The most impressive update from Apple’s WWDC 2025 was iPadOS 26. There are some seriously awesome features coming to iPad this year and it’s going make plenty of people opt for a tablet instead of a laptop. I tried this on the road last year with the M4 iPad Pro and it was almost good enough. But iPadOS 26 may have changed that for me and many other content creators thanks to some important new features.
“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.”
AUDIO INPUT
iPadOS 26 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.
This is fantastic update for anyone like me who needs more control over audio sources for apps similar to LiveU or Zoom which I use with Sky News Australia weekly.
LOCAL CAPTURE
Here’s another great update that will help podcasters produce better quality audio and video for their audience.
As you can see in the video above, Local capture, allows users to use their favourite meeting app then share a high quality on-device recording afterwards. Simply sync up both, or multiple recordings and you are good to go. This a far better option than those available in the meeting apps. I’ll certainly be using this for an upcoming podcast series. Echo cancellation of other participants’ audio keeps the user’s voice front and centre, allowing for a clear recording of their side of the call.
BACKGROUND TASKS
The latest iPads are extremely powerful thanks to Apple silicon. Now with iPadOS 26, Apple’s tablets can do what its laptops can do, 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.
This is most handy when rendering video or performing some other intensive export task. In my opinion, this makes the iPad good enough to replace a laptop on the road. Apple’s Craig Federighi wasn’t joking when he said, “iPadOS 26 is our biggest iPadOS release ever.”
FILES
There lack of file management in the early days of iOS and iPADOS are long gone. iPadOS 26 introduces clever 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 customisation options that include custom colours, 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.
Working with a file is easier too with Preview App. Now on iPad, Preview gives 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.
WINDOWS
I don’t know about you but I use a lot of tabs and a lot of windows when working on my computers. Now iPadOS 26 brings a whole new windowing system to iPad. Users can work with, control, organise, and switch between app windows but still have the ability to snap back into traditional tablet mode. The new windowing system lets users resize app windows, place them exactly where they want, and open even more windows at once.
Familiar window controls allow users to seamlessly close, minimise, 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 well 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.
There’s also a new menu bar users can access the commands 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 customise the menu bar in their own apps. This is another one of those little steps that moves the iPad closer to a legitimate laptop replacement.
DESIGN
Just like iOS 26, iPadOS 26 has a slick new interface highlighted by Liquid Glass, a translucent new look that reflects and refracts its surroundings. The ability to see through the graphical overlay is a bonus when using the iPad for video and photo editing. You need as much of the screen as possible filled with your image. This helps a lot.
OTHER 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 Maths 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.
- 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 organises entries by location.
- The Messages app brings conversation Backgrounds, which lets a user personalise their chats with creative 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 in the U.S. Additionally, the Phone app comes to iPad, and includes updates like Hold Assist and Call Screening.
- 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.
- 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.
- Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages enables iPad users to communicate across languages. In Messages, incoming texts — including group messages — are automatically translated into the user’s preferred language. 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.
- 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 summarising 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.
All of these features are available for testing now through the Apple Developer Program.
