iPadOS 26 to Launch With 4 Exciting New Apps
▼ Summary
– Apple announced iPadOS 26, introducing four new apps: Journal, Games, Preview, and Phone.
– Preview enhances the Files app with new capabilities, playing a key role in system upgrades.
– Games provides a centralized hub for launching, browsing, and downloading games, plus accessing leaderboards and editorial content.
– Journal allows users to create entries with drawings, photos, videos, and location-based organization via a map view.
– The Phone app debuts on iPad alongside new iOS 26 features like Hold Assist and Call Screening.
Apple’s upcoming iPadOS 26 update introduces four powerful new applications designed to enhance productivity, creativity, and communication on iPad devices. The latest software version, announced at WWDC, brings significant upgrades alongside a fresh system redesign, with Journal, Games, Preview, and Phone apps joining the iPad ecosystem for the first time.
The Preview app represents a major step forward for document management, integrating seamlessly with the redesigned Files system to offer improved viewing and editing capabilities. Meanwhile, the Games app transforms iPad into a dedicated gaming platform, providing centralized access to installed titles, new releases, leaderboards, and curated gaming content.
Two standout additions mark the iPad’s continued convergence with iPhone functionality. The Journal app delivers a versatile digital notebook experience, allowing users to combine handwritten notes, sketches, photos, videos, and audio recordings into beautifully organized entries. Its innovative map view lets users visualize memories based on location, while multiple journal categories help maintain separate logs for different aspects of life.
Perhaps most notably, iPadOS 26 finally brings the Phone app to Apple’s tablet lineup. This coincides with iOS 26’s substantial phone feature updates, including advanced call management tools like Hold Assist and Call Screening. The addition effectively bridges one of the last remaining gaps between iPad and iPhone functionality.
These new applications complement broader iPadOS 26 enhancements such as the Liquid Glass interface redesign and upgraded media recording capabilities. Whether for work, play, or personal reflection, the update provides tools to maximize what users can achieve with their iPad. The expansion of native apps continues Apple’s strategy of positioning iPad as a truly standalone computing device rather than just a larger iPhone.
(Source: 9to5mac)
