iPadOS 26 is the seventh and current major release of Apple's iPadOS operating system for the iPad. It was announced on WWDC25 on June 9, 2025, and was released on September 15, 2025. It is the direct successor to iPadOS 18 and was announced alongside iOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26. Additionally, starting from this version of iPadOS, Apple changed its numbering convention for consistency across all operating systems, instead naming all of them after the next year (in this case, 26).[4]
| iPadOS 26 | |
|---|---|
| Version of the iPadOS operating system | |
 | |
 iPadOS 26 running on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro | |
| Developer | Apple |
| Source model | Closed with open-source components |
| General availability | September 15, 2025 |
| Latest release | 26.0.1[1] (September 29, 2025) [±] |
| Latest preview | 26.1 Beta 1[2] (23B5044i)[3] (September 22, 2025) [±] |
| Marketing target | iPads |
| Available in | 42 languages |
List of languages Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional (Hong Kong), Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Lithuanian, (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese | |
| Default user interface | Liquid Glass |
| Preceded by | iPadOS 18 |
| Official website | apple |
| Tagline | Work. Flows. |
| Support status | |
| Supported. Drops support for the iPad (7th generation). | |
| Articles in the series | |
| iOS 26 macOS Tahoe visionOS 26 watchOS 26 tvOS 26 | |
iPadOS 26 debuted a new design using 'Liquid Glass'. It was the first version of iPadOS to be exclusive to iPads with Apple's Neural Engine, as it dropped support for the seventh-generation iPad, making it the first iPadOS version to drop support for an iPad with the 10.2-inch display, the first version since iOS 11 to drop support for only one model, and third version overall to drop support for only one iPad model.
New features and changes
editUser interface
editFor the first time since iOS 7, the user interface was redesigned. It uses a new design, using a new 'material' named 'Liquid Glass', with icons and menus having increased uses of transparency similar to visionOS.
Window management
editA new windowing system creates a similar experience to macOS. Apps are freely resizable, with 'traffic light' controls akin to macOS that allow a user to minimize an app, close it, or make it full-screen. Window tiling options are also available when flicking windows to edges of the display or using new tiling options. A macOS-style menu bar is also available by swiping down on the top of the display.[5]
The new system is powered by a new windowing engine that optimizes window rendering by analyzing which windows are being actively used. This allows the new windowing system to be available on all iPads that support iPadOS 26, while also allowing more windows on the screen at once.[6]
The existing full-screen and Stage Manager window management modes are still available; Stage Manager is now also supported by all iPads that support iPadOS 26, instead of only models with M-series chips and A-series iPad Pro models with iPadOS 18 support.[7]Split View and Slide Over were removed as part of the new window management system.[8]
Journal
editThe Journal app, previously available only on iOS, now has a dedicated iPadOS and macOS version, with the iPadOS version having support for the Apple Pencil stylus.[9]
Preview
editiPadOS 26 now has a Preview app, similar to its equivalent on macOS, with Apple Pencil support to enable features such as markup.[10]
Local Capture
editiPadOS can now separately record high-quality video and audio streams while using applications like video conferencing, which can be shared or used in editing applications for podcasting.[11] The local capture is encoded as an MP4 file, using HEVC video and FLAC audio.[12]
Supported devices
editiPadOS 26 requires an A12 processor or later. It drops support for the iPad (7th generation), which features an A10 SoC.[13][14]
The iPad Air (3rd generation) is the only supported iPad with a 10.5-inch display, while the iPad Mini (5th generation) is the only supported iPad with a 7.9-inch display.
Apple Intelligence requires an Apple M1 or Apple A17 Pro processor or newer.[15][16]
iPads that support iPadOS 26 are:
| Device | Chipset | Release year | Supported | Apple Intelligence support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPad (8th generation) | A12 | 2020 | ||
| iPad (9th generation) | A13 | 2021 | ||
| iPad (10th generation) | A14 | 2022 | ||
| iPad (11th generation) | A16 | 2025 | ||
| iPad mini (5th generation) | A12 | 2019 | ||
| iPad mini (6th generation) | A15 | 2021 | ||
| iPad mini (7th generation) | A17 Pro | 2024 | ||
| iPad Air (3rd generation) | A12 | 2019 | ||
| iPad Air (4th generation) | A14 | 2020 | ||
| iPad Air (5th generation) | M1 | 2022 | ||
| iPad Air (6th generation) | M2 | 2024 | ||
| iPad Air (7th generation) | M3 | 2025 | ||
| iPad Pro (3rd generation) | A12X | 2018 | ||
| iPad Pro (4th generation) | A12Z | 2020 | ||
| iPad Pro (5th generation) | M1 | 2021 | ||
| iPad Pro (6th generation) | M2 | 2022 | ||
| iPad Pro (7th generation) | M4 | 2024 |
Release history
editThe first developer beta of iPadOS 26 was released on June 9, 2025.
| Version | Build | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26.0 | 23A341 | September 15, 2025 | Developer release notes Release notes Security content |
| 26.0.1 | 23A355 | September 29, 2025 | |
| 26.1 beta 1 | 23B5044l | September 22, 2025 | Developer release notes |
Legend: Unsupported Latest version Preview version | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Clover, Juli (September 29, 2025). "Apple Releases iOS 26.0.1 With Fixes for Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Camera Issues on iPhone 17 Models". MacRumors. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ Clover, Juli (September 22, 2025). "Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1". MacRumors. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "iPadOS 26.1 Beta (23B5044i)". Apple Developer. Apple. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "There's No Apple iOS 19: iPhone 17 To Have iOS 26 In Radical Change, Report Claims". Forbes. 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ Pierce, David (2025-06-09). "Apple launches iPadOS 26 with a new look and way better multitasking". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Interview: Craig Federighi Opens Up About iPadOS, Its Multitasking Journey, and the iPad's Essence". 2025-06-18. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "iOS 26: All the Little Changes". MacRumors. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ Christoffel, Ryan (2025-06-09). "PSA: iPadOS 26 removes Split View and Slide Over multitasking features". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Journal App Finally Coming to Mac and iPad". MacRumors. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "Apple is bringing Preview to iPadOS". Engadget. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "How Local Capture immediately turns iPad into a podcasting studio". AppleInsider. 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "A few notes on iPadOS 26 audio and video capture". Six Colors. 2025-06-20. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (2025-06-09). "Apple drops support for just three iPhone and iPad models from iOS and iPadOS 26". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ "iOS 26, iPadOS 26 Are Compatible With These iPhone and iPad Models". Gadgets 360. 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ Prospero, Mike (June 10, 2024). "Here are the devices that will support Apple Intelligence — no older iPhones allowed". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ "iPadOS 26 Preview". Apple. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2024.