Apple Finally Brings Mac-like Windowing and Menu Bar To iPad

Apple unveiled iPadOS 26 at its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, introducing what appears to be the most significant productivity overhaul in the tablet operating system's history. The update brings dynamically resizable windows that users can drag by their corners, a menu bar accessible through swipe gestures or cursor movement, and Expose for viewing all open windows in a tiled array.

The new windowing system allows users to seamlessly close, minimize, resize, and tile app windows while maintaining the iPad's touch-first interface. When users reopen apps, windows return to their last position and size. The menu bar, a longtime Mac staple, provides access to familiar commands like File, Edit, and View through either touch or trackpad controls.

Apple is also enhancing the Files app with resizable columns and collapsible folders, while bringing the Preview app to iPad for the first time with PDF editing capabilities and Apple Pencil support. The update introduces Background Tasks for computationally intensive processes and new audio features including Voice Isolation and Local capture for video calls.

What's a computer?

[CommunityMember]

Perhaps that Apple commercial from 2018 ("What's a computer?") might be getting closer for some consumers.

Re:

[FictionPimp]

I was at a cookout last weekend. My retired uncle stated he doesn't own a computer and can't understand why anyone would own a personal computer if they owned a cell phone. My 16 year old niece agreed.

It was interesting as I've never considered not owning a computer since I bought my first one in the 90s.

Re:What's a computer?

[waspleg]

Apps suck. Computers can do a great deal more, and can actually be under your control too.

Neither of them understand what they've given up (probably even a little bit) for the captive portals they've inured themselves to.

Re:

[FictionPimp]

I guess the question is "does that matter?"

What do you need your computer to do? For work I need very few things. I need my computer to browse the web, to have a semi decent text editor, an email client, a chat tool, a compiler, and a zsh shell.

For my personal life, taking gaming out of the equation (which I almost never do anymore) I need a email client, web browser, photo manager, and chat tool.

Sure it's great to have all this freedom, but do I want the complexity that comes with it? At the end of the day

Re:

[karmawarrior]

> Sure it's great to have all this freedom, but do I want the complexity that comes with it?

I have multiple problems with this argument. The first is that you're implying what you term "complexity" is automatically bad.

I swear and get frustrated at my PC far, far, less than I do my tablet. The touch-only UI is just painful, it's like someone "simplifying" a house by making the doors smaller and roof lower so you have to crawl around. Setting up barriers around what you can do does not make it more conven

Re:

[reanjr]

Most people - when giving a workstation - will immediately navigate to the nearest captive portal in their browser.

Re:

[c120plus]

My mother calls her IPad "the computer" now and does everything on it (and has not touched the Windows PC for five years,
which she used a lot before the IPad came along)

It seems that normal people do not have much use for "a computer" any more when all their
basic needs are met by these devices.

Re:

[Big Hairy Gorilla]

I would suggest that not that many people want "a computer". Most people as you say, want to get something done, that is the application. I want to play a game, make a call, send a text. Back when the earth was still cooling off, we used to create "captive user environments" (IBM speak). User logs in and has a menu of 5 things they can do, pick one, get stuff done. No one cared that is was "a computer". and you couldn't do anything else... like play a game.

What about side loading?

[Joe_Dragon]

What about side loading?

Great.

[jddj]

Now if they can remove iPad-like fullscreen windows from macOS, we'll be getting back to where we belong.

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

That, and a menu bar that's not stuck to the top of the screen, but instead attached to the top of the window to which the menu bar belongs.

Re:

[Theaetetus]

No, that's a bad idea. A menu bar at the top of the screen is a much bigger target to hit, and easy to find by muscle memory. The file menu is always in the same place, regardless of what app you're using, and the buttons extend infinitely up above the screen. By contrast, a menu bar tied to the window moves around whenever the window moves, so you always have to visually find it again, and target size is just the size of the button and ends at the top of the window.

Re:

[karmawarrior]

Urgh, no.

I'd rather the other OSes follow Apple (and Digital Research and Commodore's, etc) lead on this and at least provide the option of a menu that follows Fitt's law.

Having to aim a mouse at a line of text should be made as simple as possible, especially when it's a critical part of the user interface.

The only time I use two windows on an Ipad...

[c120plus]

The only time I use two windows on an IPad... ...is when I accidentally activate a seconds one and have to close it again.

On the IPad Mini it would be great if there was a way to turn off accidentally opening extra windows -
this change will just make it even harder to use... not something I look forward to.

Re:

[thegarbz]

The only time I use two windows on an IPad...

Yes when a function is quite limited people tend not to use it. Chicken and egg.

Re:

[Dru Nemeton]

To disable Split View (and Slide Over) on your iPad, you need to disable "Allow Multiple Apps" in the Multitasking settings. This can be found in Settings > Home Screen & Dock > Multitasking or Settings > Multitasking & Gestures, depending on your iPadOS version.

Powerful!

[reanjr]

These "powerful" new features were already introduced by Google last year.

It's gotten to the "...on the web!" stage in mobile development. They spend all their time rediscovering 1970s-era desktop technology but it's revolutionary because it's "...on a tablet!"

Unification

[reanjr]

I guess they finally decided dumbing down the desktop won't get us to unification, so now they're going to overcomplicate the mobile experience instead.