iPadOS 26 multitasking: cancelled windows variant is coming back
Apple received some praise for its new Windows management in iPadOS 26. However, one particular mode has been removed from the program. It will be back soon.
iPadOS 26 with windows: Useful, but something was missing.
(Image: Apple)
The latest iPad operating system, which Apple released in September, brought a completely new window management system to the tablets. iPadOS 26 makes it possible for the first time to freely distribute app windows, as we know it from the Mac; limits such as those once set by the Stage Manager have been lifted. At the same time, however, Apple has also cancelled a popular multitasking mode: Split View & Slide Over. However, the company has heard the complaints about this: According to beta testers of iPadOS 26.1, which should be released in October, the feature has now returned with the second pre-release version.
New option in the traffic light area
The function works together with the existing new window options, so it has been changed slightly. The idea is that you can have several app windows open and then show another one on the side using slideover. The advantage: this app then floats above the others and is always accessible. Apple has implemented this using the new traffic light icons that iPad windows have had since iPadOS 26.
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If you click on the green button, the window size options appear—and below this is now also Slide Over. Once a window is in this mode, it always remains visible but can also be swiped to the side to bring it up again later. This is very practical for important apps that you need throughout the day. A new feature in iPadOS 26.1 is that you can also change the size of the slide-over window.
Step towards a more powerful iPad
The split view part of Split View & Slide Over is no longer available (unless you set up this display manually), but it is also not necessary. It made it possible to open (only) two apps in a split view next to each other and, with Slide Over, to collect several apps in a small view on the side and swipe them in as required. iPadOS 26 no longer limits this to two apps but allows a free window design. Slide Over is now another way to bring order to the tablet screen.
Apple had refused to give iPadOS a fully-fledged window system for years, with the argument that this is too memory-intensive, among other things. However, the new window management now supports significantly more devices than originally expected.
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