Isn’t this just stage manager with extra steps ?

[outlawarth]

No, Stage Manager is like Spaces, which I never use. It's useless when you want to do something like have a chat app be persistent while you're switching around apps.

Would the chat app you mention be persistent in iPadOS 26 using the new windowing method?

 

[profets]

One thing that is throwing me off with ‘Windowed Apps’ multitasking is can’t use home indicator or 4 finger trackpad swipe to switch between apps. I think they did mention it as a bug / missing feature in beta 1. But still not there in beta 2.

 

[Ludatyk]

One thing that is throwing me off with ‘Windowed Apps’ multitasking is can’t use home indicator or 4 finger trackpad swipe to switch between apps. I think they did mention it as a bug / missing feature in beta 1. But still not there in beta 2.

If you want to use Home Indicator or 4 finger swipe… use Stage Manager. Using ‘Windowed Apps’ cater to those who prefer to have a scattered workflow.

Instead of trying to use the 4 finger swipe under ‘Windowed Apps’… users need to utilize Exposé, that’s the point of Apple adding it.

 

[wolfboy]

Would the chat app you mention be persistent in iPadOS 26 using the new windowing method?

Yes, like on macs.

 

[profets]

If you want to use Home Indicator or 4 finger swipe… use Stage Manager. Using ‘Windowed Apps’ cater to those who prefer to have a scattered workflow.

Instead of trying to use the 4 finger swipe under ‘Windowed Apps’… users need to utilize Exposé, that’s the point of Apple adding it.

Yup, that’s what I’ve come to realize. They did mention it as a known bug in beta 1, but still for how I’ve come to use iPad Stage Manager is ideal for me. Nice though that new window resizing / placing / etc is part of it as well.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I'd love to know how to even GET to Windowed Mode. There's no icon anywhere to tap or indicator to click on via Magic TrackPad. There USED to be a tiny three-dot menu to do this but it's gone. Either that or my DB2 has a bug where it ain't appearing. I want the ability to use Messages and YouTube on-screen at the same time back. Instead Apple has reduced my tablet to a 2017 Galaxy Tab S3 vs. a more Mac-like experience as promised.

 

[papbot]

I'd love to know how to even GET to Windowed Mode. There's no icon anywhere to tap or indicator to click on via Magic TrackPad. There USED to be a tiny three-dot menu to do this but it's gone. Either that or my DB2 has a bug where it ain't appearing. I want the ability to use Messages and YouTube on-screen at the same time back. Instead Apple has reduced my tablet to a 2017 Galaxy Tab S3 vs. a more Mac-like experience as promised.

It’s right in Control Center. The far right icon next to the keyboard brightness icon at the bottom of my screenshot.