Three months after Apple previewed iPadOS 26 during the WWDC 2025 keynote, the company is almost ready to make the update available to all iPad users, as it just seeded the Release Candidate version. With iPadOS 26 RC, Apple is revamping the iPad experience with new productivity features, apps, and multitasking capabilities.
After years of users asking for a more capable iPadOS, Apple is finally delivering it. More impressively, the update won’t just benefit the iPad Pro models, but all the company’s supported tablets. One of the best examples of that is the new window tilling system, which lets you open multiple windows and manage them at the same time, just like you would do on macOS.
A new Preview app is also available with iPadOS 26 RC. This software has been built for iPad users, even though it’s available on the Mac, and it works perfectly with the Apple Pencil when it comes to signing a document, sketching, or marking up a PDF. The company is also tweaking the Files app and offering the ability to add folders to the main dock.
Liquid Glass and Apple Intelligence in iPadOS 26 RC
With iPadOS 26 RC, iPad users will get the new Liquid Glass design. This new UI refreshes the Lock Screen, Home Screen, Control Center, apps, and icons. Everything feels fresh but still familiar. The glassy look has been improved over the months to ensure it looks great but is also readable. With more customization than the previous version, users can rock a new Clear app design and take advantage of Mac-like menus and toggles.
Besides that, iPadOS 26 RC also brings new Apple Intelligence capabilities. Some of them are powered by ChatGPT, including onscreen awareness, improved Visual Intelligence search by taking a screenshot and highlighting what you want to find online, and new Image Playground creations. Other features include an AI-powered Shortcuts app, a new Live Translation toggle, and Genmoji upgrades.
iPadOS 26 RC is available on iPad 8, iPad mini 5, iPad Air 3, and iPad Pro 3 or later. Apple Intelligence features are exclusive to iPads with an M1 or A17 Pro chip or newer. Alongside iPadOS 26 RC, Apple also seeded the release candidate versions of iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.
