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