Setting default Apps within iPadOS 26

iPadOS 26 provides the capability to set default Apps. This capability is described within the iPad User Guide:

Change the default apps on iPad - Apple Support

It’s also worth exploring the lesser-known option of associating individual file types with specific apps. This way, your preferred app will automatically open when you access a file of that type, regardless of other apps installed on your device. This default significantly differs from opening a file from within an opened App (such that the target file is opened by that App) - but is useful to determine which App will open when accessing files from other Apps such as the Files or Mail Apps...

By example, to open PDF files from the Files App - locate a specific file that you wish to open. Touch-and-hold the PDF file that you wish to open; this will expose an Action Menu. From the Menu, select Open With - and then select one of your installed Apps that are available within the chooser - or select Quick View. This action will set the default App that will open when a PDF file is selected/opened:

You can repeat the process to set the default App for other file types.

While the iPad User Guide hasn't yet documented the process, there are several online guides that do describe this feature. Here is just one such article - that can be located using a Google Search:

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/10/27/set-default-app-for-files-ios/