I can't believe I'm saying this, but the iPad finally feels complete with iPadOS 26

Phone Arena

a day ago

WWDC'25, at least the intriguing opening keynote, is well behind us. iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, and visionOS 26 are all official (and now sharing the same naming scheme, too).
We got to witness what the future holds for the iPhone, Apple Watch and the Mac in terms of software, and like it or not, it's all Liquid Glass. Judging from how long Apple relied on its previous modern and flat design language (well over a decade!), it becomes obvious that we are possibly getting at least ten years of this new glass-like design language. Congrats, everyone!
While I'm still getting to grasp with this new Liquid Glass redesign, one round of updates that hit a specific device platform truly amazed me during yesterday's event. It seems that Apple finally decided it's high-time to take the iPad seriously and delivered a round of excellent updates to iPadOS 26 that finally feels like its potential could be realized.
With proper window management courtesy of Stage Manager 2, the world's most popular line of tablets now finally gets a proper desktop environment that would feel instantly familiar to anyone who has ever used a mainstream personal computer.
iPadOS 26 can now more or less be a capable MacBook replacement
Resizable windows with the control buttons in the upper-left corner, the ability to freely place app windows wherever you want on the screen, and have them remember their size and positioning upon relaunch is an inherent aspect of regular desktop operating systems, and at the same time features that the iPad lacked. Until now, that is.
But swipe down from the top edge of the tablet, and you're greeted by another interface element that is painfully familiar to macOS users––a menu bar with all the core functionalities of the apps you use, nested and neatly organized to provide quick and intuitive access to various features. There's even a quick and easy way to get to an app's dedicated settings page in the iPad's main Settings.
The Files app has also been updated to display way more of your documents' details, and you can even resize the columns however it pleases you. Even the Mac's Expose view has been ported over!
Yes, I can pinch you if it works for you, we are not collectively dreaming here. Over the years, many have lamented Apple's seeming inadequacy to make the iPad a device worthy of its potential.
From a hardware standpoint, the iPad has been untouchable for years, packing some serious internals that not only blow away the competition, but also rival Apple's lower-tier MacBooks in terms of performance and capabilities.
It looks and feels just like a proper desktop should
The software, on the other hand, has been mostly lackluster, especially in the pre-iPadOS days. Back then, the iPad was a glorified large iPhone, and even Apple wasn't aware what to do with it and what direction its development should take.
As soon as iPadOS branched out from iOS in 2019, we started seeing some notable additions to the software that definitely pushed the software further, strengthening the reason for existence of the whole category and culminating with this here iPadOS 26.
Files now feels like… a pretty decent mobile alternative to the Mac's Finder
One take that was continuously discussed in the Apple-centric sphere of the Internet prior, during, and after every major WWDC event was "Why wouldn't Apple just put macOS on the iPad?" .
Well, it was always pretty obvious that you can't automagically transplant a desktop environment onto a portable device and expect it to deliver even a remotely good experience. After all, one is designed to be controlled with cursors and keys, while the other is a device you control with your fingers and occasionally a stylus; it was never going to work.
iPadOS 26 is a better way of implementing the useful features of the Mac on a device you hold and use with your fingers, but add an external keyboard case, or a docking station with a keyboard and a mouse, and you get yourself a pretty decent and more compact MacBook alternative that's very close in terms of overall capabilities.
Sure, we still can't run Mac apps on the iPad, but who knows, maybe Apple is entertaining the idea, and judging by the performance and the hardware potential of the iPad, we might eventually get proper third-party app support on the tablet.
The verdict is in: iPadOS 26 is the closest we've been to having macOS on the iPad…
… thus far!