iPadOS 26

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<div style="font: bold 2em/1.2 -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'SF Pro Display', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: var(--wiki-color);">iPadOS 26</div>
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! class="ios-lab" | Developer
| class="ios-val" | [[Apple]]
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! class="ios-lab" | Announced
| class="ios-val" | June 9, 2025 (WWDC25)
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! class="ios-lab" | Initial release
| class="ios-val" | September 15, 2025
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! class="ios-lab" | Latest release
| class="ios-val" | 26.6
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! class="ios-lab" | iOS sibling
| class="ios-val" | [[iOS 26]]
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! class="ios-lab" | Preceded by
| class="ios-val" | [[iPadOS 18]]
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! class="ios-lab" | Succeeded by
| class="ios-val" | [[iPadOS 27]] (in beta)
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{{iPadOS Version Navbox}}

iPadOS 26 is the seventh and current release of [[iPadOS]], released on September 15, 2025, under the year-aligned numbering that jumped the platform from 18 to 26. It is widely judged the most significant iPadOS release ever shipped: the multitasking system was rebuilt as true windowing — freely resizable, placeable, tileable windows with traffic-light controls, a Mac-style menu bar, a pointer-precise cursor, and Exposé — available on every supported iPad, not just M-series, and replacing Stage Manager's constrained groups outright.

With the windowing came the Liquid Glass design shared across Apple's 26-generation platforms, a Files app overhaul (list customization, folder colors, default-app control), the Preview app from the Mac, background tasks for pro workflows (long exports keep running), and audio input selection per app — the working-professional checklist the platform had deferred for years.

= Features =

The windowing system with menu bar, tiling, and Exposé; Liquid Glass; Files and Preview upgrades; background tasks; local capture for calls; per-app audio routing; phone-app parity (Hold Assist, Call Screening); Apple Intelligence expansion including live translation; and the Games app. Point releases through 26.6 have refined windowing behaviors and the design language.

= Supported devices =

iPad (8th gen) and later, iPad mini 5 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, iPad Pro 3rd gen and later — a modest cull of the oldest 18-era devices, with windowing running fleet-wide.

= Legacy =

Still unfolding — but the verdict arrived fast: reviewers called iPadOS 26 the release that finally let the hardware breathe, the answer to a decade of "the iPad is a computer" arguments. Its windowing system is the new baseline every future release builds on, starting with [[iPadOS 27]].