Apple unveiled the newest version of iPadOS, iPadOS 26, at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference in June. If you were expecting iPadOS 19, you might be a little surprised to see Apple jump to iPadOS 26, but the new number reflects the 2025-2026 release season for the software update. It lets Apple use the same number across all of its updates, so there’s no more confusion since you’re no longer downloading iOS, macOS, visionOS, and watchOS all with different numbers.

iPadOS 26 brings the first new major design change that Apple has brought to iOS since iOS 7. Liquid Glass reflects and refracts its surroundings, while putting more focus on content. Many interface elements are almost entirely translucent, and the design extends to controls, navigation, app icons, menus, buttons, and widgets.

Liquid Glass transforms depending on content or context, and it behaves like glass in the real world, so color bleeds through from the background, and it is able to adapt well between light and dark elements. Liquid Glass uses real-time rendering and can dynamically react to movement to change the way that light reflects off of buttons, switches, sliders, side bars, tab bars, and more.

You’ll see Liquid Glass throughout iPadOS 26, in all of Apple’s apps, in notifications, on the Lock Screen, in Control Center, and on the Home Screen. Apple is also providing developers with tools to bring the new material to their own apps for a cohesive look. Liquid Glass extends to iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, visionOS 26, tvOS 26, and watchOS 26.

The Liquid Glass design overhaul isn’t just a glossy finish, it also brings updates to the design of controls, toolbars, and navigation throughout iPadOS 26. App windows, menu bars, and other interface elements have more rounded corners, and controls feature a distinct functional layer designed to sit above apps. These kinds of menus can dynamically morph to provide users with more options in an app.

The Lock Screen features a spatial scene option for photo wallpapers, giving them a 3D look and a sense of movement. The Home Screen might look different with an option for translucent icons and widgets, but it is functionally the same.

Apple streamlined the Camera app layout with simpler navigation. It has Photo and Video toggles, with other options tucked away behind menus that expand out with a tap. You can swipe to get to more photo and video options. Apple also updated the Photos app to re-add separate tabs for the Library and Collections views. In Photos, you can also activate Spatial Scene for any image, getting a unique 3D view of the image.

Safari has a new look, and Apple has updated navigation. By default, Safari adopts the more rounded Liquid Glass buttons and nixes the settings at the bottom of the app, but there’s an option to bring them back with a floating tab bar if you prefer a more feature rich menu. Apple Music, News, and Podcasts all have a new tab bar that floats above the content in the app and dynamically shrinks when users are browsing, so the interface options take up less space on the display.

Apple has introduced a whole new multitasking and windowing system. The iPad is more like the Mac than ever, with the option to open multiple app windows and place and resize them at will much like on the Mac. iPad apps now have menu bars and Mac-style window controls for closing, minimizing, resizing, and tiling windows.

Exposé is available on the iPad, so users can see all of the apps they have open with a tap. Apple removed Slide Over and Split View, but Stage Manager is still available for those who want to group their different windows together. External displays are supported for using even more apps at once. The iPad’s cursor is now like the Mac cursor, and with the Magic Keyboard, the trackpad feels more like the Mac trackpad too.

Along with a new design and updated multitasking features, Apple is expanding the Apple Intelligence features that are available on the iPad. Messages, FaceTime, and a new Phone for the iPad all support Live Translation for automatically translating conversations when you’re conversing with someone who speaks another language.

Image Playground supports ChatGPT image generation so you can create images in more styles. Genmoji has a new feature for mixing multiple emoji characters to make a new one, and adding descriptions to create an all-new emoji character.

The Shortcuts app supports intelligent actions that can summarize text, create images, or tap into Apple Intelligence models, making it easier than ever to create automations. Reminders is able to suggest tasks, grocery items and follow-ups based on emails, and it can automatically categorize related reminders into sections.

For developers, Apple is debuting a new Foundation Models framework that allows developers to tap into the AI model that’s at the core of Apple Intelligence, so developers can add new AI features to their apps.

Apple brought the Phone app to the iPad for the first time, and it works through a connected iPhone with Wi-Fi calling. The Phone app has a whole slew of features that are new on both the iPhone and the iPad. There’s a unified layout that combines Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails. A new Call Screening feature asks unknown callers for their name and reason for calling before sending the call to you, stopping unwanted calls. When you’re stuck on hold, there’s a Hold Assist option that stays on the line for you, so you don’t have to listen to irritating hold music. It lets you know when a live agent is available.

Messages can screen texts from unknown senders, sending them silently to a dedicated folder where users can ask for more information or delete them. Group texts now have typing indicators and support for sending and receiving Apple Cash, plus Messages adds customizable backgrounds for each conversation and polls.

In Apple Music, there’s a Lyrics Translation feature that translates lyrics that aren’t in your language, and Lyrics Pronunciation helps you pronounce those lyrics. A new AutoMix feature uses intelligence to transition from one song to another, using time stretching and beat matching for a seamless shift between songs.

Apple added a new Apple Games app that’s an all-in-one destination for discovering and playing games. It supports recommendations, leaderboards, competitions with friends, and more.

iPadOS 26 is limited to developers right now, but a public beta will be available in July. The software will see a public launch in September alongside new iPhone models.

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