I can see the light on the horizon. In the near future I'm carrying just an iPad around and it's my full everyday computer. The Macbook becomes a distant memory.
Apple hasn't made my ultimate fantasy true yet, but with iPadOS 26 it comes closer than ever. The newest operating system for iPads, expected to officially debut this fall, is now available to try in a public beta. It adds Mac-like features galore -- including a new multitasking mode, flexible windows, little window-sizing buttons that can snap things into formation, menu bars, even a Preview app. The little mouse icon you get in keyboard-and-trackpad mode is now like a Mac arrow, too. It's a lot to take in and try.
I generally like all the changes Apple's made on iPadOS 26, and while I normally recommend people skip public betas and just get the final version in the fall, the changes this time are probably worth trying now if you're at all interested in Mac-ifying your iPad.
I'm using the iPad as a Mac replacement to write and even file this article now and it has its ups and downs.
Watch this: iPadOS 26 Almost Turns Your iPad Into a Mac 01:22
Menu Bars (sort of) replicate menus on the Mac
Apps now have pull-down menus in iPadOS 26 that can show a whole bunch of actions that were previously hidden, or relegated to icons, gestures and obscure keyboard shortcuts. Apple auto-populates menu bars for existing iPad apps with all the keyboard shortcut actions in that app, plus a general set of actions that are consistent across apps.
I love the change. Menu bars hide until you scroll over them with a mouse cursor with keyboard/trackpad, or pull them down with your finger. They don't get in the way. The nested list of extra functions is easier for me to browse than guessing at whatever user interface magic trick I was supposed to know in that app and forgot.
For writing -- like this story -- it makes using the iPad feel even more laptop-like. But, as I expect in beta software, some apps aren't working perfectly with menu bars yet. Google Docs is currently acting weird, for instance. Also, on iPad, Google tries to force you to launch into its Docs standalone app rather than write in-browser. That's a taste of the strangeness that still lurks in iPadOS 26, and hopefully gets fixed by the fall launch.
Much like what Apple promised at WWDC, it's possible to stack a lot of apps at once. Your limit is mostly screen size. Apple Screenshot
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