On November 24th, 2025, students were hit with an email from IT, entitled “Your iPad- update to iOS 26.1- DUE 11/29”. In the email, IT explained that iOS 26 was finally available on student iPads and that students needed to update their iPads so they would remain compatible with Jesuit’s technology system. Little did students know, their iPads would be changed forever.
Apple, during the updates initial launch on September 15th, said that “iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release ever, takes a huge leap forward and unlocks powerful productivity updates that transform what users can do on iPad.” However, students have been finding that the update instead takes a huge leap backwards on actual student productivity and capabilities.
“They’ve way over complicated everything. My iPad runs slower and is way harder to use than it used to be,” said senior August Boecker.
The main issue appears to lie in Apple’s new split screening software, which Apple describes as “an entirely new, powerful, and intuitive windowing system [that] helps users control, organize, and switch between apps — all while maintaining the simplicity of iPad.” However, the split screening is anything but simple, as students have complained that it is actually less intuitive and harder to use.
“I feel the new iPad update is helpful, but inconvenient at the same time. I like that I can use multiple windows at the same time, but I also feel that having so many windows can cause them to interfere with each other and make it harder to work,” said sophomore Jack Lavier.
Apple’s old split screen feature on iPad allowed users to simply swipe down from the top to split screen. Now, split screening functions more like it would on a Macbook, allowing students to open multiple windows simultaneously, but at a cost: the software requires significantly more work to use, losing its simplicity in the process.
Another issue lies specifically with upperclassmen, as they have iPads that are older and slower, and struggle significantly more running the updated software than the freshmen, who have more modern iPads that are equipped to handle the processing capacity the new software requires.
“I think that it makes copying something or working on documents five times faster,” said freshman Noah Jagger
“I like to use the split screen for math, as the update makes it simpler to do my open math, use a calculator, and show my work on notability, all at the same time without any extra materials,” added freshman Bobby Murdoch.
Even though Apple has rolled out bug fixes, many students still find their iPads glitchy, buggy, and slow, making using them anything but “simple”. This update will continue to cause problems for students moving forward, leaving many confused as to why it was instituted in the first place.
“I think that Apple has always been good at keeping people happy with software updates, but with this one, they missed,” said senior Graham Barton.
