My iPad is slow and laggy after iPadOS 26 update

I'm having similar issues with lagging scrolling, turning pages in Kindle, delays between tapping a button and the action its supposed to trigger, etc.

So far, restarting is usually a solution, but it's temporary, as the lags will be back in a day or two.

GregSlabaugh wrote:

Mine too. I have a 2024 M4 IPad Pro - very often the screen is unresponsive when I tap to select a contact to send a text message, to tap submit on certain forms, and many other locations. My ipad is almost unusable

Aside from a hardware fault, there is no technical reason that your iPad Pro M4 should perform sub-optimally with iPadOS 26.0.1 - at the time of writing, this being the current production release of iPadOS 26.

If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated software issue:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to test and assess your iPad - and you can explore your available options:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

This video was posted above by someone else; I'll try to quote the actual post in a few, but THIS made a significant improvement on my iPad....

Disabling "Windowed apps" - which of course is the DEFAULT that is enabled with iPadOS26..... that helped with my biggest issue.

I still need to test & play with it more, but it seemed to help with my biggest complaint, which is when I'd swipe up & hold to get to app switcher, it would hang, stumble & stutter for about 1-2 seconds. Doesn't sound like much, but it was def enough of a lag / delay to be painfully obvious and extremely time wasting & annoying.

[Edited by Moderator]

afekt wrote:

iPad Pro M1 Terabyte model here, and after updating to iOS26 has brought sticky screens, stop-motion movement, unusable websites, and Safari feels like Mozilla Netscape circa 1998. The new experience of overheating where the back is hot to fry an egg, apps freeze, windows stick, and notes now make me angry. I open to write, no keyboard, try and close it - tap, tap, tap, TAP! OK, swipe away notes, to move on… oh wham!, the AI writing tools pop up out of nowhere! Where’s my keyboard again. OK overheating again, alert it has stopped charging. I need some fresh air. OK, Let’s get back to work, swipe, swipe, OK why can’t I get past my lock screen- no face id launching, no keyboard. Swipe! This is the new experience now, no restart the iPad up from a hard shut down. OK, back, wait where is my virtual keyboard again?

and my Apple Pencil will not connect. Apple needs to fix this or they will have larger groups of customers getting louder and frustrated that their expensive iPad Pro has become a relic. If this was just an oddity on my device, it would be one thing, but my neighbor and my sister-in-law now ( both with M3) have stuck screens and hot plates to brew coffees on. Both for the first time have experienced overheating.

p.s. this actual form field was stuck and my keyboard again again, so I had to post then edit my message here to fix some typos. 😤

I have an iPad Pro M1, 1TB, successfully updated to iPadOS 26.0.1 - and haven't experienced the difficulties that you have outlined here. That said, clearly something is wrong with your iPad.

If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated software issue:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings - which will install a fresh copy of the most recent version of iPadOS supported by your iPad:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to test and assess your iPad - and you can explore your available options:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

JohnMuzi wrote:

Four days have gone by, and I expect the problem of slow performance should resolve itself by now. Photo app, especially, is very slow. The same is true with several other apps.

If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated or post-update software issue:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

Force restart iPad (models with the Home button)

Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively and perhaps easier, you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to assist with troubleshooting:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

babablu wrote:

Apple when are you going to fix the problem?

This is a user-to-user technical community. Contributors here are all end-users, just like you. Other than the site Moderators, Apple neither monitors nor participates within this Community. As such, your comments here will not be seen or acted upon by Apple.

Apple invites submission of constructive comments and bug reports via its Product Feedback portal. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

GREAT NEWS!

I'm VERY excited to report that iOS26.1 (NOT 26.0.1) yielded massive improvements in my iPads' performance.

I'm still not 100% happy with it, but honestly; that 11" M1 iPad of mine has always been a touch laggy, esp. compared to my M4.

My 11" M1 iPad Pro is once again USABLE after updating to iOS26.1!

I also took & installed iOS26.1 on an iPhone 11 I have and it ran surprisingly well. So; I took the plunge & installed on my iPhone 16 Pro & I'm actually very, VERY happy not only with the performance, but with a lot of pretty darn cool new features.

Again; I want to be clear I'm talking about 26.1; NOT the originally released 26.0, nor 26.0.1. Both of those shouldn't have been released, and I think threads like this prove my point. There are LOTS of unhappy campers who were similarly negatively impacted by 26.

Anyway;

If you are on 26 & having issues, give 26.1 a try!

Adam_Electric wrote:

Doesn’t work i tried everything

Then you are left with scheduling an appointment with Apple for diagnostics to be performed.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Again, i had the same issue, yet i was able to remove the lagginess from the iPad pro (Specifically my model, IPAD PRO 11 INCH LATE 2020 256SSD STORAGE. NOW IT HAS 111SSD STORAGE OCCUPANCY)

I was able to fix this issue. The best way to fix it was deleting several apps, from my iPad pro late 2020 256SSD drive and its the 11' inch screen, just in case ppl have questions i think i got rid off all my apps that were open in the background. As well the apps i deleted were just old games that i downloaded that took some space about 100 gigs i think i got RID OFF. So now my iPad is working pretty smooth. Fast and clean. No lag. I hope this helps to anyone having issues with their iPad pros.

Then let it rest and as well applied a regular SHUT DOWN through the (GENERAL APP SETTINGS, THEN GENERAL, THEN SHUT DOWN)

After shutting down the device i powered it on again. Then after powered on the device i logged in, then i was able to perform a HARD RESTART.

Then my device worked like a charm again.

ONE THING I WANT TO BE SPECIFIC IS; IF YOU FOLLOW THESE STEPS ON THE SAME MODEL I HAVE, IPAD PRO 11INCH LATE 2020. You will be able to have your iPad pro again smooth and with no issues.

Thats my experience i want to share with anyone else having this same issue.

Current version iPad OS Version 26.2

Respectfully, can you please provide some more background / support for your opinion? For a windows PC (and perhaps mac, but my expertise is Windows) you are correct; forced / “ungrateful” restarts are to be avoided.

However, I’d say that iOS and windows are quite fundamentally different and not all the exact same principles / rules apply to both.

I’ve been doing forced restarts on hundreds (if not thousands) of iPads and iPhones for years and years (since the iPhone 3G came out) and never had a single problem.

Apple’s own Shortcuts app even makes it simple (if they don’t have it as a default / starter automation) to “restart” your iOS device, which presumably basically does a forced restart.

Would love to hear more about your perspective, but I could well be wrong. :-)

u/Adam_Electric;

You raise some good points;

a) When ANY storage device (SSD, Hard Drive, iPad storage whatever type it is) reaches approx 70-75% capacity; gets about 75% full; performance starts to degrade. Sometimes significantly.

If you have a 256GB ipad, and settings shows you only have 30GB free; yes; that fact alone will bog down your iPad to some extent.

Same is true for Windows & Mac computers.

b) Can you tell us about how much storage you had used before & after on your iPad?

c) Did you fully delete / uninstall the apps, or simply force quit them?

I know technically leaving apps running shouldn't impact memory, but tech does a lot of stuff it shouldn't do...

:-\

d) Can you tell us which apps exactly you deleted? Perhaps there's some correlation there?

Thank You!

People… Mac Jim ID gave you as to why this might be happening. Have any of you waited 3-4 days to see if your iPad is back to normal?

Happening to mine

Doesn’t work i tried everything