No, Ipados 26 Isn't A Laptop Killer, But These 4 Things Make It A Huge Leap Forward

2 weeks ago

Apple iPad Pro M4 (11-inch) moving iPadOS 26

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

In iPadOS 26, nan summation of a Mac-like windowing system, a paper bar, a existent cursor, and a much-improved Files app makes nan iPad a batch amended for getting activity done.
There are still a mates missing features that would make a large quality successful iPadOS 26.
While iPadOS 26 makes nan iPad a overmuch much complete device, powerfulness users shouldn't expect to get productivity benefits versus utilizing a Mac.

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The iPad and nan Mac person ever been complimentary devices pinch a fewer overlapping functions -- until iPadOS 26, which brings them a batch person together. The large mobility since Apple announced iPadOS 26 astatine WWDC 2025 successful June has been, "Does this mean I tin yet usage my iPad to switch 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 nan betas of iPadOS connected a regular ground for nan past 2 months and I recovered a batch to like. Let's excavation into nan champion caller features that I deliberation you're going to emotion connected your iPad erstwhile nan caller package arrives.

How I tested iPadOS 26

I tried iPadOS 26 connected an 11-inch M4 iPad Pro, truthful that I could judge it arsenic a instrumentality pinch laptop-like capacity and capabilities (and a laptop-like value astatine $1,899 for nan configuration I used). The exemplary I utilized had a Tandem OLED show pinch nano-texture glass, which exceeds nan show value of immoderate MacBook Pro you tin buy, astatine slightest successful position of colour gamut, opposition ratio, highest brightness, consequence 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 nan champion iPad I person ever used. In fact, it's nan astir tin tablet I've ever used. But that doesn't make it a laptop killer. There are still things an iPad does amended than a laptop, and location are still 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 nan iPad and it's done it successful a powerful and elegant way. The 3 acquainted green, yellow, and reddish dots for close, minimize, and maximize are now coming connected iPad windows, arsenic agelong arsenic you take Windowed Apps alternatively than Full-Screen Apps aliases Stage Manager successful your Settings. But now 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 still not judge what I'm doing incorrect that triggers that. In different words, it's not cleanable yet, but it still useful really well. And champion of all, Apple built it into nan underlying iPadOS truthful that nan characteristic 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 nan apical of nan surface while you're successful an app, a Mac-like paper barroom now appears. This exposes a batch of functions and options that you'd antecedently person to excavation done nan Settings paper to access. That's a win. As much analyzable apps adopt nan paper barroom it's going to beryllium 1 of nan sneaky powerfulness personification features that group are going to love.

3. A existent cursor: The iPad has had rodent support and a cursor for respective years now, but nan iPad's type of a cursor was a information dot that mimicked nan extremity of your digit since it's a touchscreen device. I was thrilled to spot that iPadOS 26 replaced nan dot pinch a triangular arrow that looks and feels overmuch much for illustration a existent rodent and is simply a batch much precise for moving pinch nan caller windowing strategy and digging done nan caller paper bar.

Also: Your iPad is getting a immense upgrade for free. Features I can't hold to usage connected iPadOS 26

4. A afloat functional Files app: Managing files has agelong been 1 of nan astir frustrating things connected nan iPad. I do a batch of reference connected nan iPad -- it's a awesome reference device, and moreover much truthful pinch nan nano-texture Tandem OLED show that blocks glare and fingerprints. But traditionally, it has often been difficult and taken excessively galore steps to get documents downloaded from nan web to nan iPad and past unfastened them successful an app for speedy and easy reading. In iPadOS 26, I navigated to a website successful Safari and recovered a PDF, swiped down to entree nan paper bar, clicked File | Save As and past navigated to a files and saved it there. I opened nan caller Files app, easy located nan file, and I quickly popped it unfastened successful nan caller Preview app -- different 1 of nan champion additions to iPadOS 26.

Two things still missing successful iPadOS 26

1. A Mac-like Spaces strategy to shape sets of windows: Once I started resizing and moving windows astir connected iPadOS, I automatically wanted to group up my strategy utilizing 1 of my favourite features connected nan Mac: Spaces. This lets you shape a group of windows, apps, a browser logged into your regular services, etc. And past you tin create different space/desktop pinch a different group of things. I often usage different spaces for activity apps, individual apps, photograph editing, inheritance media players, and task spaces wherever I'm moving connected thing specific. And 1 of nan champion parts connected nan Mac is that you tin swipe up pinch 3 fingers connected your rodent touchpad and it will show each of your spaces and you tin quickly move to nan 1 you want. In iPadOS 26, I regularly recovered myself wanting to swipe up pinch 3 fingers connected nan touchpad. While nan iPad has StageManager that does thing similar, it's conscionable not arsenic intuitive, fast, and elastic arsenic Spaces. The iPad needs this.

Also: iPadOS 26 is turning my iPad Air into nan ultraportable laptop it was meant to be

2. Clamshell mode: Now that iPadOS 26 has nan iPad acting much for illustration a Mac successful immoderate cardinal ways and has nan expertise to link to outer monitors, different 1 of nan cardinal Mac capabilities that would beryllium awesome to import would beryllium clamshell mode. This is wherever you link to an outer show and past adjacent nan Mac, efficaciously making it run much for illustration a desktop arsenic you activity solely connected nan show while 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 nan convention room and utilized it to tally Google Meet because I needed to beryllium doing thing other connected my laptop. The only problem pinch nan setup was that nan iPad had to beryllium unfastened adjacent to nan TV, truthful we saw nan aforesaid image connected nan iPad and nan TV astatine nan aforesaid time, which was distracting. Clamshell mode would lick this and would make nan iPad moreover much for illustration a grown-up computer.

Apple iPadOS 26 connected an 11-inch iPad Pro M4

Where does this time off nan iPad?

As a instrumentality to do your time job, nan iPad remains what it has ever been -- a ray computing instrumentality that's not arsenic tin for activity arsenic a laptop. But, iPadOS 26 has made nan iPad a overmuch much tin machine that's a batch little frustrating to usage for doing much powerful tasks.

And let's not forget, location are still plentifulness of things nan iPad does amended than a laptop. It's amended for mobile connectivity erstwhile you usage nan built-in 5G because you seldom ever person to interest astir Wi-Fi aliases hotspots. It's amended for drafting and taking handwritten notes pinch an Apple Pencil because you can't do those things connected astir laptops. It's amended for watching astir movies, shows, and videos because 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 attraction 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, aliases usage shortcuts and scripts to automate cardinal functions, past you're still going to beryllium overmuch happier and much productive utilizing a Mac (or a Linux aliases Windows machine).

Nevertheless, iPadOS 26 makes nan iPad consciousness for illustration nan inevitable instrumentality it was ever meant to be. And that deserves a chapeau tip.