iPadOS 26 Adds These Four Apple Apps to Your iPad - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iPadOS 26 Adds These Four Apple Apps to Your iPad

by

The upcoming iPadOS 26 update adds four pre-installed Apple apps to all compatible iPad models: Phone, Preview, Journal, and Games.

iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom
Below, we provide an overview of each of these apps.

iPadOS 26 is currently available as a developer beta, and the update will likely be released to the general public in September.

Phone

iPadOS 26 Phone App
Apple has expanded the Phone app to the iPad, complete with new features coming with iOS 26, such as Hold Assist, Call Screening, and Live Translation. The app syncs with your iPhone, allowing you to make and receive phone calls over Wi-Fi, view recent phone calls, listen to voicemail messages, and more directly on your iPad.

Preview

iPadOS 26 Preview App
A staple on the Mac, the Preview app is now available on the iPad too, providing you with a built-in app to edit and mark up PDFs and images. You can also create an empty page, and use an Apple Pencil to draw and write on it.

Journal

iPadOS 26 Journal App
Apple introduced a Journal app on the iPhone with iOS 17, and it is now available on the iPad too. You can use this app to type out your daily thoughts, and you can include drawings, handwriting, photos, videos, audio recordings, and more.

Games

iPadOS 26 Games App
The all-new Games app on iPad, iPhone, and Mac is an all-in-one app for discovering App Store and Apple Arcade games, and in-game events. There are also new single-player game challenges for competing with family and friends.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Related Forum: iOS 26

Popular Stories

iOS 26 6 2

Apple Releases iOS 26.6.2

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:47 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 26.6.2 with a fix for "an issue that prevents downloading a software update over a cellular connection." The minor software update is rolling out now for the iPhone 11 series and newer. To update your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. It might take a few minutes for the update to be visible to everyone. iOS 26.6.2 arrives...
Read Full Article • 94 comments
ios 26 7

Apple Releases iOS 26.7 With Security Fixes

Monday September 14, 2026 10:32 am PDT by
Alongside iOS 27, Apple today released iOS 26.7, an update to the existing iOS 26 software. Users who check for new software will see iOS 26.7 as the default update, with iOS 27 listed as an option at the bottom of the Software Update interface. According to Apple's release notes, iOS 26.7 includes security fixes, but it does not have any other features. Apple will eventually show iOS 27 ...
Read Full Article • 58 comments
apple lock security bug vulnerability fix privacy

iOS 27 and iOS 26.7 Fix More Than 100 Security Bugs

Monday September 14, 2026 11:36 am PDT by
Today's iOS 27 update addresses over 100 security vulnerabilities, which is a good reason to install the new software. If you don't want to update to iOS 27 yet, Apple also released iOS 26.7 with over 80 security fixes. 75 of the fixes are shared across both updates, so iOS 26.7 addresses many of the same issues. There are multiple kernel fixes, including one that could allow a malicious...
Read Full Article • 33 comments

Top Rated Comments

BelgianChoklit Avatar
BelgianChoklit
16 months ago
I'm very happy with Preview considering the best PDF editing apps are all overpriced subscriptions. The h*ll with them.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppliedMicro Avatar
AppliedMicro
16 months ago

hope I can uninstall the others as I don't use those.
Regulation that “stinks” ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-explains-why-iphone-mirroring-remains-unavailable-in-the-eu-on-macos-tahoe.2459281/post-33967481') allows you to do so ('https://www.macrumors.com/2024/08/22/apple-eu-default-app-update/').
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
patjem Avatar
patjem
16 months ago
I use the Files app quite often to go through pictures in a folder. It's easy going to the next photo and find what I'm looking for. Now with the new Preview app it opens that one and I haven't found a way to easily go to the next picture to get a preview. Has anyone experienced the same?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Mac Daz Avatar
Apple Mac Daz
16 months ago
Does the phone app work over 4G / 5G if your in different locations
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
jz0309
16 months ago
phone app and preview are nice additions, hope I can uninstall the others as I don't use those.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Frosties Avatar
Frosties
16 months ago
Nice update. If we instead could get a full phone app then we finally could match the Apple Watch to an iPad instead of being hand cuffed to an iPhone. I already make phone calls with Siri on the iPad through the iPhone. Any way.😏
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments