Apple didn’t spend much time highlighting the iPad or iPadOS at WWDC 2026 or during its September press event. Unfortunately, that makes sense — although we may get a new iPad mini in October, the next major hardware refresh is rumored for spring 2027. When Apple did turn its attention to tablets this year, the focal point was Siri AI, which is now available across most Apple devices, including recent Apple Watches.
There’s more to iPadOS 27 than just a Siri overhaul, however, or even the few other enhancements that have had any publicity. If you want to get the most out of the update, here are a few features you should be experimenting with.
Duo-sized iPhone apps
A useful niche
Until recently, the main tradeoff in running iPhone apps that lack native iPad support was their aspect ratio. You were stuck with a candybar layout. And regardless of how much you magnified them, you wouldn’t gain additional interface options. With the arrival of the iPhone Duo, though, that’s been fixed. You can now stretch apps into a “doublewide” ratio, just as if you were maximizing something on the Duo’s internal display.
Admittedly, the selection of iPhone apps with native Duo support is low at this point, and the number that support the Duo but not iPads is no doubt lower still. Yet it’s nice to have the flexibility, especially since Duo compatibility might mean getting an expanded, iPad-like feature set. The unfolded device is just an inch shy of an iPad mini, after all. If nothing else, you’re getting a view more suited to an iPad’s wider view.
Another Duo carryover is support for a new XL widget size. The photo above doesn’t actually represent it well — even on a 13-inch iPad, the XL Calendar widget is closer to a quarter of your screen, making it a little impractical to demonstrate. You’ll also have to experiment to discover which apps support the XL option, since the only safe bet is anything by Apple.
Personally, I feel like XL widgets are a better fit on iPads than iPhones, and not just because of screen space. Since iPadOS includes a much larger dock, there’s no need to stuff a homescreen full of app icons. I’d much rather see several days’ worth of events at a glance, or get single-tap access to all my favorite Spotify playlists.
Connectivity Assist
For the elite cellular crowd
A similar feature already existed in earlier iPadOS releases under the name Wi-Fi Assist. That one allowed iPads with both Wi-Fi and cellular radios to automatically switch over whenever Wi-Fi was too weak to be usable, rather than completely absent.
The difference with Connectivity Assist is that it can tap Wi-Fi and cellular data simultaneously. Apple is vague on the details of this, but you should in theory get even smoother transitions between connectivity zones, assuming of course that you’ve paid extra for a 5G-capable iPad, as well as a tablet plan from your carrier. If Apple has truly carried over the key changes in iOS 27, your iPad should also be more aggressive about switching over to cellular when Wi-Fi is useless.
One tip: you may want to disable Connectivity Assist (via Settings -> Wi-Fi) if you’re on a carrier plan with a cap of 5GB or less. As I write this, I’m working from a hotel, and the feature has already consumed about 174MB on my iPhone in the space of a day. If you’re the sort of person who takes your iPad everywhere, I could see this pushing you over your data limit.
Voice-built Shortcuts automations
Removing the sting of complexity
The Shortcuts app for iPads is tremendously powerful. You can use it to trigger multiple actions simultaneously, whether on-command, or whenever the right conditions are met. And these automations can impact a lot more than just local apps. You might, for instance, create a “done with work” routine that backs up files to the cloud, tells your partner you’re coming home, and pulls up directions for driving or your PEV. If you’re living solo, you might also have it cool your thermostat and turn on the lights before you walk in the door.
There’s just one issue: with a lot of variables comes a lot of complexity. Building these automations manually can be a pain. In iPadOS 27, you can finally describe what you want with your voice, and Shortcuts will do all the hard work. You’ll only be prompted for input if there’s ambiguity, and you can always edit the end result if you have to.
You do, unfortunately, need an iPad with Apple Intelligence support to gain access to this option. That means a model with an M-series processor, or else an A17 Pro or later. Even the 2025 entry-level iPad is incompatible, as it’s stuck with an A16 chip. It could be worth hunting for a used M-series iPad.
