Apple's new OS might finally make iPad "Pro"

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 11 June 2025

The upcoming iPadOS 26 update feels like wish fulfilment for those wanting to get more out of their iPads. While Apple has stopped short of putting macOS on iPad, iPadOS 26 - on paper - addresses many complaints power users have had about Apple's tablet operating system.

As a video editor in a former life and someone who dabbles in audio production, the fact iPads will finally be able to run certain tasks in the background is a massive deal. Apple brought its pro apps like Final Cut and Logic to iPad years ago, but they've been hamstrung by how the operating system handles background activity.

If you were trying to export a large file - something that can take hours for a large video project - but then navigated to another app, Final Cut would stop the export. Not being able to do anything other than twiddle your thumbs while waiting for an app to finish doing something is a big limitation. Apple is finally addressing it in iPadOS 26.

Apple is also taking another crack at how multitasking works in iPadOS 26. Multi-tasking on iPad is something Apple has been trying to solve since 2019, when iPadOS was splintered from iOS for iPhone. Until now, all of Apple's multitasking tools on iPad - Split View and Centre Stage - have had firm limitations. That changes with iPadOS 26, where apps can simply be opened as windows. You can resize them how you want, and keep things as chaotic or ordered as you like. Kinda like on Mac.

Another Mac-esque feature is a menu bar. Just like on Mac, apps will be able to expose their functions via a menu bar. While many iPad apps have some sort of way for doing this already, the menu bar should be a more comprehensive option, especially in apps with extensive feature sets.

iPadOS 26 obviously also brings in a whole host of other changes, like the new Liquid Glass design being rolled out across all of Apple's platforms. It will also benefit from many of the changes found in iOS 26, which you can read about here.

Many of these - like live translation - will no doubt be very handy. But to me, they're a little less exciting. iPadOS 26's biggest changes rewrite iPad's rules and have the potential to make it a truly "pro" device.

A public beta of iPadOS 26 will be available in July.

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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