For 15 years, I've waited to see the iPad reach its potential. For 15 years, I've hoped that Apple's best-selling tablet would become more than just a "big iPhone". And now, it seems like my prayers have been answered.
As soon as I installed iPadOS 26, the latest update available now, I knew that things had changed: my iPad was now all grown up.
In fact, the new additions to the iPad's operating system are so big that they completely change the way you interact with Apple's awkward middle child.
Now it's the iPad's time to shine
During my time in college, as a young student working at my local Apple Store, I opted for an iPad over a Mac to help me get through my studies.
At the time, over five years ago now, the iPad Pro was a powerful device with an operating system that was completely holding it back.
Not only was everything clunky and mobile-based, but there was a lack of proper file management and an inability to quickly manage windows.
Over the years, some of my iPadOS qualms have been squashed, but to this day, my iPad Pro M2, which is more powerful than the Mac I'm writing this article from, has been underclocked by Apple's obsession with making iPadOS the same as iOS.
At WWDC 2025, that all changed thanks to what Apple calls "An entirely new, powerful and intuitive windowing system."
Windows on iPad
In iPadOS 26 (yes, Apple decided to rename iPadOS 19), users can now easily switch between app windows and organize them like never before.
I've been using the software for a couple of months and can easily get six apps stacked on top of each other, similar to a Mac, which completely transforms the capabilities of an iPad.
Even better, Apple has made the new window management tool work seamlessly with Stage Manager so you can connect your iPad to an external display and reap the benefits of the new OS without being limited to mirroring what's on your tablet's display.
A menu bar, finally
If this new iPad window management were the only new addition in iPadOS 26, it would've been enough to tempt me to switch back to an iPad as my primary computing device. Amazingly, there's even more, including the arrival of a menu bar on iPad for the first time ever.
Yep, the iPad now functions more like a Mac than an iPhone, and I'm genuinely over the moon. Now iPad users will be able to quickly access functional tools by simply dragging down from the top of their iPad's display. Great job, Apple.
And even more Mac-like powers
Window management, a menu bar, and... Proper file management combined with Preview.
Apple seriously decided to completely reestablish the iPad as a machine for getting things done, and finally, the high price tag of the iPad Pro seems justified.
Time and time again, I've written about the iPad's crux being its software, but Apple seems to have listened to the millions of tablet users clamoring for efficiency and decided to give the iPad every bit of attention it deserves.
In iPadOS 26, compatible devices now have access to Preview, one of the Mac's best features, which allows you to quickly access (you guessed it) a preview of your files.
Preview is housed in a new Files app that looks more like Finder on Mac than ever before, emphasizing this next chapter in the iPad's story.
The iPad just took center stage
After getting to grips with the new features in iPadOS 26, I can't help but smile at the fact that for the first time ever, it feels like Apple listened to its loyal, patient iPad users.
iPadOS 26 will go down as a major landmark launch in the history of the iPad; it's the release where Apple decided to push the iPad to new heights.
Now, after all these years, we finally have an answer to Apple's iconic "What's a computer?" ad. Back then, the Cupertino-based company wanted you to say "An iPad", but deep down, we all knew it really wasn't. Now, however, an iPad is definitely a computer, and I can't contain my excitement.
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