The fifth developer beta of iPadOS 26 is now available for download. On an M1 iPad Pro, the update comes in at 11 GB.
This release arrives roughly two weeks after Developer Beta 4, which introduced refinements to the Liquid Glass design material. Anecdotally, Beta 4 struck the best balance yet between the translucency of the glass effect and the legibility of content.
As we move into August and September, beta releases tend to include fewer new features, with Apple shifting its focus toward bug fixes and performance improvements ahead of the final release in September.
This post will be updated with any new features or changes as they’re discovered.
New Features and Improvements
Lock Screen Animation
The lock screen pin pad gets a nice new bounce animation as it animates in.
AirPlay Icon Changed
The AirPlay icon has been updated to a new predominately blue icon.
Menubar Always Visible on External Displays
When you open an app on an external display, the menubar is now always visible, and changes as you switch between apps.
More Prominent Select Option In Mail
Beta 5 will, in some cases, present the Select button as a top level option, making it easier to select and perform actions against larger amounts of messages. This is more in line with how the Mail app behaves on iPadOS 18.
Splash Screens
Some apps are starting to display their “What’s new in [insert app name]” splash screens that users will see when they install the final build. For me, I only saw this with the Music app, but I’ve seen reports some people are seeing this for Podcasts and Notes as well.
Design Updates
While there weren’t drastic changes to the new interface, Beta 5 does provide a few small UI updates across the system.
Bouncier Control Center Animations
When swiping between views in Control Center, some of the elements sort of bounce as they settle into position. This is especially noticeable on the Now Playing widget.
Glassier App Remove Icons
The minus icons we use in Jiggle mode to remove apps gets the Liquid Glass treatment. The icons are much more transparent than in previous betas.
Camera Mode Switch Setting
I haven’t talked about the Camera app on iPadOS, because it hasn’t really changed that much compared to iOS. There is the option in the camera settings that says it reverses the scroll direction of mode switching. The only thing I’ve found it does is make it so it’s harder to accidentally swipe to the bottom of the list of camera modes 🤷♂️.
Protected Network Status In Control Center
When long-pressing the Wi-Fi toggle in Control Center will show a list of nearby WiFi networks, with a lock next to the network name if it is password protected.
Leave a Reply