Apple recently announced the new lineup of iPads along with iPadOS 16.1. The latest iPadOS 16 brings in a slew of new features. One very useful feature that is available for several iPads, is the Stage manager.
Today, we’ll be diving into what Stage manager is, how you can use Stage Manager on iPad, a list of iPads compatible with Stage Manager, and more.
Stage Manager is a tool that automatically organizes all your open apps and windows in such a manner that you, the user will be able to concentrate on using the particular app or program without being distracted and at the same time have everything available at your fingertips. The Stage Manager is a feature that is now available on Apple’s macOS Ventura and the new iPadOS 16.
Let’s take a look into everything you need to know about Stage Manager for iPad.
Stage Manager for Apple iPad – Everything You Need To Know
Because Stage manager is a new feature introduced to the Apple iPad, it’s always good to know what you can do with it and what devices support the Stage Manager feature.
Stage Manager Supported iPads
Now, you need to understand that only some iPads that get the iPadOS 16 updates will have the Stage Manager feature. Here is a list of all iPads that support Stage Manager on iPadOS 16.
- iPad Air gen 5 and newer
- iPad Pro 11 inch gen 1 and newer
- iPad Pro 12.9 gen 3 and newer
As you can see from this very small list of supported devices, the new 10th gen iPad does not support the Stage Manager, nor does the iPad Mini variants have the Stage manager. Will the Stage Manager come to the other iPads in future updates? Nobody knows.
How to enable Stage Manager on iPad
Now that you know what iPads support Stage Manager, its now time to know how you can enable it. Follow these steps.
- Open up the Control Center on your iPad by swiping down from the top right corner.
- You should see a new icon that has three vertical dots and a screen next to it. That’s the icon for the Stage Manager.
Alternatively, you can enable Stage Manager via the Settings app on your supported Apple iPads.
- Launch the Settings app from your iPad’s home screen.
- Now, tap on the Home Screen and Multitasking option.
- Finally, tap on Stage manager.
- Here, you will be able to turn off or turn on the Stage Manager on your Apple iPad.
Once you have Stage Manager enabled, and a few apps open, you can see the recently open apps on the left. The currently open window has a Close Window option at the top and at the bottom right you will be able to resize the active window.
Stage Manager Gestures
Because you are using an iPad, there are multiple gestures that you need to use in case you plan on multitasking, switching between apps, hiding a window, or even when closing an app or a window.
Multitask Gestures
Here is what you can do when you want to work between two different apps.
- When you tap at the top of the window, choose the Add Another Window option. The active window slides to the side leaving you to choose from the various currently running apps.
- You can also open up an app from the Recents List by simply holding an app and dragging it over to the center of the screen over the current window.
- You can also hold an app from the Dock and drag it over to the center of your iPad’s screen,
- You can Resize any open window by sliding the curve at the bottom right corner
- To minimize a window, tap the top part of the window.
- Easily move the window by dragging the top of the window.
- You can also maximize your window by tapping on the top of the window and choosing Maximize.
Switching Between Multiple Apps
There are three different gestures that you can follow to switch between apps on your iPad when using Stage Manager.
- Swipe up from the bottom and pause at the center of the screen. This gesture will bring up all the apps in the recent list.
- From the bottom edge of the open app, swipe either left or right to switch between apps.
- An easier way to switch between apps is by swiping to the left or right using either four or five fingers.
Display or Hide Recents App List
The easiest way to either hide or show the recent is by opening up the Control Center and tapping and holding on to the Stage Manager icon and choosing the checkmark next to it.
The other way to hide or show the recent list is by the Settings app. Follow these steps.
- Launch the Settings app.
- Tap on the Home Screen and Multitasking menu followed by Stage Manager.
- Below the image, you will see a checkbox. Tap on it to uncheck if you don’t want the recent list. Tap on the box to enable the recent list.
To close any window, simply tap on the three horizontal dots and choose close to close the window itself.
Final Words
This concludes everything you need to know and how to use the Stage Manager feature on your supported Apple iPad. In all fairness, this is a great feature, and it now only makes more sense to be using iPads that support the Stage Manager instead of using your laptop. Of course, the iPad also supports keyboard and mouse inputs so the iPad now becomes a portable and feature-rich laptop replacement right away.
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