Beam Browser 1.4 adds Split View for iPad, as per the latest update from the Beam Browser team. The browser update also adds a PDF viewer with Apple Pencil markup, with a rebuilt Reader that reads articles aloud. Beam Browser posted the news on X, and the update includes hundreds of smaller improvements.
Split View in Beam Browser 1.4 keeps a pair of tabs together
You start a split by dragging a tab onto the page or onto another tab in the sidebar. Dragging the divider gives either side more room, and the address bar, Reader and Find follow whichever side you tap.
A split saves in the sidebar as one item and survives quitting the app, so a pair of pages stays one tap away. Split View also works with Stage Manager and Slide Over, and Control-Command-W starts a split from the keyboard.
Beam 1.4 is out. Split View, a new PDF viewer, and a rebuilt Reader that can read to you. Plus a media bar, Spaces in the sidebar, and hundreds of improvements. https://t.co/NcvFAkbUk6 https://t.co/cKj0t84m9C
— Beam Browser (@BeamBrowser) November 1, 2026
The PDF viewer takes Apple Pencil and Reader now reads aloud
PDFs now open inside Beam Browser instead of being handed off to another app. You can mark them up with Apple Pencil or a finger, and the annotations save automatically. Any PDF stored in Files can open in Beam Browser, and PDF tabs keep your place.
Reader can now read an article aloud and highlights each paragraph as it goes. You can change the speed and skip between paragraphs. A new media bar in the sidebar also controls whatever is playing, including Picture in Picture, even when the tab is in the background.
Updating changes tab unloading, history storage and AI chat
Hidden tabs now unload after 30 minutes to save battery and memory, and media pauses after 5. Pinned tabs, Favorites and anything playing are never unloaded.
History and AI chats no longer sync over iCloud and stay on the iPad. The page toolbar is also on by default now, and Show Page Toolbar turns it off.
AI chat works with your open tabs through Apple Intelligence, which requires iPadOS 27, or with your own API key for Anthropic, Google or OpenAI models. It replaces the one-tap Summarize and Key Points page actions with Chat with Page.
Beam Browser now blocks pop-ups that a page opens on its own, while links you tap and sign-in windows are always allowed. The update also fixes a rare issue that could clear Pinned tabs and Favorites.
Switching from Safari takes a few taps from Safari’s Export sheet on iPadOS 26.4 or later. Favorites become pinned tabs, and history comes along so the command bar can suggest those pages.
Beam Browser 1.4 requires iPadOS 26 or later and costs $5.99 as a one-time purchase with no subscription.
