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The windowing system was re-engineered for 26, which probably made it more realistic to work on 3GB RAM devices.
This is exactly what happened, at least if you take Craig’s answer about this recently at face value. He explicitly was asked about this, and confirmed that the reworking allowed for this.

In the same interview, he also admitted that some of the other choices were indeed about product design desires. That is, some of the choices were indeed about hardware and software performance, but some was Apple just deciding that the iPad was “this” and not “that”—not a Mac. And that over the last couple of years there was an ongoing discussion about if that was still the right approach. He made it seem like he was one of those that wanted the iPads to be able to do more, as long as they could get to a point where the performance was acceptable given the latency/responsiveness limitations they never want to deviate from. And as long as it was optional, and that the default would continue to be the fullscreen mode.

*If* he was on one side, I wanted who was on the other. Maybe it was just the leadership inertia from changing Job’s original vision. That happens in a lot of companies. Almost no one would have been surprised if they had decide to keep the new windowing system to M-series iPads; but they didn’t, and this was meaningful. I hope this kind of thinking continues.
 
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Makes you wonder why they didn’t just make Stage Manager available for every iPad when it first released
That would have disincentivized you from buying a new expensive iPad with its exclusive features. Now that the feature is several years old and sales of newer devices have plateaued, Apple is offering its customers this token gesture of goodwill.
 
Makes you wonder why they didn’t just make Stage Manager available for every iPad when it first released
They said why at the time -- bad performance on the older ones when they tested it, at least as it was implemented at the time. In the interim, they refactored the code (probably with the help of AI) and were able to get enough efficiencies out to of it to make it performant on all of (today's) models.
What I want to know is -- is this limited to the Stage Manager option, or does Windowed Apps - the much more interesting macOS-like experience - work on them too?
 
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With nuggets, we knew this was possible on EVERY iPad... looks like Apple finally realized.
You know, "nuggets" being able to sort of make something work doesn't mean that it met the quality bar that Apple sets. More importantly, using hacking tools like nuggets results in the system software on your device being in an unpredictable, untested configuration, and who knows how many vulnerabilities are introduced as well...
 
I am upgrading to iPadOS 26 in the Fall for Preview and massive improvements to the Files App file transfer speeds.
I will stick to Full Screen Apps. But it’s amazing iPads will have a truly useful Multi windowed experience along with Expośe
 
I tried Stage Manager for the first time just this weekend when I helped my girlfriend upload some photos from her MacBook onto my Nextcloud instance. I think the words I said to her were, "this seems like the worst possible way to use a computer."

Of course, it might work a little better on touch screens-- it at least makes a little sense as an alternative to one-app-at-a-time multitasking.
 
Stage manager should have never been released. It’s terrible. Glad they finally gave in to traditional windowing. They need to stop with deprecating their products for the sake of their “ philosophy, at least for the pro devices. Just get out of the way and allow the consumer to have the tools to make them the most productive instead of a “philosophy” on what tools we should or should not have.
As long as Apple continues to treat customers like toddlers, there will never be any meaningful change.
Even a “pro mode” might be better but hey, it’s Apple so everyone must use their computing devices the same way a toddler would.
 
Stage manager should have never been released. It’s terrible. Glad they finally gave in to traditional windowing. They need to stop with deprecating their products for the sake of their “ philosophy, at least for the pro devices. Just get out of the way and allow the consumer to have the tools to make them the most productive instead of a “philosophy” on what tools we should or should not have.
They may have data that SM has more users than we think. I suspect they kept it around and indeed or expanding it to other iPads to see what system people choose and prefer over time on the various sized devices in the coming years, and act accordingly from there.
 
I still have to try it, but my impression is that iPadOS 26 is a step backwards. They’ve implemented windows, which very few people people will use (because, unless they’ve some magic, using windows on a tablet results in a terrible experience), and they removed SlideOver, which was really an adapted multitasking solution for the iPad.
 
I still have to try it, but my impression is that iPadOS 26 is a step backwards. They’ve implemented windows, which very few people people will use (because, unless they’ve some magic, using windows on a tablet results in a terrible experience), and they removed SlideOver, which was really an adapted multitasking solution for the iPad.
You don’t have to use the windows but if you like tiled windows, that’s still there too.
 
Perhaps the average consumer is only 2 or 3 years away from no longer needing a personal macbook. They'll just have their personal iphone, personal iPad, and work laptop.
I think there are quite a few "average consumers" out there who just have their large-ish iPhone or Android phone as their only device.
 
What’s the point of making iPadOS more like Mac OS? Might as well put Mac OS on it.
But that of course wouldn’t work since the PRO iPads have less RAM than cheap Android phones.
 
Stage manager should have never been released. It’s terrible. Glad they finally gave in to traditional windowing. They need to stop with deprecating their products for the sake of their “ philosophy, at least for the pro devices. Just get out of the way and allow the consumer to have the tools to make them the most productive instead of a “philosophy” on what tools we should or should not have.
I tried it a couple of times, couldn't work out how it was meant to work and never went back again
 
Good to see older iPads getting the feature. Maybe better software optimization of the latest version allows the feature to be brought to these older models.
 
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As noted in a Reddit thread earlier this month, iPadOS 26 expands Stage Manager to all iPad models compatible with the software update.


Stage-Manager-iPadOS-16.jpg


Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 from the WWDC 2022 keynote

On iPadOS 18, Stage Manager is limited to the following iPad models:
  • 13-inch iPad Pro (M4 chip)
  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later)
  • 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later)
  • iPad Air (5th generation and later)
On iPadOS 26, Stage Manager is available on the following iPad models:
  • 13-inch iPad Pro (M4 chip)
  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later)
  • 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later)
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)
  • iPad (8th generation and later)
iPadOS 26 introduced an all-new app windowing system on all iPad models compatible with the software update, allowing users to freely resize and rearrange multiple windows in a single space, like on a Mac. Stage Manager remains available as an option for users who prefer it, though, and now it is available on a wider range of iPad models.

Stage Manager lets you arrange multiple app windows in groups, across multiple spaces, providing a more organized and focused multitasking experience. On iPadOS 26, you can switch to Stage Manager mode via the Settings app. When using Stage Manager mode, apps still benefit from the new windowing features, including "traffic light" controls.

iPadOS-26-Windowing-Modes.jpg

Apple introduced Stage Manager with iPadOS 16. The feature was initially limited to iPad models with an M1 chip and newer, but Apple expanded it to iPad Pro models with an A12X or A12Z chip with iPadOS 16.1, in response to customer feedback. However, the ability to use Stage Manager on an iPad connected to an external display is limited to models with an M1 chip or newer, and that remains the case even on iPadOS 26.

Apple previously said that Stage Manager was limited to higher-end iPad models due to performance considerations. The company said that it tested Stage Manager on some older iPad models and felt that the experience did not meet the company's high quality standards. Evidently, Apple has now changed its mind.

iPadOS 26 is currently in beta. The update will likely be released in September.

Article Link: iPadOS 26 Expands Stage Manager to These iPad Models
Stage Manager is probably the clunkiest-ever implementation of an UI feature on Apple OSs - an absolute disaster that very few people care to try.

Nowadays, the UI team is so lost one can’t even properly understand what this very article tries to depict.
 
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Maybe better software optimization of the latest version allows the feature to be brought to these older models.
I don‘t believe that for a second.

This was good old Apple artificially segmenting their product lines, to steer consumers to more expensive (Air and Pro) models.

First, it was supposedly a feature only for M1 processors and up …until they „found“ a way to make it work down to A12X models with 4GB of RAM (the oldest compatible “Pro” models on their compatibility list).

Releasing 2025 iPads (with an A16 SoC) without Stage Manager earlier this year was product artificial product differentiation - nothing more. Something that they now have Apple Intelligence features for.

This is exactly what happened, at least if you take Craig’s answer about this recently at face value. He explicitly was asked about this, and confirmed that the reworking allowed for this.
I fail to see how this new windowing system uses less resources or features that suddenly enable Stage Manager where it (supposedly) wasn’t possible before.
 
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it would maybe better for apple to quietly remove stage manager and hope everyone forget about this completely inapt task handling/window managing system. the design is ridiculous. if anything it would be a subject for a good laugh if apple didn't insist on including this in their OSes. it's obviously a broken idea.

yes all apple OSes have a problem with window management, task switching and fullscreen handling.
it's archaic and quirky. but stage manager is not the answer to it. apple should go back to designing board on this.

on a good point, to balance criticism a bit, it seems ipadOS 26 made some progress on that front (allowing users to freely manage windows sizes and positions). but it's early to say they fixed it on the ipad. we'll have to wait and see it mature a bit in the next releases. but at best this raise the ipad to the level of macos, which is not that great in the first place, as i was saying, archaic and quirky, yet for ipados it seems far better than what was previously in place.

apple must have fired all the competent guys that had experience and know-how regarding designing good UIs. this is representative of the cluelessness going on at apple this last decade (at minimum). it seems like they have no idea what they are doing anymore, or where they want to go. they dump on us unfinished ideas, broken designs, clueless ineffective solutions while trying to pretend they are the same apple as before where clearly they are not. lack of talent, lack of experience, lack of quality, lack of vision.
 
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