iPadOS

When Apple finished its iPadOS 26 section of WWDC, I was in awe. It felt as if my child was all grown up. They added nearly every feature I ever wanted to the iPad and iPadOS. They made the iPad feel brand new with a simple OS update and finally made it feel like a Mac! Here are some of the best features that truly make the iPad feel more like a Mac.

The best part of Apple’s keynote yesterday, for me, was the introduction of iPadOS 26. Apple finally opened up the floodgates and gave iPad users everything they wanted. We have an actual multitasking window manager, new menu toolbars, better background tasks, and a revamped files app. All this has transformed how people will view iPads moving forward. But the fantastic thing is that this is not just reserved for the $1300+ iPad Pro; this now works on the $299 entry-level iPad. Apple just made the entry-level iPad the best value in computers. Let me explain.

If you’ve already refreshed your setup with the official iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 wallpapers, here’s your chance to complete the set. You can now download the brand-new iPadOS 26 light and dark wallpapers.

As your resident iPad advocate, I will continue to say that the iPad is the most versatile computer on the market. It can be a laptop, tablet, e-book, a notetaking machine, or even a portable display. In this post, we will be focusing on that final piece. iPads have always had fantastic displays for all things media consumption, especially now with the M4 iPad Pro. But what if I told you that you could use that same iPad as a dummy display to play your Xbox, PlayStation, or even your Mac mini? Here is how you do it.

I’ve used an iPad Pro as my primary computer for nearly 10 years. And over that time, iPadOS multitasking features have changed a lot. But there’s one such iPad tool I depend on that’s been around since the start, and only improved with time: Slide Over.

Working from an M4 iPad Pro has its shortcomings, but it also comes with a lot of strengths. Here are some key iPadOS features that have made full-time iPad productivity serve me so well.

If you have read or watched any of my content over the last few years, you might have realized that my iPad Pro is my main computer. Yes, I have a Mac Mini, but when it comes to getting actual work done, I always gravitate towards my iPad (I am currently writing this on my iPad). Something about the combination of gorgeous hardware and single app optimization nature of the software really makes the iPad a joy to use. With the release of iPadOS 18 we got an abundance of new features that has helped me double and triple down on this sentiment. We all know the headlining features, but I want to share a few other features that not many people know about. Lets get into it!

With so many devices in our pockets and everyday carry, each device has its own form of charging or wattage capacity, it is now more important than ever to make sure you have the correct charger for each device. For instance, my iPhone charges at 15W via Qi2 but can charge at up to 40W when wired in, so what is the best solution? I’m here to help you pick the best charger no matter your price point.

I’ve used the iPad Pro as my primary computer for almost a decade. Here are four reasons you might enjoy making the M4 iPad Pro your laptop replacement too.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is aiming to release its first foldable in 2028. Gurman describes it as “something akin to a giant iPad that unfolds into the size of two iPad Pros side-by-side.”

Freeform was released alongside iPadOS 16 in October 2022. Apple created it as a more collaborative and project-focused notes app alternative. Even though it has stayed relatively the same since its debut, I personally think it’s one of Apple’s least talked about and most underrated app offerings in their ecosystem. iPadOS 18 brought some life into Freeform by adding one new feature that has helped with app navigation immensely: Freeform Scenes.

Unlike the Mac, there’s no 24-inch iPad screen size, or even a 15-inch model. Apple’s tablet tops out at 13 inches (for now), making every inch of screen real estate especially valuable.

But did you know that, with one simple setting tweak, you can adjust the size of content on your iPad to fit more things on screen?

Every time a new iPad Pro is released, the reviews repeat the same narrative: powerful hardware, hamstrung software. The M4 reviews have been no exception.

This gap isn’t because of a lack of effort on Apple’s part. The company has continually developed and pushed iPadOS forward in the nine years since the iPad Pro debuted. But the general consensus among reviewers is that there’s still a lot of work to do.

But what, exactly, would that work look like? How might the iPad’s software finally make good on the potential of its hardware?

Federico Viticci at MacStories has attempted to answer exactly those questions.

The impact of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is continuing to unfold with the latest from the regulators stipulating that Apple’s iPadOS needs to follow the same new rules as iOS. With that, Epic has shared its plan to bring back Fortnite via the new EU Epic Games Store on not just iPhone, but also iPad.

If you are anything like me, you might have upwards of five to ten different streaming services, which has made it a daunting task to find what content you finally want to watch. Not only that, but streaming services are constantly taking turns with the actual content that’s on each platform, just adding to the confusion. So when Kernel promised to be a solution to the overwhelming complexity of modern entertainment consumption, I had to give it a try. Here is my hands-on take!

I am always on the lookout for tech accessories that are different, unique and serve multiple purposes. Recognizing this, JOURNEY has introduced two new products that redefine the concept of convenience and style in our tech-driven lives: the ALTI ULTRA Fast Wireless Charging Desk Mat and the TRIO ULTRA 3-in-1 Fast Wireless Charging Station. These Made for MagSafe products are not just about charging your devices; they’re about enhancing your experience.

We now live in a world that is all subscription-based. Whether it’s for a streaming service or a productivity suite, there seems to always be some sort of pricing attached to it. OnlyOffice, the team behind the popular open-source project, is trying to alleviate all of that. They have just launched a new solution – OnlyOffice DocSpace.

For better or worse, my iPad Pro is my main computer. Since Apple released its 2018 iPad Pro alongside the newly rebranded iPadOS 13, I have been using it as my main form of computing. The reason I went this route was purely because of the look and feel. It was the first time I ever felt like I was in the future when it came to a consumer product. Clearly, the hardware for the 2018 iPad Pro was ahead of its time. It could go from a leisure tablet to a split screen workhorse, to a digital notepad, to a gaming console. I was willing to live with the software restrictions it was plagued with.

Dark Mode on iPhone, iPad, and Mac is fairly flexible. You can toggle it on or off from Control Center or Settings, automatically switch based on time of day, or use local sunrise and sunset time to switch.

There’s one method for invoking dark mode that’s still missing, however, and watchOS 10 on the Apple Watch Ultra shows how it could work.

Apple released iPadOS 16 at the end of October 2022, one full month after iOS 16 was released to the public; there was good reason for this. Apple finally made some worthwhile features available to the iPad like Stage Manager, secondary monitor support, a new weather app, and much more. After finally giving iPad users some sort of external monitor support, what else could Apple be working on for this amazing tablet? Parker Ortolani created a concept that illustrates how Apple could approach iPadOS 17, with a focus on simplicity, ease of use, and leveling up the features that iPadOS 16 brought!

Plugable has been known to make some high-quality USB-C and Thunderbolt docking stations, ranging from smaller on-the-go solutions to more robust and stationary desktop solutions. I personally used their 13-in-1 Docking Station for years with MacBooks, iPads, and even Windows computers. They are compact, well-built, and most importantly, reliable. But now that some iPads have secondary monitor support, they came up with a docking solution that allows you to use your iPad as a tablet while also giving you the freedom to use a secondary display and treat it as a computer!