iPadOS 16 Includes Internal Mode for Testing Stage Manager on Older iPads

[MacRumors]

Amid the controversy surrounding Stage Manager and its hardware requirements, an investigation has revealed that iPadOS 16 in fact includes an internal mode that allows Apple to test the multitasking feature on iPads that don't have an M1 chip.

Code found by 9to5Mac in the beta software reportedly references an internal setting that enables "Chamois" (the Stage Manager codename) for "Legacy Devices," or in other words, iPad models lacking the M1 processor that Apple deems is necessary to deliver an "instantaneously responsive" experience.

The existence of the internal mode tallies with comments made by Apple's head of software engineering Craig Federighi in a recent interview with Forbes, in which he said that internal testing had revealed non-M1 iPads couldn't deliver the Stage Manager experience that Apple was aiming for.

"We began some of our prototyping involving those systems and it became apparent early on that we couldn't deliver the experience that that we were designing toward with them," he said. "Certainly, we would love to bring any new experience to every device we can, but we also don't want to hold back the definition of a new experience and not create the best foundation for the future in that experience. And we really could only do that by building on the M1."

The existence of the internal mode for testing Stage Manager on older iPads is no guarantee that the feature works on these devices as Apple intended, but it is likely to add fuel to the debate around whether Apple is being completely upfront about the hardware limitations of iPads that lack the M1 chip.

In a statement last week, shared by Rene Ritchie, Apple asserted that Stage Manager "requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip."

Stage Manager allows users to resize iPad apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. It also supports an external display with up to 6K resolution, allowing users to work with up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external display simultaneously.

Some users have questioned why Apple does not allow Stage Manager to work on older devices by capping the external display resolution or limiting the number of apps that can be used at the same time. Others have pointed out that Stage Manager is also included in macOS Ventura, which works on Intel Macs that were released as early as 2017.

Article Link: iPadOS 16 Includes Internal Mode for Testing Stage Manager on Older iPads

 

[Isengardtom]

Stage gate?

 

[alien3dx]

if you test 8k for sure crash . try 1080p .

 

[atoqir]

I hope they get this mod working and I am curious with what excuse Apple comes up with then.

Why can’t they just be honest and say they don’t care about existing sold hardware and just want to sell more M1 iPads by making features exclusive.

 

[HappyDude20]

Personally I think Apple should stand their ground on this one.

 

[dantracht]

Alright already. We need to move on from this.

 

[uczcret]

Looks like this manufactured controversy is going to be beat to death.

 

[c84216]

My god do people have nothing better to do than to manufacture a stupid controversy? Stage Manager isn't the end all iPad feature.

 

[seanmills1020]

I wish Apple would offer access to some experimental features, similar to Google Chrome (chrome://flags/).

 

[Isengardtom]

I think it’s worth getting the full answer on this but it’s not likely going to change anything in the long run.

Apple could release the feature to older iPads, but then the risk is that the experience will be poor and then there will be another discussion on how Stage manager is bad on older iPads.

 

[BootsWalking]

By disassembling the iOS 16 beta I was able to locate the flag that controls Stage Manager's legacy support. The name of the internal variable is "More$ForApple.IfClear.5"

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I hope that someone gets this mod working, and then hopefully if Apple's claims are found to be true this controversy can be put to rest. If Apple are caught out then at least we know where we stand I suppose. Each individual can then decide for themselves whether they want to continue to supporting the iPad/Apple or not.

 

[BornAgainMac]

People will complain if they enable it. The M1 crowd will say "Then why even get the M1?" and the "And the others will complain it doesn't work well with some apps.".

 

[michael666]

The drama about stage manager is getting ridiculous.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Maybe Apple should rename the feature to Stage Fright, cause that is what will happen to non M1 iPads...

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

One could argue that this means that Apple has in fact tested Stage Manager on older devices because why would the feature even be there on non-M1 iPads if not to do genuine tests?

Or maybe it's exactly the opposite, a simple ploy to get us to think they tested it but actually they didn't but just put it there to mislead us?

Who knows.

What is sure now is that this thing will not die down for a very long time.

Only some unbiased third-party testing Stage Manager on non-M1 iPads and having it confirm Apple's statement will ever kill this for good.

 

[wanha]

It's fun to stop and think about WHY we are all arguing about this.

Will Apple change their mind on this issue? Perhaps, but I'd say the odds are strongly against it.

And Apple certainly won't be basing their decision on what all of us say on MR forums (it's depressing, I know).

So why are we here arguing?

My belief is that it's because each of us has some narrative about why Apple has made this choice and - by god - each of us wants to be right. It just feels sooooo good to win an argument.

So what we do is we cherry pick data points - from Apple's past behavior, what other tech companies are doing, and our personal beliefs about how the world of business works - that fit our pre-chosen narrative and we go:

"See?! It's clear as day that Apple's motivation is XYZ. Only a deluded f00l would think differently."

And that's what we mostly do here.

We shout and we argue but we don't really listen (myself included).

That said, there are some folks here that aren't proclaiming to know The Truth™, but are instead here to discuss, offer viewpoints, and learn from the conversation.

To those few of you, I tip my cap. I aspire to be like you, although often I fall short of the mark. You're the reason this place is worth coming back to each day.

Hopefully, we can all do a bit better today than we did yesterday.

That would be a good start.

 

[Albemarle]

I sure hope they don’t extend Stage Manager to older iPads. I want a new one and this is just enough to push my ‘should I? shouldn’t I?’ over the top. It’s all about me, don’t you know?

 

[ddtmm]

I think we all know why they disabled it on legacy iPads. And why they solder the RAM and SSDs in their computers.

 

[trollied]

"Internal mode" - who makes this stuff up? Apple has never stated such a thing. It was probably just included in a previous build for older iPads, and is now not included at all in builds for them after testing proved that the hardware wasn't up to delivering the experience they were looking for. Now gated behind #ifdef or whatever, so not in the binaries at all.

 

[uczcret]

One could argue that this means that Apple has in fact tested Stage Manager on older devices because why would the feature even be there on non-M1 iPads if not to do genuine tests?

Or maybe it's exactly the opposite, a simple ploy to get us to think they tested it but actually they didn't but just put it there to mislead us?

Apple's software engineers are most definitely spending their work days writing code just to mislead MR members.

 

[hovscorpion12]

This is exactly what I said in the post yesterday. Between Beta 1 and the final GM built Apple is testing stage manager on shadow mode.

Only then will Apple make the final decision to add Stage Manager to older devices.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

My god do people have nothing better to do than to manufacture a stupid controversy? Stage Manager isn't the end all iPad feature.

People have somehow decided that Stage Manager is some sort of first true step in the direction of having iPads getting true pro-features and becoming laptop/destop Mac replacements, and that many more big steps are to follow very soon but only for M1 iPads and newer.

I can safely assure everyone that Apple will never have any significant overlaps in features between its true computers and iPads: Apple does not do all-in-one devices and therefore will never do iPads that can replace MacBooks 1/1, or Macs with Touch or Apple Pencil input.

Yes, there will possibly be more and more features that will let you use iPads and Macs together to give you something very close to having an all-in-one device. Apple has repeatedly demonstrated that it's doing as much as possible to have devices work together in numerous ways, far more than any other brand.

But having each of us buy several $999+ products, each with unique pros and cons, instead of one $$3000+ product that can do it all is just a much better sales strategy regardless of what you're selling.

TLDR: Stop whining about Stage Manager. I guarantee you that it's highly overrated. Once you try it you'll be very disappointed and sorry you wasted all this time about not getting it for every iPad.

 

[mclaugaa]

Am I the only one who not only doesn’t care, but also have no desire to use stage manager anyway? I feel like this is the main thing tech sites have been focusing on, and it just seems like a clunky feature to me.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I hope they get this mod working and I am curious with what excuse Apple comes up with then.

Why can’t they just be honest and say they don’t care about existing sold hardware and just want to sell more M1 iPads by making features exclusive.

Why do you think they’re being dishonest in the first place?

When asked they simply said- we don’t think it works up to our standards on anything less than m1. They didn’t say it didn’t work. They simply alluded to it being a feature for the most modern cpu architecture in the iPad line.

I mean, that’s it. There no dishonesty there, and as far as everyone knows, their reply was an honest one.

Maybe YOU think something else, but that doesn’t make them liars with anything they have said.