How to Install iPadOS 26 Public Beta on iPad
With the availability of the iPadOS 26 public beta, there’s an uptick in iPad users who are intrigued by the beta and wish to try it out on their own devices. If you’re curious about running iPadOS 26 public beta on your iPad, read along to get things going, and to explore the beta right away on your tablet.
iPadOS 26 includes some nifty new iPad-specific features, plus all the iOS 26 iPhone features as well, so it’s little wonder there’s excitement for this beta version. With ipadOS 26, Apple is introducing a windowing system and menu bar to the iPad, similar to how the Mac works, plus there’s a revamped and more powerful Files app, the all new Liquid Glass interface, custom icon colors, Preview app arrives for iPad, Journal app for iPad, Phone app on iPad, and much more.
Before getting started, understand the iPadOS 26 public beta is still very much a beta. While running a public beta can be a fun and interesting experience, it’s important to remember that beta system software is under active development, and you should expect bugs, incompatibilities, performance issues, and other problems that are not typically experienced in final versions of system software. One benefit to this is that you can use the Feedback app to file bugs and make suggestions to Apple, but for the majority of users it’s really only appropriate to run beta system software on secondary devices, and hardware that is not critical to be stable.
This article is geared towards installing and running iPadOS 26 public beta on iPad, but if you’re curious you can also install and run iOS 26 on iPhone, and run MacOS 26 public beta on Mac too.
iPadOS 26 Public Beta Compatibility & System Requirements
To be able to run iPadOS 26 you need to have a compatible device, plus sufficient free storage space available on the iPad.
Aim to have at least 30GB of free storage available to be able to download and install iPadOS 26 public beta.
In terms of iPadOS 26 device compatibility, the following are supported: all M-Series iPad models, iPad Pro 11″ from 2018 and newer, iPad Pro 12.9″ from 3rd gen and newer, iPad Air 3rd gen and newer, iPad 8 and newer, and iPad mini 5th gen and newer.
How to Install & Run iPadOS 26 Public Beta on iPad
The steps to enroll in the public beta, backup, and install the beta are outlined for iPad below:
- Open Safari (or your web browser of choice) and go to go to beta.apple.com, sign in with your Apple ID, and enroll your device
- Now it’s time to backup your iPad, this is essential to prevent data loss (remember, this is a beta!). You should backup iPad to iCloud and also backup iPad to your computer, before beginning the software update
- Open the “Settings” app on iPad
- Head over to “General” and then go to “Software Update”
- Select “Beta Updates”, then select “iPadOS 26 Public Beta”
- Select “iOS 26 Public Beta” or “iPadOS 26 Public Beta”
- Back at the main “Software Update” screen, you will find iPadOS 26 public beta available, so tap on “Update Now” begin the process of downloading and installing the ipadOS 26 public beta on iPad
After iPadOS 26 public beta has downloaded, the iPad will restart and installation will proceed and complete. When finished, the iPad will boot directly into ipadOS 26 public beta.
You’ll see the new Liquid Glass interface right away, and you can quickly enjoy and appreciate the new iPad specific features like windowing and the menu bar. For the best experience, you’ll want either an Apple Magic Keyboard accessory for iPad, or even a cheap iPad desk setup with an external keyboard, mouse, and iPad stand.
The iPadOS 26 windowing and multitasking system is very Mac-like, and there’s even an App Expose feature:
The menu bar in iPadOS 26 should be familiar to any Mac user, available with a swipe down from the top of the screen:
You’ll be able to download future iPadOS 26 public beta versions from the Software Update section as usual. In the fall, when iPadOS 26 is finalized, you’ll be able to update directly from the public beta to the final version as well.
What do you think of iPadOS 26 public beta? Are you enjoying the new multitasking features and changes to iPad? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
