Apple is completely revamping its software with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26, its upcoming operating system updates. With a similar design language, the company is also finally unlocking the iPad’s true potential by offering real multitasking functionality.
While Stage Manager is still available in iPadOS 26, Apple is ditching the Split View and Slide Over options in favor of a new window-based multitasking system. In an interview with ArsTechnica, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi explained why it took so long to bring proper multitasking to the iPad and how the company finally pulled it off.
Federighi told the publication that, at first, it was a hardware limitation. The iPad wasn’t as powerful as a Mac and couldn’t handle the same tasks. That hasn’t been the case for at least five years now, but he still sees it as a process of getting everything just right.
“Over time the iPad’s gotten more powerful, the screens have gotten larger, the user base has shifted into a mode where there is a little bit more trackpad and keyboard use in how many people use the device,” Federighi told Ars. “And so the stars kind of aligned to where many of the things that you traditionally do with a Mac were possible to do on an iPad for the first time and still meet iPad’s basic contract.”
This is why the company used everything it learned from the Stage Manager experience to offer this new windowed multitasking system not just for iPads with the M1 chip or newer, but for almost every tablet that can run iPadOS 26.
“We decided this time: make everything we can make available,” said Federighi, “even if it has some nuances on older hardware. We re-architected our windowing system and we re-architected the way that we manage background tasks, background processing, that enabled us to squeeze more out of other devices than we were able to do at the time we introduced Stage Manager.”
Here’s how the new multitasking feature works on the iPad with iPadOS 26
With iPadOS 26, the iPad is getting a redesigned windowing system that finally brings multitasking to Apple’s tablet. Here are the main features:
Powerful windowing: The iPad now lets you open more windows at once. You can also resize and arrange them however you like.
Window tiling: Apple says you can arrange windows with a flick to the left or right. You can also split the display into thirds or quarters.
Mac-like options to control windows: Apple added close, minimize, and maximize buttons to every app, making it easier to manage windows.
Exposé: By swiping up and holding, users can find the window they need. Swiping up twice lets you start fresh when opening a new app.
Menu bar: Another Mac-like feature is the menu bar. You can find the app’s most common functions and options by hovering with the trackpad near the top of the screen.
