Update 02/17: Public Beta 1 is now available.

On Monday, Apple released the first developer beta for iPadOS 26.1. While the rumored and expected improvements to Siri do not appear to be present in this beta, there are still a surprising number of new features and improvements across the system.

This post will be updated as new features are discovered.

Video Version

System Features

App Exposé Shortcut

In any multitasking mode, when you launch an app that supports multiple windows, there’s now a notification that animates out of its Dock icon to show you how many open windows that app has. Tapping on that notification invokes the App Exposé, which shows you all of the open windows for that app, letting you tap on the window you’re looking for.

Updated Wallpaper Gallery

The wallpaper section of the system where you configure your different lock screen and home screen wallpapers has been reconfigured in this beta. Many of the sections have been condensed into a single collection, instead of letting you scroll through each one. These collections have also become optional and are no longer bundled with the OS. This means you’ll have to manually download them if you want them.

Apps

Music App

Updated Look for Playlists

It looks like Apple is trying out a new UI for Apple Music playlists. The background color of the Playlist artwork becomes the primary color of the playlist view.

Concert Information Near You

The Music app will now be able to surface concert information for artists and venues near you.

AI Generated Playlists

Probably the most exciting Music app feature in this beta is the ability to use Apple Intelligence to generate a playlist for a prompt or set of prompts. I was not seeing this feature until I force-quit the Music app.

Add a Song to Multiple Playlists At Once

When you select a song in Apple Music, you can now add it multiple playlists at once using a new selection button.

Ambient Music

New Widgets

There’s now a widget, in two different sizes, for the Ambient Music feature that lives in the Settings app. The widget is configurable and lets you change the mood and playlist that the widget invokes.

Freeform

Apple Creator Studio Update

When Apple announced its Creator Studio subscription, it included its productivity apps, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, and Freeform, as part of that subscription. They get access to premium content, new images and graphics, as well as some AI features. It was noted that the update to Freeform would be coming later, and it looks like “later” is this update.

The Freeform app picks up the new Creator Studio-themed icon and access to the aforementioned premium content.

Safari

Compact View Returns

If you’re a fan of the compact tab view option in Safari that was removed in iPadOS 26, I have good news for you. For whatever reason, Apple has decided to restore the option to choose this layout, and it’s every bit as glorious as it was before.

Bug Fixes

N/A

Release Date

As there are now rumors of an iPadOS 26.5 release, it is likely 26.4 will be released to all users sometime in March or early April.