I Just Installed iPadOS 26, And These Are 8 Of My Favorite Features
September 18th, 2025, Posted by travelwith2ofus
This isn't just a keyboard; it's a full-featured case with a trackpad that transforms your iPad into a laptop. It offers a premium typing experience with backlit keys and an adjustable kickstand, perfectly complementing iPadOS's new windowing capabilities for multitasking on the go. Stay productive anywhere your work takes you. Why I Love It with iPadOS 26: The article's discussion of Flexible Windowing comes to life with this case. It provides the essential physical tools, a keyboard and trackpad, to seamlessly manage multiple windows and apps, turning your iPad into a true productivity machine just like a Mac. For the creative mind or the busy professional, a stylus is indispensable. This popular alternative to the Apple Pencil offers pixel-perfect precision, palm rejection, and tilt support. It's the perfect tool for annotating documents, sketching ideas, or navigating your iPad with remarkable accuracy and control. Why I Love It with iPadOS 26: The new Preview app in iPadOS 26 finally gives you a powerful tool for document and image work. A stylus like this unlocks that power, making it easy to mark up PDFs, sign documents, and quickly crop or edit photos with a level of precision your finger can’t match. Unleash the full potential of the iPad's USB-C port. This hub is a must-have for professionals and creators, providing a range of ports for connecting external drives, monitors, and memory cards. It makes it easy to transfer large files and manage all your peripherals from a single, compact accessory. Why I Love It with iPadOS 26: Your article highlights the major overhaul of the Files app. This hub is the perfect partner for that feature, allowing you to seamlessly plug in external SSDs and cameras. It turns the iPad into a true file-management powerhouse, giving you the desktop-class experience you’ve always wanted.
I’ve been an iPad user since 2012, and I’ll admit there have been times when it felt like a giant iPhone. It had all the power, but the software was holding it back. Well, that all changed on September 17th. I just finished installing iPadOS 26, and after spending several hours with it, I can confidently say that the iPad has finally reached closer to its full potential. Here are the my top 8 favorite features.
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While it’s not a major productivity feature, I just love how Liquid Glass looks. The entire user interface, from the dock to the menu bars, now has this subtle, reflective quality that makes it feel alive.
When I swipe between my home screens, the icons and widgets don't just move, they glide over a surface that feels like water, with light refracting and bending as they pass.
It’s a purely aesthetic change, but it makes every interaction feel incredibly polished and intentional. It’s not distracting; it’s just beautiful.
This is the feature I've been dreaming of. Flexible Windowing has completely transformed how I work. Instead of being locked into a rigid Split View or Stage Manager layout, I can finally manage my windows exactly the way I want.
I can have a web browser open on the left, a Notes app floating freely on the right, and even a third app for Messages tucked away in a corner. I can resize, overlap, and move windows to fit my workflow, not the other way around.
It’s the ultimate expression of the iPad's power, finally unshackled by software limitations. It genuinely feels like using a Mac, but with the added bonus of touch.
As a Mac user, I live in Preview. I use it for everything from browsing PDFs to making quick image edits. Now, with it on my iPad, my workflow is seamless.
I no longer have to use a third-party app to annotate a PDF or quickly crop a screenshot. All my PDFs and images are accessible directly from the Preview app, and I can make changes that sync instantly across all my devices.
It feels familiar, powerful, and it was the missing link for me to truly use my iPad as a secondary computer.
This is a game-changer for my home life. I'm usually at my desk with my iPad, but my phone is often across the room on its charger. With the native Phone app on iPadOS 26, I can make and receive phone calls directly on my iPad.
The call quality is fantastic, and it’s so convenient to not have to stop what I'm doing and grab my iPhone. It integrates perfectly with my contacts and my Apple Watch, so I get all the benefits of my phone call history without ever having to touch my iPhone while at home. It’s a small detail that makes a huge difference in my daily routine.
This is one of those features that sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. I'm in a group chat with family members who live in Panama, and the language barrier can sometimes be a challenge. With Live Translation, that’s no longer a problem.
The iPad automatically translates their incoming texts, including group messages, right in the chat. And the best part? I can type my response in English, and it’s instantly translated for them.
It works so smoothly that our conversations now flow without any awkward pauses or misunderstandings. It's truly incredible.
Trying to get a group of friends to agree on anything can be a nightmare. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to sort through a dozen different messages to figure out where we're going for dinner or what movie to see on Friday.
The new Polls feature in group chat has solved this problem completely. I can create a simple poll with a few taps, send it out to the group, and everyone can vote instantly.
No more messy threads or unanswered texts. It’s the best way to decide what my family is having for dinner or where my friends are going to hang out on Friday. It’s so simple, yet so effective.
This is one of the more subtle but surprisingly powerful updates. Widgets on my home screen are no longer just static previews. Now, I can interact with them directly without even opening the app.
I can check off a to-do list item from my Reminders widget, skip a song on my Music widget, or turn on a smart light with my Home app widget, all without leaving my home screen.
It adds a new layer of functionality that makes the iPad a more efficient and customizable device. It puts control right at my fingertips, making me feel more in command of my digital life.
For years, the iPad’s file system felt like a locked-down version of its Mac counterpart. With iPadOS 26, the Files app has been completely transformed. It’s no longer a bare-bones file browser but a powerful file manager.
It feels so much more like the Finder on my Mac, with customizable columns, resizable sidebars, and better search capabilities.
I can now easily find and organize documents, images, and other files in a way that’s intuitive and fast. For me, someone who handles a lot of documents for work, this is a monumental improvement that makes the iPad a true powerhouse for productivity.
After just a few hours with it, iPadOS 26 has already solidified its place as the most important iPad update in years. The combination of flexible windowing, a powerful Preview app, and small but critical quality-of-life updates like the native Phone app and interactive widgets makes the iPad feel like a true desktop-class device. If you've been waiting for the iPad to live up to its potential, your wait is over.
Unlock The Power Of iPadOS 26 With These Must-Have Accessories
Logitech Combo Touch
Logitech Crayon
UGREEN Revodok Pro USB-C Hub
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