GoKawiiliPadOS 26.4 is expected to launch in the coming weeks, packing lots of new iPad features—four of which are highlighted below.
#1: Compact Tab Bar in Safari
Depending on your iPad size and window setup, screen real estate can be at a premium in iPadOS. Yet in iPadOS 26, Apple removed a space-saving Safari feature that was previously available: the Compact Tab Bar.
Fortunately, iPadOS 26.4 brings the Compact Tab Bar view back.
Available inside Settings ⇾ Apps ⇾ Safari, you can choose ‘Compact Tab Bar’ to free up space at the top of your screen. It essentially condenses tabs, buttons, and the address bar into a single row.
‘Compact’ won’t be the preferred view for everyone, so Apple is leaving the ‘Separate Tab Bar’ option intact. But if you enjoy having more space to see the webpage, this new-old feature should help.
iPadOS 26 brought a major overhaul to the iPad’s multitasking and windowing capabilities. But one side effect of getting to open more windows is that it can be easy to lose track of windows that are open.
iPadOS 26.4 has a new enhancement that’s intended to help: a ‘Hidden Windows’ popup.
When you open an app that has several windows running, you’ll now see a popup at the bottom that says ‘X Hidden Windows.’ The popup also serves as a button you can tap to show all windows.
If you regularly have multiple windows open for certain apps, the new popup ensures you can keep track of those windows, and close any that you no longer need—thus preserving computing power.
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