Well, for the faithful of the iPad, the opening of Apple WWDC 2025 was the day when the faith was rewarded. Like countless others, I waited for a major upgrade for iPados, and the Cupertino -based technology giant delivered.
Yes, iPados 26 bring liquid glass, but more importantly for all the iPads that support it, you will get a real multitasking, the possibility of submitting files in the quay, a menu bar at the top, one of the most addictive gestures I used and the possibility for the tasks to perform in the background.
On the side, it was the timeless time of The Keynote, and I was able to go briefly with iPados 26 operating on a 13 -inch iPad Pro with M4 attached to a magic keyboard with an Apple Crayer Pro.
Now, send the elephant in the room – allowing the historical features that I have listed above means that the iPad looks like a Mac, but do not call this a Mac. Yes, Apple has taken certain mac features rather than reinventing the entire concept – say, for fenced, minimized or widened buttons at the top left or the menu bar – but all this is well thought out for the iPad, and takes advantage of one of the best parts of an iPad.
Multitouch.
With the approach of the iPad, it is in a way a choice of choice, while on the Mac, it is the keyboard and the trackpad. I used it and I saw a finger demo controlling the windows, as well as the use of the Apple pencil to move the items and even the cursor. It’s all about control, since you see it and want to use it, you can do it to get the most out of your iPad. Let’s talk about why.
Let’s start with the most exciting part – from any application, you can pull from the lower corner – it is defined with an effect, a slightly darker edge at the bottom right – to easily resize the window by pulling it back and forth. So, from full screen, you simply pull it to the other side to make it smaller, for width or height, then you can enter the top of the window to place it wherever you want.
Using the quay, you can then drag and place another application or make a blow up for the PEEK mode to access your home screen and place any application in this arrangement. It’s really fluid and finally allows you to have your ultimate iPad layout. Maybe it is a safari window open to a Google meeting in the area, the Rominders application for your control list and your email when you start your day.
You can also divide the screen with an image, then open an application like Procreat, allowing you to see your starting point while drawing something great. This really allows you to adapt the experience to the way you judge it.
Now, this new window configuration replaces SplitView and Slideover, and even if it did not excite me when I heard for the first time, I like the different preset options that you can choose via a long press in the upper left corner of any window and the new gesture.
With a film on the left or right, you can effortlessly separate your screen, then adjust it more by moving the cursor in the middle if necessary. It seems to be an easier way to get a similar result to SplitView, and is frankly fun to do.
You can also press the top of the iPad screen to access a menu bar for things like more precise settings or easy exports – this is the most similar part of the Mac experience. However, given that it is hidden until you need it, I think that users of iPad Power will probably get the best party.
He feels really natural in this implementation, and not a cookie copy and paste from the Mac, given the updated elements and the possibility of controlling with touch and a trackpad.
The complement of the new multitasking approach is a considerably improved file application and a reception station which can now display a live folder. The application will feel familiar, but a new list view with the possibility of personalizing the modifiers, also called columns that you see, will really allow you to adapt it to your specific needs.
For example, I could see myself sorting myself by the last modification, then draw the folder containing images on the quay to modify in an application like Pixelmator, export, then download it in a content management system for a construction of stories. The changes you make in the files or for these arrangements can be synchronized on devices and updates in iCloud also. If you are a fan of colored files wishing to appoint with emojis, you also get that.
These larger exports, perhaps a photo editor in batches or a video export of the final cut pro, can now operate in the background. I got a demo of this, and he lives either at the top of your device with a progress bar or in a small icon near your time when you can follow several exports or tasks.
The really exciting part, even from these demos and a little use, is the fact that this is not limited to the iPad Pro with M4 or the iPad Air with M3 or even another Step-Up model. This new multitasking experience is the result of a new “window prioritization model” which works in conjunction with the performance and resources manager. He was fully reassessed to run on any iPad which supports iPados 26.
This means that the 9th generation iPad – one of the best values ever published by Apple ever published – will get this new multitasking experience, the same for the 10th, 11th or 13th generation, the iPad Air, the iPad Mini and the Pro. You may not be able to open a dozen there at the same time, but that will allow you to push the chip inside further.
For the moment, the iPados 26 is in a beta version of the developer, which means that it is not for your main device, because the bugs and the problems are expected, but a public beta will arrive in July, and this will be published for all those with a device eligible in the fall. I am super excited to spend time with it and finally give it a complete review of a review, but for the moment, it is the upgrade that we expect which distinctly resembles an iPad.
Of course, the Mac has long been the ultimate in productivity, but it lacks contact and is really designed for keyboard and trackpad. The iPad is first multi -touched, and Apple really devotes time to developing an experience that feels made to a goal for several entries, the touch being the first.
Just a just warning, I will use many windows.
