Apple Debuts App Windows, Full External Display Support, and More for M1 iPads

[bcortens]

The real thing that has been holding back the iPad has not been an inability to have overlapping resizable windows, but rather the fact that most iPad apps have not had the full feature set and functionality of their desktop counterparts.

Many of you are ignoring the fact that based on what we saw during the keynote, iPadOS 16 is addressing many of the actual functional differences between stock apps on the iPad and on the Mac that have been holding the iPad back – and I don't recall any of those being limited to newer iPads.

Apple has known for some time that it can't source enough components from suppliers to meet current demand for the iPad. It's a supply issue, not a demand issue, that is holding back iPad sales, so there is no reason for Apple to artificially limit features on older iPads to drive sales as some in this thread are suggesting.

I mostly agree, I would like to have gotten split view multitasking on an external monitor for older iPads but everything except the M1 still just mirrors the internal display.

We are also not getting but in format pane support (the iWork sweet on the Mac has that nice right hand format pane which is persistent rather than the popovers that the iPad version has). I would like to have seen more extensive virtual memory support across older iPads as well to allow apps to continue performing long running tasks in the background.
For the last few years it has been a case of developers not bringing the full feature set to iPad and I think that will continue - I suspect part of the problem is the monetization model on iPad not being as good as on Mac.

Generally the iPad is pretty close to where I want it already - multi-windowing with resizable windows is, I think, of very very limited utility compared to the rest of what they announced but we will have to wait and see if the apps are updated to take advantage of it.

 

[svish]

Stage Manager looks good. Too bad it is not available at least on iPad Pro with A12Z chip.

 

[ipedro]

Someone may have already answered this, but with Stage Manager do the thumbnails on the left ever hide and let you work with the apps without all of the wasted space?

Yes, iPadOS does split screen that maximizes the available space for 2 apps side by side. And it has done that for a few years now. But people complained and wanted free floating windows that waste space, offering nothing but a view to parts of the desktop below and cover other windows requiring the user to manually sort the windows.

Stage Manager looks great and does provide a solution to fully utilizing the screen real estate of an external display but on an 11” or 12.9” iPad Pro’s screen, you could use every last pixel and split screen has already done that very efficiently.

 

[bcortens]

Yes, iPadOS does split screen that maximizes the available space for 2 apps side by side. And it has done that for a few years now. But people complained and wanted free floating windows that waste space, offering nothing but a view to parts of the desktop below and cover other windows requiring the user to manually sort the windows.

Stage Manager looks great and does provide a solution to fully utilizing the screen real estate of an external display but on an 11” or 12.9” iPad Pro’s screen, you could use every last pixel and split screen has already done that very efficiently.

I don't even think that it fully allows you to use the external display efficiently - an updated split view on external displays with more of a grid based tile system would have better used the screen space.
People have the mistaken belief that floating resizable windows = multitasking when it doesn't.

 

[darngooddesign]

Is Split-Screen the same as before on non-M1 iPads? On M1's do you get both Split-Screen and Stage-Manager? How do you add an app which isn't in your dock to the

 

[darngooddesign]

Actually from my own experience the iPad Pro line is poor value in terms of longevity. I've only been using the iPad Pro 9.7" (for Pro iPads).

Out of 3 units of iPad Pro 9.7" I've been using, one died of a bulging battery, and the replacement unit from Apple died within one year (won't power up at all). The second unit also had a run-down battery which after ~3 years couldn't be replaced by servicing by third parties (it wasn't worth sending it to Apple since it's out of AppleCare coverage, and Apple basically just does a device swap for any iPads sent for repair) and now hobbles along needing to be charged every 3 hours, despite being able to run the latest iPadOS 15.x. Only one unit remains functional, and that was due to the fact that it wasn't used constantly during the pandemic.

I have an iPad 3 (purchased 6 months before the iPad 4 came out), which still functions albeit slowly today. The battery capacity still allows for a sleep duration of weeks. Personally I think the thin and light design of the iPad Pro series just causes too much heat stress on the battery, coupled with the much lower battery capacity, making it unlikely to be still functional after 3 or so years if you use it heavily and regularly.

Conversely, the basic iPad (7th gen etc.) seems to be built much more solidly and with higher battery capacity, so I expect it to still be usable in the future compared to similar iPad Pros of the same vintage.

I don't doubt your experience, but my 9.7 Pro is still running great except for the battery life, which after seven years is understandably short. Its only $99 for Apple to replace the battery so I may just do that and use it until the M2 Pros are out.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

If you watched the video, it was clearly stated it’s only for M1 iPads. So the air 5 and the 2021 pros

The stream I was watching clearly said iPadOS, not just M1 iPads.

 

[1BadManVan]

The stream I was watching clearly said iPadOS, not just M1 iPads.

Might want to rematch it then, they specified M1

”now I want to turn our attention to a set of features enabled by the performance of the M1 chip in our latest iPad Pro and iPad Air“ literally what he says before introducing these features

 

[jdawgnoonan]

Yes, iPadOS does split screen that maximizes the available space for 2 apps side by side. And it has done that for a few years now. But people complained and wanted free floating windows that waste space, offering nothing but a view to parts of the desktop below and cover other windows requiring the user to manually sort the windows.

Stage Manager looks great and does provide a solution to fully utilizing the screen real estate of an external display but on an 11” or 12.9” iPad Pro’s screen, you could use every last pixel and split screen has already done that very efficiently.

I agree. In my case my monitor already has a Mac hooked to it, but for people who want to extend their iPad to a display this will be great. So I’m more concerned with using it locally on my iPad.

 

[bcortens]

I agree. In my case my monitor already has a Mac hooked to it, but for people who want to extend their iPad to a display this will be great. So I’m more concerned with using it locally on my iPad.

What workflow is enabled by having overlapping windows that isn’t already possible with Split-view + slideover?

 

[ipedro]

What workflow is enabled by having overlapping windows that isn’t already possible with Split-view + slideover?

Exactly. These people have been insisting on windowed multitasking, and now they're asking for better ways to use the available screen without wasting space.

The one thing this improves on is discoverability and being intuitive, but only to people who've come from a windows environment and refuse to change how they do things. To kids for whom iPhones and iPads have always been around, full screen apps makes far more sense than individually managed floating windows.

 

[bcortens]

Exactly. These people have been insisting on windowed multitasking, and now they're asking for better ways to use the available screen without wasting space.

The one thing this improves on is discoverability and being intuitive, but only to people who've come from a windows environment and refuse to change how they do things. To kids for whom iPhones and iPads have always been around, full screen apps makes far more sense than individually managed floating windows.

It’s only discoverable if you know to drag from that bottom corner of the app.. otherwise it’s not even more discoverable. I think they should have maybe added separate swipe bars at the bottom of the screen (beside the home slider indicator) that is just for multitasking and another for the dock to stop overloading that single control and gesture with multiple interactions. I would also make them a little taller and add an icon and label to them to make it clear what they do.

 

[Freyqq]

Why only 4 apps at once with 8 GB of ram and virtual memory? It has the same M1 chip as a mac mini desktop computer.

 

[Freyqq]

I just don’t understand why they don’t let you flip over to running macOS if you have a keyboard and mouse/trackpad connected. What’s the problem?

Agreed, at least ipadOS backend but a macOS interface with unlimited windowed applications. Also, when a mouse/keyboard are connected, let it run macOS apps.

 

[StudioMacs]

Agreed, at least ipadOS backend but a macOS interface with unlimited windowed applications. Also, when a mouse/keyboard are connected, let it run macOS apps.

And then I pick it up to work on it, and my apps stop working?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

And then I pick it up to work on it, and my apps stop working?

Exactly, because not every macOS app has an iPhone app and not every macOS developer even wants to create an iOS app. There’s good reasons why this hasn’t been a thing before now (and not just the performance of the devices).

 

[NeoSe7en]

Exactly, because not every macOS app has an iPhone app and not every macOS developer even wants to create an iOS app. There’s good reasons why this hasn’t been a thing before now (and not just the performance of the devices).

I would envision it more as a Boot Camp type thing where the iPad would restart and boot to macOS.

 

[HaddockW]

I just don’t understand why they don’t let you flip over to running macOS if you have a keyboard and mouse/trackpad connected. What’s the problem?

I think because iOS (includino iPad) do some highly aggressive things with power management. The iPad's battery is fractionally smaller than the Macbook Air. Having it run a "full fat" OS will probably kick the battery life down to 3-4 hours because it doesnt have the battery reserve.

And it was reserved for when you are connected to power only, that would be a crappy experience.

 

[Abazigal]

Exactly. These people have been insisting on windowed multitasking, and now they're asking for better ways to use the available screen without wasting space.

The one thing this improves on is discoverability and being intuitive, but only to people who've come from a windows environment and refuse to change how they do things. To kids for whom iPhones and iPads have always been around, full screen apps makes far more sense than individually managed floating windows.

It’s even funnier when you realise that stage manager was pitched as a solution to the clutter caused by all these overlapping windows. Ie: the very feature that people have been clamouring for all this whole is apparently viewed as a bug by Apple.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I would envision it more as a Boot Camp type thing where the iPad would restart and boot to macOS.

Connect a keyboard, reboot, macOS, disconnect a keyboard, reboot back into iPadOS with data types and applications incompatible between the two. There are PLENTY of reasons why this isn’t a thing and this is one of them.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

What workflow is enabled by having overlapping windows that isn’t already possible with Split-view + slideover?

You are right, I can use slide over, but I just do not like it. I would prefer to squint at the apps on my screen in phone width as to have to slide a hidden app over that then blocks one of the apps that I have open. One use case is IT research whilst configuring ServiceNow and communicating with colleagues in a messaging app. Maybe that is not a normal situation for someone on an iPad, however it can do it and that is what I would find convenient on mine.I can do that on a 13" MBA, why not on my M1 powered iPad Pro 13?

 

[HaddockW]

So I have it running. Beta 1. Impressions:
awesome yet so buggy.

Few comments: I am running against a LG 5K connected via OWC TB dock. It looks glorious - LumaFusion, a SSH Window, Python Juypter notebook. All on one screen with Safari on the iPad.

Now the issues:

Affinity Photo will not go in Stage Manager. Some apps that already output to display doesnt work. But LumaFusion works.

Instagram. iPhone only apps will not have multiple window tiling. Only itself and only single grouping

I dont know how to do text resizing yet.

No way to kill an app. E.G. Swiping off screen. Can only kill by disabling Stage Manager than swiping it up.

Crashes. Running LumaFusion then Safari (anything with video on two screens) will crash. It will go black. Resizing it doesnt bring back LumaFusion. So I have to slide app back to iPad screen., Disable Stage Manager, swipe up to exit LumaFusion. Re-enable Stage Manager then restart LumaFusion.

Other than that, Safari feels like a real desktop browser. I say that because on a 27", I have it have to the left and text is smaller so it doesnt look comically large. The user experience is transformed and I can have a SSH client on the top right and music on the bottom right. Feels like a desktop.


Lastly, Second screen will still work if Stage Manager is disabled. In Disable mode, Main iPad screen is a full screen apple. Second monitor has stage manager and floating windows. And it randomly crashes. WHen it crashes, I no longer have dark mode in the second screen. This website is white and so are my other dark mode apps. It goes to light mode.