Apple is bringing Slide Over back to the iPad.
The feature allows iPad users to quickly slide an app in and out of the side of the screen. For non-iPad users, it essentially works the same as minimizing and maximizing an app or window on a Mac. Many iPad users utilize Slide Over for multitasking, quickly opening and closing an app to make room for other tasks without actually leaving the app.
Review: iPadOS 26 finally made me an iPad person
However, when the new iPadOS 26 launched in September, Apple removed a few multitasking features, such as Split View and Slider Over. The reason was simple enough: iPadOS 26 introduces a whole new way to manage apps with its windowing system.
Mashable Light Speed
Multitasking options like Split View were no longer necessary, as the windowing system provides an even better alternative. Users can still view two app windows simultaneously side-by-side.
Yet, nothing in the new iPadOS 26 update acted as a replacement for Slide Over. Apple must have heard from enough iPad users who missed the feature, as it has since returned in the beta version of iPadOS 26.1.
Slide Over is now directly integrated within iPadOS 26’s new windowing system. Users will also be able to resize the app window. However, the newly reintroduced Slide Over has one drawback: It currently only works with one app at a time.
Maybe Apple will reintroduce the ability to switch between multiple apps in Slide Over in future beta versions, too.
