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

[tobybrut]

Likewise, I’d imagine that Stage Manager on the iPad takes advantage of swap memory. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Stage Manager Needs an M1 for that reason alone.

Reason? I’d imagine that swap storage depends on the storage controller to some extent (and maybe even the memory manager). Spinning hard disks generally have a virtually infinite number of read-write cycles, but their mechanical bits fail over time. Solid state storage, on the other hand, has no mechanical bits to fail, but they have issues with wear leveling. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if hardware needs controller support for using solid state primary storage as virtual memory (and the memory manager might need to support it, too), and it wouldn’t be at all weird for processors originally designed for phones not to have the necessary support. But the M1, being a chip designed for a desktop PC, likely has the memory manager and storage controller hardware necessary to support virtual memory without causing undue wear and tear on the primary storage. We tend to take virtual memory for granted on desktops (but I saw a video the other day where someone put an SSD in an old MacOS Classic Mac, and I got to wondering how Mac OS’s virtual memory would work on that and if it would cause issues with SSD longevity*), but there’s a lot of enabling technology that supports it.

* SSD on Mac OS Classic is already slightly dodgy, since Mac OS Classic doesn’t support TRIM for solid state storage. That means that file operations are probably poorly suited for wear leveling, for one thing.

Unless we talk with an Apple employee, we're all guessing why Stage Manager doesn't work as well on non-M1 iPads. It could very well be a combination of a number of factors: RAM, speed of flash storage, neural engine, something in the M1 that isn't present in older SoC's, etc. Lacking any or all of the above could make Stage Manager not work very well or perform too slowly. It takes a lot of memory to run up to 8 apps simultaneously, so I would guess it has to do with low RAM and slow flash storage would make that many apps run very slowly, but that's only a guess.

It may not have anything to do with the M1 at all, but perhaps the fact that M1 iPads come with 8GB minimum of RAM. Virtual memory helps to run more apps at the same time, but more real RAM helps them run a lot faster.

 

[kc9hzn]

I think maybe he tried to drag and drop the addresses - which doesn’t work for some reason - I just went to mail myself, new message, drag new message into split view, try and drag addresses into new mail window - I think this is just a bug/missing feature in mail. Having multiple floating windows won’t help his at all since if mail doesn’t have drag and drop of email address support right now its unlikely to be fixed just by letting the windows float.

That’s surprising, considering it does support drag and drop between the To, CC, and BCC fields. Huh, go figure, that’s an odd inconsistency.

I just find it irritating when people make blanket statements about the iPad and iPadOS, because I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of them over the years. Does iPadOS have bugs or features that could work better? Sure. Is the iPad/iPadOS so primitive that you can’t do “pro” work on it? I’d reckon that this isn’t the case for most people, despite their claims to the contrary. It just seems like people jump to “it doesn’t work the way I’m used to, therefore it’s not good for productivity” or “iPadOS isn’t for pros because the apps aren’t good enough” (which isn’t a failing of the iPad or the OS but rather it’s the fault of developers for not making a better app).

 

[ipedro]

Still no calculator, maybe next year…

WWDC is a compressed early look at OS updates, specially focused on features devs could use an early look at. The September event always goes into more detail, introducing consumer facing features that weren't talked about at the dev conference.

I can see calculator becoming a part of the class of apps that Quick Note belongs to. Swipe from a corner to get a calculator widget or launch it from Control Centre and it's its own free floating widget like Quick Note.

 

[tobybrut]

You're right but only so far because the A12Z processor was in the M1 Dev Kit, meaning it is fully capable of running this. And it's only 2 years old, I can understand the A12X which is in the 2018 iPad Pro's but the A12Z is in the 2020 models and was in the Dev Kit. ZERO reason it can't run this new feature. I'm sorry but it's not a RAM heavy feature, 6GB RAM could run it and why not bring the no black bars external display feature to all iPad's. That uses almost no RAM, just a cord & GPU. We bought iPad Pro's as a Pro user when Apple announced in 2015 the iPad Pro would bring desktop experience to the iPad and it never cam until now and now it's a big finger at all old Pro model users even one gen model earlier users.

Running 8 apps simultaneously is not RAM-intensive? Apple does not eliminate models for compatibility because they want to screw over their customers or else they wouldn't provide six to seven years of OS updates in the first place. Sometimes features simply don't run well without the required hardware. We don't know if it's because of insufficient RAM in non-M1 models or whether it's due to something present on the M1 that doesn't exist on other SoC's. Just like certain iPhone functions work only on SoC's with a neural engine present, I would guess Stage Manager requires something other iPads don't have.

The reason why the black bars were eliminated in Stage Manager is because they need the sides to display the side apps. People do not understand why Apple mirrored the main screen to begin with. Do you realize the iPad has no desktop? There was nothing to extend to a second monitor, so there was no reason to eliminate the black bars. Mirroring or a blank screen makes the most sense since Springboard emulates LaunchPad on the Mac where there is no desktop. Note that LaunchPad is locked to a single monitor, even if you have more than one. When there's no desktop, there's nothing to extend, so why would you expect it to?

Stage Manager, on the other hand, is not really a desktop either, but it needs the side space to show the inactive apps so Apple added it. Think about it. Then you'll understand that it wasn't because the hardware couldn't do it. It was because conceptually, extending a non-existent desktop makes no sense. Apple did what made sense but people keep thinking the iPad is a Mac that has a desktop. For Stage Manager, the second monitor is not really an extended desktop but is rather a second set of four apps with their own side panel. There's still no desktop.

 

[tobybrut]

So basically all the non M1 iPad’s are getting is the weather app. What a waste of time. They should have made iPadOS16 M1 iPad only and cut everything else out. Amazing that the smashed up galaxy note 8, via Dex that I have at home can do more than my iPad pro.

There's a lot more in iPadOS than just the M1-only features. Most of the changes are coming to macOS, iOS, and iPadOS with ecosystem changes. There would be enough there even if they didn't release any M1-only features. People tend to fixate on things they want to fixate on and forget everything else. For me, some of the most important features are the text-related ones and shared family iCloud photo library. The collaboration features and the new Freeform app are pretty cool, but not that useful to me, but I don't dismiss them. Messages and Mail got some decent updates. It shares most of the changes to iOS as well, except for the lock screen. I'm guessing lock screen isn't coming to iPadOS because the lock screens are not the same on the two device types.

No, your Galaxy Note 8 cannot do what the iPad can do. I have Samsung tablets with DeX, and it's a kluge to run phone apps that don't get stretched out. Sorry but DeX does not necessarily make anyone more productive.

 

[JJL2026]

So my two year old iPad Pro will *never* get proper external display support? Seething.

Unfortunately I share your frustration. Apple introduced many amazing features for the iPad but I can’t enjoy them. I’ll be sticking with the MacBook Air in the future.

 

[ericwn]

The app windows could have been better implemented in my opinion

Like how?

 

[ericwn]

Imagine waiting four years for a proper multitasking support (which this still isn't) and then being told I can't even run it on my 2018 ipad pro. Done with this bs. Gonna grab the new air or surface

Imagine buying something out of pure hope and then be upset if the functionality is not retroactively implemented into the product, the outrage!

 

[Shanghaichica]

There's a lot more in iPadOS than just the M1-only features. Most of the changes are coming to macOS, iOS, and iPadOS with ecosystem changes. There would be enough there even if they didn't release any M1-only features. People tend to fixate on things they want to fixate on and forget everything else. For me, some of the most important features are the text-related ones and shared family iCloud photo library. The collaboration features and the new Freeform app are pretty cool, but not that useful to me, but I don't dismiss them. Messages and Mail got some decent updates. It shares most of the changes to iOS as well, except for the lock screen. I'm guessing lock screen isn't coming to iPadOS because the lock screens are not the same on the two device types.

No, your Galaxy Note 8 cannot do what the iPad can do. I have Samsung tablets with DeX, and it's a kluge to run phone apps that don't get stretched out. Sorry but DeX does not necessarily make anyone more productive.

Well at least it can actually use an external display correctly. Come on the iPad Pro, even if it doesn’t have an M1 chip should be able to properly support an external display.

All those other features are system wide changes that they have just ported over from the other operating systems. If the new M1 features weren’t there the other features alone would be lacklustre. They are just padding.

 

[Shanghaichica]

So my two year old iPad Pro will *never* get proper external display support? Seething.

Imagine. Apple have just relegated evey non M1 iPad to consumption devices.

 

[tobybrut]

Someone has to explain how the A12Z iPad Pro version doesn't support this when the ARM Dev Kit Mac mini was based on the A12Z, meaning the A12Z is fully capable of the same stuff M1 is. Hopefully Apple will backtrack like last year (they brought some stuff announced only for M1 to intel in later betas). All iPad Pro's should have this feature, it's called the 'Pro'. Don't make me spend another $1000 or more on a new model when you promised the 'Pro' model when first launched in 2015 would bring. desktop experience to the iPad for Pro users and never delivered until now.

There's no way to know unless someone from Apple tells us what's missing. As a programmer myself, I expect there's some aspect about iPads that don't come with the M1 that makes Stage Manager perform unacceptably to Apple's standards. It may have nothing at all to do with the M1. If I were to take a best guess, it's RAM and flash storage speed. M1 iPads have at least 8GB of RAM and some of the fastest storage around. Virtual memory is obviously a requirement to run 8 apps at once, and virtual memory is signficantly slower than real RAM, but can perform sufficiently if fast enough to swap in and out. Your A12Z Dev Kit probably could run Stage Manager since it has desktop specs, but non-M1 iPads don't.

I'm guessing Apple tried to run Stage Manager on lesser iPads with 6GB of RAM or less and found it didn't perform well enough.

 

[GroovyCatticus]

I've got a non M1 iPad Pro. I'm going to hold off a few years on any upgrade. I'm pretty sure based on past experience that when this feature rolls out there will be a lot of bumps in the road and roadblocks to using it consistently across your apps. Third party apps have to be updated to support this, and some will take a long time or never happen. So it will be a few years before you can use this relatively seamlessly across all your favorite apps.

My example is drag-and-drop. I still find tons of instances where it doesn't work at all. What good is windowing if I can't drag and drop things and expect it will work every time? It's things like this that make me turn back to my PC for serious work.

I like where Apple is going, but the path is painfully slow to reach maturity.

I‘m testing Stage Manager on my 11” Pro and third party apps work fine in window mode. Windows are limited to a few widths/heights that correspond to sizes that modern iOS apps must handle anyway, so there’s nothing extra a developer needs to worry about.

 

[symphony]

Like how?

Make it less restrictive

 

[ericwn]

When can I get iPad mini with M1?

("Downgraded" from Pro to Mini - form factor is better, but now I need M1 again)

In fairness it sounds more like a “want” rather than a “need”.

 

[GroovyCatticus]

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?

It’s only active in landscape view and only when all active group windows are in 3/4 width or less. If any one window in the active group goes near full screen (or full screen) the thumbnails are hidden.

 

[GroovyCatticus]

Not showing up on beta 1 on my 11inch M1 Pro. Neither does stage manager.

You have to enable it in the Control Center.

 

[ericwn]

Of course. I don’t buy something for features it doesn’t have. And I don’t expect 4 year old hardware to run the newest features that require newer hardware.

And I’m not sure what philosophy that is but it’s certainly common sense!

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

So my two year old iPad Pro will *never* get proper external display support? Seething.

Really shouldn't come as any surprise. Apple love limiting features so you feel more inclined to buy newer devices.

 

[Wando64]

I saw that during the keynote and thought, “that’s huge, but it’s also the sort of thing that’s gonna fly over the heads of most of the people on MacRumors”.

Funny, that’s exactly what my wife thinks every time I get undressed.

 

[bcortens]

It’s quite likely that the external display support requires new hardware (USB-C display controller bandwidth or whatever). And in my opinion the Stage Manager is primarily useful with an external display — on the iPad display you lose too much screen real estate for the actual content of the application window.

Doubtful, considering that some apps like that shift screen exist and seem to handle it just fine…. This is a completely arbitrary limitation imposed by Apple to encourage users to buy the M1 iPads…

shiftscreen: Second screen for your iPad and iPhone

shiftscreen.app

 

[tobybrut]

Well at least it can actually use an external display correctly. Come on the iPad Pro, even if it doesn’t have an M1 chip should be able to properly support an external display.

All those other features are system wide changes that they have just ported over from the other operating systems. If the new M1 features weren’t there the other features alone would be lacklustre. They are just padding.

What gives you the idea that supporting an external display was due to hardware? The problem with what you said was you used the word, "properly". I contend Apple did what was smart and did properly support it. They allowed third parties to display read only information on a second monitor. Why do I consider that proper? Because the iPad has no desktop.

How would you extend something that doesn't exist? Stage Manager also has no desktop, but it uses the extra space for showing the inactive apps. It also isn't an extension of the main screen, but is its own self-contained environment running its own set of up to four apps. This "extension" is really just a duplication of feature set, not a true extension since you can't drag one app to the other monitor. Stop thinking of the iPad as a Mac. Think of it as a device without a desktop and then you'll realize extending something that doesn't exist makes no sense. Think of LaunchPad on the Mac. That is a feature that works only on a single monitor no matter how many monitors you have. How would you extend LaunchPad to a second monitor? You wouldn't, so Apple didn't. It was a design decision consistent with a touch device with no desktop.

I would point out that Universal Control is a feature ported over from other devices, the Mac, and it was considered the most exciting feature to come out of last year's WWDC. Apple spends a lot of resources on ecosystem features that work on all devices. They heavily emphasized Continuity extensions and sharing as the main feature set for all of their new OS'es. Universal Control wouldn't exist without iPadOS and macOS both having the feature. Is it only a feature if it's iPad only? Virtual memory is a new iPad feature, an enormous change that may be low level but is vital in allowing apps to run with 16GB of memory even when other apps are running. Stage Manager wouldn't work without virtual memory but virtual memory is still available to all iPads that support iPadOS 16.

 

[bcortens]

That’s surprising, considering it does support drag and drop between the To, CC, and BCC fields. Huh, go figure, that’s an odd inconsistency.

I just find it irritating when people make blanket statements about the iPad and iPadOS, because I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of them over the years. Does iPadOS have bugs or features that could work better? Sure. Is the iPad/iPadOS so primitive that you can’t do “pro” work on it? I’d reckon that this isn’t the case for most people, despite their claims to the contrary. It just seems like people jump to “it doesn’t work the way I’m used to, therefore it’s not good for productivity” or “iPadOS isn’t for pros because the apps aren’t good enough” (which isn’t a failing of the iPad or the OS but rather it’s the fault of developers for not making a better app).

The main thing I really need to fully work on iPad is Xcode or SwiftPlaygounds needs to support UIKit in addition to SwiftUI. Otherwise I can do almost everything I want on an iPad. I would like external monitor support on my lowly A12X SoC so that I can just use apps fullscreen and split screen on an external display from time to time but it doesn’t hold me back that much.

 

[CornBeef4]

Imagine buying something out of pure hope and then be upset if the functionality is not retroactively implemented into the product, the outrage!

Imagine siding with a company that only cares about your wallet instead of trying to understand my valid point. This wasn't hope, it was literally what Apple promises throughout the years. They even mentioned the 2020 ipad pro as "the new laptop" and even this model isn't supported lmao.

 

[ericwn]

Someone has to explain how the A12Z iPad Pro version doesn't support this when the ARM Dev Kit Mac mini was based on the A12Z, meaning the A12Z is fully capable of the same stuff M1 is. Hopefully Apple will backtrack like last year (they brought some stuff announced only for M1 to intel in later betas). All iPad Pro's should have this feature, it's called the 'Pro'. Don't make me spend another $1000 or more on a new model when you promised the 'Pro' model when first launched in 2015 would bring. desktop experience to the iPad for Pro users and never delivered until now.

Please share a link where Apple promised this feature for iPad Pro in the past. Apple has often times limited software features on its products to newer hardware releases, even back in iPod days if I remember correctly.

 

[haruhiko]

So my two year old iPad Pro will *never* get proper external display support? Seething.

Unfortunately the 2020 iPad Pro is just a very minor update of the 2018 iPad Pro. I would say it’s 2018 iPad Pro 1.1. it was very obvious back then in 2020 too. So it’s expected that the software support will be similar to the 2018 version.