Revolutionize Your Workflow: Discover How iPadOS 26’s New Windowing System Boosts Productivity

While it’s feasible to accomplish tasks on an iPad, the experience isn’t as smooth as using a top-tier MacBook. Although iPadOS serves well for iPads, it lacks the comprehensive capabilities of macOS. Fortunately, the upcoming iPadOS 26 introduces a promising feature aimed at enhancing productivity.

This new feature is an advanced windowing system that improves how you interact with app windows. You’ll be able to close, minimize, resize, and organize windows with ease. The system includes a Mac-style menu bar for window controls and is compatible with Stage Manager, allowing for efficient grouping of windows into stages.

I’m eager to test this windowing system personally to gauge its effectiveness. While I don’t expect it to replicate the exact experience of a Mac, any improvement that simplifies working on an iPad is welcome.

Exploring the New Windowing System

The newly introduced windowing system in iPadOS 26 offers a significant improvement for managing app windows on iPads. Demonstrated at WWDC, this system allows for easier and more intuitive resizing, moving, and organizing of app windows. It’s designed to handle multiple windows simultaneously while retaining the unique user experience of the iPad, rather than just duplicating macOS features.

This system includes window controls that enable you to close, minimize, resize, and tile windows as needed. It’s tailored for the iPad’s interface, allowing for effortless snapping of windows into place. A key feature is that apps remember their size and position, reopening exactly as you left them.

While iPadOS 26 adopts the familiar macOS menu bar, complete with the classic red, yellow, and green control buttons, it integrates these elements in a way that enhances usability on iPad. These controls are accessible with simple gestures, and the updated search function helps locate features quickly. Developers have the flexibility to customize the menu bar for their apps.

The system also includes an Exposé view to see all open windows at once, facilitating easy app switching. This feature is useful in conjunction with Stage Manager, particularly when using an external monitor to expand workspace and manage multiple applications.

What Makes Me Excited

Typically, I resort to using an iPad for work only when there are no better options. Tasks like writing and editing in Google Docs or browsing on Chrome are doable but noticeably slower than on a MacBook or a PC running Windows 11. The difficulty in managing windows, even with Stage Manager, adds to the challenge.

The improvements in the new windowing system for iPadOS 26 address one of my major frustrations. The ability to resize and position windows more intuitively, along with the integration with Stage Manager for managing multiple windows, seems promising.

If this new system performs as expected, my iPad Pro M4 might finally stand a chance as a practical alternative to a MacBook. With the public beta of iPadOS 26 slated for release in July, it won’t be long before we see if these enhancements live up to Apple’s claims.

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