iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that push the capabilities and versatility of iPad even further

Apple today previewed iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release
ever, taking a huge leap forward and pushing the unique capabilities and
versatility of iPad even further. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad,
making the experience even more expressive and delightful. While maintaining
the simplicity of iPad, iPadOS 26 introduces an entirely new, powerful, and
intuitive windowing system with new features that help users control, organize,
and switch between apps. Apple Intelligence becomes even more capable and
integrated across iPadOS 26, with new features that help users communicate,
express themselves, and get things done, including Live Translation, new ways
to create with Genmoji and Image Playground,¹ and intelligent
actions with Shortcuts. The supercharged Files app offers new ways to organize
files and customize folders. And with Folders in the dock, users can
conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. The Preview
app comes to iPad giving users a dedicated app to view and edit PDFs, with
powerful features like Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill built in. And with
Background Tasks, audio input selection, and Local capture, iPadOS 26 unlocks
new capabilities for creative pros working with audio and video.

“iPadOS 26 is our biggest iPadOS release ever, with powerful
features that take the experience to the next level and transform what users
can do on iPad,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of
Software Engineering. “With a beautiful new design, an entirely new, powerful,
and intuitive windowing system, even more features powered by Apple
Intelligence, huge improvements to working with files, and new capabilities for
creatives to power their workflows, iPadOS 26 makes our most versatile device
even more capable.”

A Beautiful New Design

The beautiful new design brings more expressive and
delightful experiences to iPad users, while maintaining the familiarity of
iPadOS. It’s crafted with Liquid Glass — a translucent new material that
reflects and refracts its surroundings, while reacting to user input and
dynamically transforming to bring greater focus to the content they care about
most. It enables a new level of vitality across experiences like the Lock
Screen and Control Center, and gives users new ways to personalize their Home
Screen with updated app icons that come to life in light or dark appearances,
colorful new light and dark tints, as well as an elegant new clear look. And
updated controls and navigation extend to apps including Mail, Safari, Apple
TV, Apple Music, and more.

An Entirely New Powerful and Intuitive Windowing System

iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that help users
work with, control, organize, and switch between app windows — all while
maintaining the immediacy and simplicity that iPad users expect. The new
windowing system lets users fluidly resize app windows, place them exactly
where they want, and open even more windows at once.

Familiar window controls allow users to seamlessly close,
minimize, resize, or tile their windows. Window tiling is designed for the
unique capabilities of iPad, and enables users to arrange their windows with a
simple flick. If a user previously resized an app, it opens back in the exact
same size and position when they open it again. With Exposé, users can quickly
see all their open windows spread out, helping them easily switch to the one
they need. The new windowing system works great with Stage Manager for those
who want to group their windows into distinct stages, and with an external
display for those who want even more space to work across their apps.²

With a new menu bar, users can access the features available
in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving
their cursor to the top. Users can quickly find a specific feature or related
tips in an app by using search in the menu bar. Additionally, developers can
now customize the menu bar in their own apps.

New Features Powered by Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that
delivers helpful and relevant intelligence while taking an extraordinary step
forward for privacy in AI, becomes even more capable and even more integrated
across iPadOS 26. Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages enables
iPad users to communicate seamlessly across languages. In Messages, incoming
texts — including group messages — are automatically translated into the user’s
preferred language.³ On FaceTime, a user can follow along with
translated live captions while still hearing the speaker’s voice. And when on a
phone call, the translation is spoken aloud throughout the conversation.⁴

iPadOS 26 brings users new ways to create Genmoji, giving
them the ability to start with existing emoji and descriptions, modify personal
attributes like hair length or accessories, and select expressions. Users will
also have more control of personal attributes and expressions in Image
Playground, and can tap into brand-new styles with ChatGPT, like an oil
painting style for a friend’s Contact Poster. For moments when users have a
specific idea in mind, they can tap Any Style and describe exactly what they
want. And Image Playground can now send a user’s description or photo to
ChatGPT and create a unique image.

Shortcuts features new intelligent actions that allow users
to create shortcuts that are more powerful than ever, including summarizing
text with Writing Tools and creating images with Image Playground. Users can
also tap directly into Apple Intelligence models to provide responses that feed
into the rest of their shortcuts. For example, a student can build a shortcut
that uses Apple Intelligence models to compare an audio transcription of a
class lecture to the notes they took, and add any key points they may have
missed.

Powerful New Ways to Work with Files

iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new ways to manage, access,
and edit files. An enhanced Files app with an updated List view allows users to
see more of their document details in resizable columns and collapsible
folders. To make folders easier to identify at a glance, Files also offers
folder customization options that include custom colors, icons, and emoji that
sync across devices. For quicker access, users can now drag any folder from the
Files app right into the Dock. Additionally, users can set a default app for
opening specific files or file types.

The Preview App Comes to iPad

Preview comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app for
creating a quick sketch, as well as viewing, editing, and marking up PDFs and
images with Apple Pencil or by touch. Users can access all of their PDFs and
images in the Files app right from Preview, create an empty page, use Apple
Pencil to draw and write on it, and use AutoFill to quickly fill out PDF forms.

New Ways to Work with Apps

Taking advantage of the incredible power of Apple silicon,
iPadOS 26 unlocks the ability to perform computationally intensive Background
Tasks. When users start a long-running process in an app, Background Tasks will
show up with Live Activities, giving users complete control and a clear sense
of what is running. And developers can use an updated Background Tasks API that
allows users to perform long-running tasks from their apps, too.

iPadOS 26 also brings new audio features that offer more
flexible input and streamlined recording. Users now have better control over
their audio input, with the ability to choose different microphones for each
app, as well as individual websites. Recorded audio will be made even better
with the availability of Voice Isolation, which blocks ambient noise, and
allows clear and crisp recordings. And with AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active
Noise Cancellation (ANC), and AirPods Pro 2, studio-quality audio recording
allows users to record their content with great sound quality and enjoy clear
calls.

With Local capture, users can produce high-quality
recordings right from iPad with any video conferencing app, and easily share
audio and video files once the call is over. Echo cancellation of other
participants’ audio keeps the user’s voice front and center, allowing for a
clear recording of their side of the call.

New Apps, Plus More Ways to Communicate

With iPadOS 26, Journal comes to iPad, making it easy for
users to capture and write about the details of everyday moments or special
events. Using Apple Pencil or touch, users can incorporate drawings and
handwriting, along with photos, videos, audio recordings, places, their state
of mind, and more. Users can keep multiple journals for various aspects of
life, and now have access to a beautiful map view that organizes entries by
location.

The all-new Apple Games app brings users a new home for
gaming, and iPadOS 26 introduces Game Overlay, which allows users to quickly
see new events and updates, adjust settings, call or invite a friend mid-game,
and more.

The Messages app brings conversation Backgrounds, which lets
a user personalize their chats with stunning designs and create unique
backgrounds that fit their conversation with Image Playground. Messages also
brings Polls and a redesigned details view that helps users easily navigate
what has been shared in a conversation, and supercharges group chats with
typing indicators, as well as the ability to request and receive Apple Cash.
Additionally, the Phone app comes to iPad, and includes updates like Hold Assist⁵ and
Call Screening.⁶

Additional iPadOS 26 updates:

• Available
  in the tool palette, the new reed pen uses stroke-angle presets
  to enable a traditional calligraphy experience with Apple Pencil or touch
  in apps like Notes, Preview, Freeform, and Journal; when using Markup; and
  in third-party apps using the PencilKit API.

• Calculator introduces
  new 3D graphing capabilities in Math Notes, allowing users to write an
  equation with three variables and create a graph in three dimensions.

• Notes adds
  the ability to import and export a note into a markdown file, along with
  support for capturing conversations in the Phone app as audio recordings
  with transcriptions.

• Accessibility features
  include Accessibility Reader, a new systemwide reading mode designed to
  make text easier to read for users who are blind, have low vision, or have
  other disabilities affecting reading; an all-new Braille Access experience
  that offers a user-friendly interface for users with a connected braille
  display; Share Accessibility Settings to temporarily use accessibility
  settings on another person’s device; and more.