iPadOS 26 was unveiled one year ago with major upgrades for iPad productivity. I've been using the update on my iPad Pro since that first beta arrived, and here's where Apple's major update has worked for me, and where it still comes up short.
What's working for me in iPadOS 26
It took 15 years, but Apple finally brought proper app windowing to iPadOS—and for the most part it's been a success. I love being able to freely resize app windows to fit my needs. I generally have certain apps that I keep in a mostly fullscreen view, while others stay more compact on either the left or right side of my screen as popovers.
iPadOS 26's windowing system has also enabled one of my favorite new capabilities: keeping the dock on-screen at all times like in macOS. As long as windows stay away from the bottom of the screen, you can turn on a setting that keeps the dock visible. This has been one of my favorite overall changes—especially since you can now add more apps to the dock than ever, and file folders too.
The Files app in iPadOS 26, combined with the new Preview app, has been another highlight. File management on iPad now feels largely up to par with the Mac. The ability to quickly preview images, PDFs, and even video files without opening a dedicated app saves time and keeps the workflow smooth. Column view, introduced in an earlier update, is now more polished and lets you navigate deep folder hierarchies without losing context.
I'm also a fan of the menu bar, though I'd love Apple to take it a step further and make it more Mac-like. But as it stands, the iPad menu bar is a useful hub for exposing an app's features and controls. For example, in Safari you can access bookmarks, history, and extensions from the menu bar—no more hunting for hidden menus. Finally, though it's unrelated to productivity, I've been loving having Apple Journal on my iPad too. The app scales beautifully on the larger screen, with support for text, photos, location, and stickers. For the first time, iPadOS feels like it's a match for the iPad's powerful hardware, and that's exciting.
Where iPadOS still feels like a work in progress
I use the iPad Pro as my full-time computer, and I can confidently say iPadOS 26 is the biggest software upgrade the iPad has ever had. But my heavy iPad use also shows where the software falls short. For example, one feature Apple touts about iPadOS 26's windowing system is 'persistent size and placement.' In other words, windows should stay where you place them, in the exact size you make them. This is often what happens. But also, probably every day or at least every other day, I'll have an app crash and reset to fullscreen view. Thus, I'm forced to move and resize it again.
I might understand this happening if my iPad was underpowered. But I'm using an M5 iPad Pro with 16GB of RAM and a 10-core CPU. This is the most powerful iPad you can buy. And this type of behavior just doesn't happen on the Mac. At least not with anywhere near this regularity. The M5 chip is based on a 3‑nanometer process with a 12‑core Neural Engine, yet the software still struggles to maintain window state. This suggests a fundamental issue in how the system manages app memory and window geometry, not a hardware limitation.
Another more serious issue involves Slide Over. I'm thrilled that Apple brought the feature back in iPadOS 26.1, after a controversial removal in the initial release. But I still sorely miss the ability to keep multiple apps in Slide Over at the same time. For an update that pushes the iPad forward in most ways, it's disappointing that iPadOS 26 offers a worse Slide Over experience than iPadOS 18. In iPadOS 18, you could stack multiple light-weight apps like Messages, Calendar, and Music in Slide Over and swipe between them. Now you can only have one Slide Over app at a time, and it dismisses when you switch to another. This feels like a regression for multitaskers.
Some other minor complaints: Right-clicking in iPadOS often feels slow and laggy, while on a Mac it's just instant. The cursor animation has a noticeable delay, especially when using a third-party mouse or trackpad. Even with a trackpad and cursor, app windows often get moved when I'm trying to resize them, and vice versa. The hit targets for window corners are too small, and there's no snap-to-grid behavior to prevent accidental moves. Keyboard bugs in Safari mean I'll often type a character in the address bar only to have it erased by a software auto-suggestion. This happens with both the Magic Keyboard and third-party Bluetooth keyboards. When using certain websites, there are still plenty of times I have to use a Mac just because Safari on iPad won't let me click a button that I need to click—often due to JavaScript detection or pop-up handling that doesn't translate well to touch.
I could keep listing smaller issues, but I imagine everyone has their own list of bugs and shortcomings. And the Mac isn't perfect in this area too—I know plenty of Mac users aren't thrilled with macOS Tahoe. But the iPad is supposed to be simpler, and these issues undercut that promise.
iPadOS 26 one year later: Beyond the surface
Looking at the bigger picture, iPadOS 26 represents a philosophical shift for Apple. For years, the iPad was held back by software that didn't leverage its powerful chips. With the introduction of proper windowing and an always-on dock, Apple is finally acknowledging that the iPad can serve as a primary computer—not just a content consumption device. The addition of a menu bar brings feature parity to many apps, and the Files app now supports external drives and network shares more reliably than ever.
However, these advances come with new complexities. The same users who asked for a more Mac-like iPad are now encountering Mac-like frustrations: apps that crash, windows that forget their state, and peripherals that lag. Apple's challenge is to provide desktop-class power without desktop-class instability. The M5 iPad Pro has the hardware to run multiple virtual machines, yet it can't keep a Notes window in place. This dissonance suggests that iPadOS 27 needs a dedicated focus on reliability and polish.
Another area that remains underexplored is external display support. iPadOS 26 extended the windowing system to work on a connected monitor, but the experience is still far from plug-and-play. Apps often open on the wrong display, and the extended screen doesn't support full resolution in many scenarios. For a device marketed as a laptop replacement, this is a notable gap.
Looking forward, Apple's roadmap likely includes deeper integration with the Apple Silicon architecture. The M5 chip features advanced memory bandwidth and GPU cores that can accelerate machine learning tasks. Imagine an iPadOS 27 where the system learns your window layout preferences over time and automatically restores them after a crash. Or a Slide Over that intelligently groups related apps based on your workflow. These are the kinds of improvements that would turn iPadOS 26's foundation into a truly mature operating system.
Other users have reported similar highs and lows. In online forums, many celebrate the new windowing system but lament the loss of the old multitasking gestures. Some miss the simple drag-and-drop from iPadOS 15. Others wish Apple would allow side‑by‑side apps of any aspect ratio, not just the predefined split‑screen options. The community also praises the new Preview app for its speed but criticizes its lack of annotation tools compared to the Mac's Preview.
As for iPadOS 27, my wish list includes: reliable persistent windows, multiple Slide Over apps, a unified clipboard manager, and a system‑wide undo button for cursor actions. I'd also like to see Apple extend the menu bar to be application‑specific with customizable items, much like on macOS. Finally, better multitasking gestures using the trackpad—like three‑finger swipe to switch apps or four‑finger pinch to show the desktop—would bring the iPad in line with the Mac's fluidity.
Despite the frustrations, I remain optimistic. iPadOS 26 is a strong foundation. Apple has shown they are willing to make bold changes, even if the execution is imperfect. The fact that the iPad can now run a windowed environment comparable to a desktop OS is a testament to how far the platform has come. With iterative improvements over the next few years, the iPad could finally become the computer for everyone—not just a niche device for artists and executives.
Source: 9to5Mac News