colours, emoji, resizable list views, and dock folders. The Preview app comes to iPad, enabling users to view, edit, and mark up PDFs or images using Apple Pencil, with AutoFill and form support included.
Creative Tools and background tasks
Users can assign specific mics to apps, enjoy Voice Isolation, and use Local Capture for recording video meetings. Background tasks show up as Live Activities, perfect for audio or video rendering.
New apps and communication tools
The Journal app makes its iPad debut, while the new Apple Games app organises the entire gaming library. Messages adds chat backgrounds, polls, and Apple Cash support. The Phone app also arrives on iPad with Call Screening and Hold Assist.
With iPadOS 26, Apple takes the iPad experience to the next level—blending powerful multitasking, smarter AI tools, advanced file handling, and creative enhancements into one seamless update. Whether you are a student, professional, or creative user, this release makes the iPad a more versatile, productive, and personal device than ever before.