Video: Testing Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 With an External Display

[MacRumors]

With iPadOS 16, Apple introduced Stage Manager, a feature that's designed to improve multitasking through a more Mac-like multi-window experience. Apple also added full external display support, so for our latest YouTube video, we thought we'd test out both of these features to show MacRumors readers what the iPad experience is like in iPadOS 16.

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Both Stage Manager and external display support are limited to the iPad Pro and iPad Air models that are equipped with M1 chips, which includes only Apple's most recent devices. Apple's decision to limit Stage Manager to M1 iPads has been highly controversial because many people have older iPads and are unable to use some of the best multitasking updates we've seen in years, but Apple has maintained that it was not possible to deliver an acceptable multitasking experience on iPads that don't have the power of the M1 chip.

If you're lucky enough to have an M1 iPad Pro or M1 iPad Air, Stage Manager is a useful multitasking update. You can activate it through Control Center, and once on, you'll see a tiled view of your open apps off to the left side of the app with the main app available center stage.

You can resize the windows and move them freely around on the iPad, which is a new experience. Previously, Split View and Slide Over were the only available multitasking options, and were limited to two apps or app windows at a time.

Stage Manager works with the aforementioned external display support, and that's where the feature is best shown off, as it allows for a much more Mac like experience. With an iPad alone, Stage Manager is capable of handling four apps at once, but with an external display, you can use up to eight.

iPadOS 16 allows an iPad to take full advantage of the external display rather than mirroring the iPad, and it's like using a display with a Mac. You can move windows from the iPad over to the display, and adjust the arrangement between the two as you would in macOS.

Stage Manager isn't perfect as we're still early in the beta testing process, so some apps aren't working well on the external display, but there's plenty of time for Apple to make refinements and updates. Stage Manager is likely going to make for a much more pleasant working experience for those who like to use an iPad in lieu of a desktop computer, but it is a shame that it is limited to the newest iPads.

Have you tried Stage Manager? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.

Article Link: Video: Testing Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 With an External Display

 

[CC77]

Everyone in 2021: Why won't Apple take full advantage of the m1 chip in iPads??

*Apple releases literally one m1-only feature*

Everyone in 2022: How could you do this to me personally

 

[DummyFool]

Makes me want to go to the Apple website and order an iPad Pro but then the logical side of my brain kicks in and can't help but notice it would be a downgrade from my work process on my Macbook.

 

[FrizzleFryBen]

I always had an iPad floating around since the day gen 1 came out. But I never really used them much - just stayed as a novelty and for droning. I might finally have good use for one when on-site with clients, rather than casting onto a wall TV.

 

[now i see it]

People have got it in their mind that Stage Manager is just a software upgrade. But really it’s part of the M1 hardware upgrade that has launched late.

I bet they were working on Stage Manager intending for it to be part of the M1 iPad launch but ran into bugs and didn’t include it at that time.

 

[fwmireault]

This looks so good, especially for a beta 1 version! Can’t wait to try it this fall!

 

[citysnaps]

Everyone in 2021: Why won't Apple take full advantage of the m1 chip in iPads??

*Apple releases literally one m1-only feature*

Everyone in 2022: How could you do this to me personally

Yup. Expressing oversized personal outrage at the drop of a hat is now the new normal. Can't imagine embarrassing myself in such a whiney manner on a public forum.

 

[Cognizant.]

Yup. Expressing oversized personal outrage at the drop of a hat is now the new normal. Can't imagine embarrassing myself in such a whiney manner on a public forum.

Honestly, making posts like this is embarrassing.

 

[CPx]

Can you run HBO Max/Netflix any of the streaming apps in full screen on the external display?

 

[nvmls]

The amount of taps done to resize a windows is just hilarious.

 

[_Spinn_]

Looks like a very useful feature!

 

[Lucas Curious]

gimmick. looks like a bunch of messing around. Just use a MacBook instead

 

[CarAnalogy]

OK now that I've seen it in action I really don't care that it's not coming to my 2020 iPad Pro. I don't even really see how this is better than Mission Control. Even the name Mission Control is better.

 

[t0rqx]

They heading the right way. Still it feels like it is not wise to buy an iPad for this as it will need to mature and probably be useful when there is a M3 inside along with a better iPadOS.

My first initial impression gave me a Android/Windows feel? Also an impression this has been rushed and a fast fix for the multitasking complaints.

 

[JEY]

Makes me want to go to the Apple website and order an iPad Pro but then the logical side of my brain kicks in and can't help but notice it would be a downgrade from my work process on my Macbook.

Makes sense. When I want pancakes I don't complain that my Cheerios are too hard to eat with a fork.

 

[No5tromo]

I don't know why Apple struggles so much with window management, even in macOS it feels like they have no idea what they're doing, window management is my #1 reason for considering going back to Windows. Using an iPad as a main computer doesn't look like it's something that Apple wants us to do, the hardware is there but the software is embarrassing and I can only assume it's on purpose.

 

[Ghost31]

Cool feature, but I can’t ever think of a time when I want smaller floating windows. Like ever. If I ever wanna switch between apps, I just use the keyboard shortcut to switch and boom I’m there.

External monitor support is cool. Definitely wish I could get that. But apparently my 2020 is too much of a wuss to support such a high tech feature that 300 laptops can do

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I think having an always visible dock is probably a better option.

 

[wonderings]

Looks frustrating to me, like they are so close to giving us a full Mac OS from an iPad when connected to an external screen, but they stopped just a little too soon before getting there. To me this is a no brainer and Microsoft had this great idea years ago and did it with their Windows phone. Plug your phone into a screen and get a normal version of Windows running on your computer (think it was an arm version, but looked and ran like Windows). Here we have an iPad with an M1 chip, plenty fast enough to run Mac OS, but instead of letting you do that they give what looks like a frustrating user experience instead. I say frustrating because it is so very close to letting us use an iPad like a normal computer. Personally I think they are not going to go this route because I am guessing it would eat into their laptop sales.

 

[falkon-engine]

Everyone in 2021: Why won't Apple take full advantage of the m1 chip in iPads??

*Apple releases literally one m1-only feature*

Everyone in 2022: How could you do this to me personally

Taking advantage of M1 with 8GB or 16 GB doesn't have to mean leaving the powerful (and expensive) A12Z with 6 GB out in the lurch.

 

[klasma]

I don't know why Apple struggles so much with window management, even in macOS it feels like they have no idea what they're doing, window management is my #1 reason for considering going back to Windows.

It feels like it’s being designed by graphical designers (sounds reasonable at first) rather than by usability experts and power users (which is what would actually make sense).

 

[Cognizant.]

I don't know why Apple struggles so much with window management, even in macOS it feels like they have no idea what they're doing, window management is my #1 reason for considering going back to Windows. Using an iPad as a main computer doesn't look like it's something that Apple wants us to do, the hardware is there but the software is embarrassing and I can only assume it's on purpose.

This keeps me sane in macOS: https://rectangleapp.com/

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

It looks like a useful feature but I'm not sure if people would find it useful on a daily base use. The limitation on the apps definitely does not help either.

 

[HiRez]

Maybe I'm missing something but I just can't see why they're making such a big deal about this. What can I do with Stage Manager that I can't do by selecting apps int he Dock or using Option-Tab fast switching? I tend to use apps in full screen (or at least window sized full) anyway so seeing a bunch of small windows just means less space for the current app.

 

[klasma]

Cool feature, but I can’t ever think of a time when I want smaller floating windows.

There are two situations where I want that:

1. viewing two apps side-by-side for comparison or reference
2. making text columns more narrow (e.g. a web page) in landscape orientation for better readability (shorter lines)

Split view is fine for the first, but for the second it’s nice to be able to horizontally center the app.