By JAMIE TUCKER Consumer Technology Reporter

Can iPadOS 26 Finally Replace Your Laptop?

Apple’s newest iPad software, iPadOS 26, isn’t officially out yet, but I’ve been testing the Beta version for a few weeks to see whether it brings the iPad closer to replacing a traditional laptop.

And depending on how you use your laptop, it just might.

The biggest change in iPadOS 26 is multitasking. Stage Manager, introduced in an earlier version, gets a big upgrade here, and it’s by far the most exciting part of the update. With Stage Manager turned on, you can open and resize app windows, overlap them, and move them around freely on the screen.

It’s a lot like working on a Mac or PC.

Say you’re writing a note or working on a Google Doc and want to insert a photo. Instead of switching between

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