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Here’s what iPhone 17 Pro Max running iPadOS 26 looks like

iPadOS 26 introduced a brand new windowing system that might just lay the groundwork for what next year’s foldable iPhone will be able to do in iOS 27. If you want a preview of how iPadOS might work on an iPhone, one user found a way to install it on an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

User shares video of iPadOS multitasking on iPhone 17 Pro Max

Next year, iOS 27 will reportedly bring specific changes that are intended for Apple’s first foldable iPhone.

The iPhone Fold (or iPhone Ultra) is launching next fall, right around the time iOS 27 will ship to all users.

And thanks to the iPad mini-like screen size of the foldable’s inner display, it’s expected that an upgraded version of multitasking is in the works for iPhone Fold users.

Not so coincidentally, Apple just overhauled iPad multitasking in iPadOS 26. Perhaps the new system will be adapted for the new iPhone’s unique form factor?

Whether that happens or not, earlier this month Duy Tran on X posted a fun glimpse at what iPadOS might look like on an iPhone.

Here’s an iPhone 17 Pro Max running iPadOS 26:

Duy Tran explains that the iPad software was able to be installed on iPhone via an exploit that is reportedly patched in iOS and iPadOS 26.2.

If Apple does add new multitasking features to the iPhone Fold, it’s fairly unlikely that they’ll be available elsewhere. But who knows? Perhaps some of the changes being prepared for the foldable will trickle down to other devices in iOS 27.

Would you want a version of iPadOS 26 to run on your iPhone? How do you think it would work on the foldable? Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.