After a month of beta testing, Apple is almost ready to launch iPadOS 26.1, as the company just seeded the Release Candidate version to developers. With that, the company continues to polish the best update to iPadOS yet since its introduction many years ago.
With iPadOS 26, Apple finally made the iPad a bit more similar to the Mac with a new window tiling system, Mac-like menus, and apps actively running in the background. With iPadOS 26.1 RC, the company brings back the Slide Over functionality, which lets users have one app running in front of the others at all times. iPad owners can now keep an app like ChatGPT in Slide Over while continuing to browse the web with Safari, completing a homework assignment, or just using it to brainstorm some ideas for a presentation. This time, Slide Over is more customizable and easier to use than it was on iPadOS 18.
iPadOS 26.1 also expands Apple Intelligence
With iPadOS 26.1 RC, Apple is also upgrading the Apple Intelligence platform with new languages. The company is adding support for Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese, in addition to Portuguese (Portugal) and Chinese (Traditional). In addition to that, the Live Translation feature for AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3 is getting support for Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Chinese — both Traditional and Simplified.
Besides that, iPadOS 26.1 RC is getting a revamped Apple TV app icon following Apple’s rebrand of the Apple TV+ streaming to Apple TV, alongside its Formula 1 partnership announcement. The company is also improving the Liquid Glass design with new toggles for better readability, while also fixing bugs and adding new security patches. Alongside iPadOS 26.1 RC, Apple is also seeding the Release Candidate versions of iOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1.
