iPadOS 26.2 is the latest sign of an exciting new trend for iPad

iPadOS 26.2 beta 3 arrived yesterday, bringing a surprise upgrade for Split View and Slide Over multitasking: drag and drop support. This iPadOS 26.2 change is the latest in an exciting new trend for iPad—especially for power users.

Apple is listening to iPad users and shipping updates fast

The iPad Pro is 10 years old. Yet only recently has iPadOS really started delivering on the product’s potential.

iPadOS 26 was easily the biggest productivity-focused update ever for the iPad. It introduced a brand new, Mac-like windowing system alongside key upgrades to the dock, a new menu bar, Files changes, and much more.

Apple delivered what many iPad power users have been wanting for years: a more powerful, Mac-like experience that retains the uniqueness of iPad, while feeling less restrained.

The update also added a great option for those who want iPad to remain a very simple, accessible tablet. Those users can choose the ‘Full Screen Apps’ mode in Settings, and get a classic iPad experience while power users enjoy ‘Windowed Apps.’

I’ve been using the iPad Pro as my primary computer since it first debuted. And during that decade, I’ve seen Apple ship big iPadOS updates then leave the software unchanged for a while.

Historically this has looked like major multitasking features one year, then minimal iPad-specific updates until two years later. If features needed refining, it often took a long time for that refining to happen.

But over the last few months, we’ve seen an exciting new trend start to emerge.

Apple is listening to iPad users and shipping new updates fast.

Frequent iPadOS upgrades are becoming the norm

iPadOS 26 itself is a clear demonstration of Apple listening to its users—both those who want more powerful features and those who want to keep the iPad simple.

Little more than one month later, though, iPadOS 26.1 shipped with Slide Over support. It also gave the excellent new Local Capture feature two much-needed customization settings.

My one complaint about iPadOS 26.0 was the removal of Slide Over. Yet very quickly, Apple brought it back.

Some users have had trouble adjusting to iPadOS 26’s removal of drag and drop support for multitasking. In iPadOS 18, you could quickly add apps to Slide Over or Split View via drag and drop gestures.

Now in iPadOS 26.2, that functionality has been restored too.

These recent changes make a big impact on the iPad user experience. And rather than waiting a year or two for them to be implemented, Apple has acted fast.

Now that iPadOS offers a dedicated ‘Full Screen Apps’ mode for users, Apple clearly seems confident being able to ship more complex and powerful tools for the ‘Windowed Apps’ mode.

As I result, I feel hopeful that, for example, Slide Over will once more support stacking multiple apps before long. That’s been a common request since iPadOS 26.1 arrived, and based on Apple’s recent track record, I suspect it’s working on the fix.

All of these software changes, paired with the new M5 iPad Pro, have made it an exciting time to be an iPad user.

A decade after the iPad Pro launched, getting things done on an iPad has never been more fun.

What new features or changes in iPadOS do you still hope to see added soon? Let us know in the comments.