iPadOS 26 Beta Gets It Half Right: Why Apple's Biggest Update Still Falls Short
The new windowing system and background tasks are welcome, but terminal access, sideloading, and virtualization remain locked away outside Europe
TL;DR
What's happening: iPadOS 26 beta (currently in beta 7) introduces major improvements including true windowing, background tasks, and a menu bar
Why it matters: These changes prove Apple can make iPadOS more desktop-like without compromising simplicity—they just choose not to go far enough
What's still missing: Terminal access, sideloading outside EU, virtualization support, third-party browser engines, and true pro features
The contradiction: European users can run Windows 11 on iPad through UTM with JIT, while US users can't even get a native terminal
The bottom line: iPadOS 26 is Apple's biggest step forward yet, but it's still protecting a $27.4 billion App Store revenue stream over user capability
As I write this on August 23, 2025, iPadOS 26 is in its seventh developer beta, sporting Apple's new "Liquid Glass" design aesthetic and what the company calls "the biggest iPadOS release ever."¹ And you know what? They're not entirely wrong. The new windowing system, background tasks with Live Activities, and menu bar represent genuine progress—proof that Apple's engineers understand exactly what power users have been demanding.
Yet here's the maddening part: Developer NTDev recently demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running at near-native speeds on an iPad Air M2 through UTM virtualization²—but only in Europe, where the Digital Markets Act forced Apple to allow JIT compilation. The same iPad hardware, the same M2 chip, but completely different capabilities based on geography. This isn't a technical limitation. It's Apple drawing arbitrary lines in silicon sand.
What iPadOS 26 Beta Actually Fixes (Credit Where Due)
The Windowing Revolution
After years of Stage Manager frustration, Apple finally delivered "an entirely new powerful and intuitive windowing system" that allows multiple app windows with proper organization and switching.³ It's not quite macOS, but it's leagues better than the window management disaster we've endured since iPadOS 16.
What works:
Multiple windows per app
Proper window controls and organization
Smooth switching between window configurations
Windows that actually remember their positions
What doesn't:
No floating windows (except picture-in-picture video)
Limited window snapping options
Can't minimize windows to dock
No window grouping or spaces
Background Tasks: Finally
The new Background Tasks API with Live Activities is a game-changer for professional workflows.⁴ Final Cut Pro can export in the background. Logic Pro can render while you work elsewhere. Apps performing "computationally intensive" tasks show progress via Live Activities at the top of your screen.
This single feature eliminates one of the iPad's most embarrassing limitations—having to keep an app in the foreground while it processes. Jason Snell at Six Colors called it "a somewhat small change" that helps create "an iPad that just feels more ready for professional productivity tasks."⁵
The Menu Bar Arrives
Swipe down from the top (or move your cursor there), and a contextual menu bar appears with app-specific commands.⁶ It's not the persistent Mac menu bar with third-party utilities, but it's a massive improvement over hunting through gesture-based interfaces for basic functions.
Audio Input Flexibility
Users can now "choose different microphones for each app, as well as individual websites."⁷ Voice Isolation for recordings blocks ambient noise. It's not the multiple simultaneous audio streams we need, but it's progress.
What iPadOS 26 Beta Still Refuses to Fix
No Terminal, No Command Line, No Development Environment
Despite the M4 chip's Unix foundations, iPadOS 26 offers zero native terminal access. No shell. No command line. No local development environment. Meanwhile, a $200 Chromebook runs Linux apps natively.
A GitHub issue for UTM asks if the new Background Tasks API could enable "virtualization-like performance."⁸ The developer's response? Skeptical. The API doesn't provide the JIT compilation or entitlements needed for real virtualization.
Sideloading: Europe Only
While EU users enjoy AltStore, Epic Games Store, and direct app installation thanks to the Digital Markets Act,⁹ the rest of the world remains locked in Apple's walled garden. The technology is identical. The restrictions are political.
Browser Engine Apartheid
Every browser on iPadOS outside the EU is still Safari in a costume. WebKit only. No Chromium. No Gecko. No real browser choice. Apple claims third-party vendors have "everything they need" to ship alternative engines,¹⁰ but the restrictions make it practically impossible.
Virtualization Blocked
The M-series chips support hardware virtualization. The Virtualization framework exists on macOS. But on iPadOS? Blocked. UTM SE (the App Store version) runs at 10-20% speed without JIT.¹¹ The full version with JIT—available in Europe through sideloading—hits 70-80% native performance.
The European Experiment: What's Possible When Courts Intervene
In April 2025, NTDev posted a video of Windows 11 ARM running "quite decently" on an iPad Air M2.¹² The secret? They're in the EU, where they could:
Install AltStore Classic (third-party app store)
Sideload UTM with JIT compilation enabled
Run Windows 11 ARM at usable speeds
Demonstrate that iPad hardware is fully capable
The same iPad in US can't even install a Python interpreter without App Store approval.
The Technical Truth
The restrictions aren't about protecting users or maintaining performance. The M4 iPad Pro has:
10-core CPU (50% faster than M2)
10-core GPU with hardware ray tracing
16GB+ RAM options
Thunderbolt/USB 4 support
The same architecture as M4 MacBooks
This is workstation-class hardware running mobile-class restrictions.
The $27.4 Billion Elephant in the Room
Apple's App Store generated an estimated $27.4 billion in 2024 from its 30% commission.¹³ Every web app that replaces a native app, every developer tool that bypasses the App Store, every virtualized environment that runs desktop software—they all threaten this revenue stream.
Consider the math:
70% of desktop software is web-based
A modest 20% shift from native apps to web apps = $5.5 billion annual revenue loss
Terminal access enables local development = fewer cloud service subscriptions
Virtualization allows desktop software = fewer iPad-specific app purchases
Apple isn't protecting users. They're protecting margins.
The Technical Roadmap Apple Won't Follow
What Could Ship Tomorrow (It Already Works in the EU)
Terminal access: Sandboxed shell with basic Unix tools
Sideloading: Notarized apps with Gatekeeper protection
JIT compilation: For development tools and emulators
Alternative browsers: Real engines, not WebKit wrappers
Local development: Python, Node.js, Ruby environments
What Could Ship in iPadOS 26.x
Developer Mode Pro: Full filesystem access with warnings
Virtualization framework: Run ARM Linux distributions
Background services: Persistent utilities and clipboard managers
External display logic: True extended desktop, not mirroring
Pro Settings panel: Toggle between simplicity and capability
What Could Define iPadOS 27
macOS compatibility layer: Run Mac apps with translation
Container support: Docker-equivalent for development
Hypervisor access: Full virtualization for testing
Universal binaries: One app, all Apple platforms
Pro Mode: Complete desktop environment option
The Counter-Arguments Are Exhausted
"But Security!"
macOS allows terminal access, unsigned apps, kernel extensions, and System Integrity Protection overrides. It remains secure enough for:
Enterprise deployment
Government use
Financial institutions
Healthcare systems
The solution isn't prohibition. It's informed consent.
"But Complexity!"
The new windowing system is already complex. The menu bar adds complexity. Background Tasks add complexity. Apple has already crossed the simplicity Rubicon. Adding optional pro features doesn't affect users who don't enable them.
"But Battery Life!"
The M4 is more efficient than Intel chips that powered MacBooks for a decade. Background tasks are already running. The battery argument is dead.
"But Different Use Cases!"
An iPad Pro M4 with Magic Keyboard costs $2,500+. That's MacBook Pro territory. When you charge MacBook prices, users expect MacBook capabilities.
What Happens Next
The Optimistic Path
Apple announces "iPadOS 26 Pro" at the iPhone event in September:
Acknowledges power user needs
Introduces opt-in Pro Mode
Enables terminal and development tools
Maintains simplicity for regular users
Frames it as innovation, not capitulation
The Realistic Path
iPadOS 26 ships with current beta features:
Windowing system impresses but frustrates
Background tasks help specific workflows
Menu bar becomes muscle memory
Core limitations remain
Power users stay disappointed
The Pessimistic Path
Apple doubles down on restrictions:
Cites security concerns
Points to vocal minority
Protects App Store revenue
Waits for regulatory forcing
Loses pro users to Surface and Android
The Verdict: Progress Without Purpose
iPadOS 26 beta represents real progress. The windowing system, background tasks, and menu bar prove Apple's engineers know exactly what needs fixing. These aren't technical limitations—they're business decisions.
The tragedy isn't that iPadOS 26 fails completely. It's that it succeeds just enough to reveal what's possible while refusing to deliver it. Every improvement highlights ten restrictions. Every step forward illuminates the artificial barriers.
In Europe, the iPad is becoming a real computer—not because the hardware is different, but because regulators forced Apple's hand. The rest of us get Liquid Glass aesthetics while pressing our faces against the window, watching European users run Windows on their iPads while we can't even get a native terminal.
iPadOS 26 beta is the best version of iPadOS ever created. It's also a monument to missed opportunities and artificial limitations. The new windowing system proves Apple can evolve the interface. Background tasks prove they can handle complex workflows. The menu bar proves they understand desktop paradigms.
What we need isn't a revolution—it's completion. Finish what iPadOS 26 started:
Enable terminal access for developers
Allow sideloading with appropriate warnings
Support virtualization with proper entitlements
Permit alternative browser engines globally
Create a true Pro Mode for power users
The iPad Pro M4 is the most powerful tablet ever created. iPadOS 26 beta is a significant step forward. But until Apple stops protecting App Store revenue over user capability, the iPad remains a $2,500 consumption device cosplaying as a professional tool.
The Liquid Glass design is beautiful. But we need to shatter the glass ceiling.
Footnotes & References
Apple Newsroom, "iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that push iPad even further", June 2025.
Windows Latest, "Dev runs Windows 11 ARM on an iPad Air M2 using UTM with JIT, and it's decent", April 21, 2025.
Apple Developer, iPadOS 26 Preview, 2025.
Apple Newsroom, iPadOS 26 Background Tasks announcement, June 2025.
Jason Snell, "First Look: iPadOS 26 Public Beta", Six Colors, July 2025.
Apple, iPadOS 26 Beta Release Notes, August 2025.
Apple Newsroom, iPadOS 26 audio features, June 2025.
GitHub, "enabling 'virtualization'-like performances by new iPadOS background tasks API", UTM Issue #7220, June 9, 2025.
Apple Developer, "Update on apps distributed in the European Union", 2024.
Open Web Advocacy, "Apple's Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA", 2024.
UTM Documentation, "iOS Installation Guide", 2024.
NTDev demonstration video, April 2025.
Estimated from Apple financial reports and analyst estimates, 2024.
FAQ
Q: What's actually new in iPadOS 26 beta?
A: Major additions include a new windowing system for multiple app windows, Background Tasks for intensive processing, a menu bar for app commands, improved audio input controls, and the Liquid Glass design aesthetic.
Q: Can iPadOS 26 run multiple audio streams simultaneously?
A: Not fully. While you can choose different microphones per app, the limitation on simultaneous audio playback remains largely unchanged.
Q: Will iPadOS 26 support terminal or command-line access?
A: No. Despite the Unix foundations of Apple Silicon, iPadOS 26 beta shows no signs of native terminal support.
Q: Can I sideload apps in iPadOS 26?
A: Only if you're in the European Union, where the Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow alternative app stores and sideloading.
Q: Does the new Background Tasks API enable virtualization?
A: No. The API is for intensive processing but doesn't provide JIT compilation or virtualization entitlements needed for emulators like UTM.
Q: When will iPadOS 26 be released?
A: Based on Apple's typical schedule, expect the final release in September 2025 alongside new iPad hardware.
Q: Is iPadOS 26 enough to replace a laptop?
A: For basic tasks and specific creative workflows, possibly. For development, system administration, or anything requiring terminal access, virtualization, or unsigned software—no.
Q: Why can European users do more with their iPads?
A: The EU's Digital Markets Act forces Apple to allow features like sideloading, alternative app stores, and JIT compilation that remain blocked elsewhere.
Glossary
Background Tasks: New iPadOS 26 API allowing apps to perform intensive processing while not in the foreground
JIT Compilation: Just-In-Time compilation that converts code during execution, essential for emulators and virtual machines
Liquid Glass: Apple's new design language in iOS/iPadOS 26 featuring translucent, refractive interface elements
DMA (Digital Markets Act): EU regulation requiring large tech platforms to open their ecosystems to competition
UTM: Universal Turing Machine, an emulator that can run Windows and Linux on iPad (with limitations)
Live Activities: Dynamic notifications that show real-time updates, now used for Background Tasks progress
WebKit: Apple's browser engine that all iOS/iPadOS browsers must use (outside the EU)
Sideloading: Installing apps from sources other than the official App Store
Menu Bar: New iPadOS 26 feature providing quick access to app commands, similar to macOS