Apple Rolling Out Stage Manager Support To Older iPads With Latest iPadOS 16 beta

A couple of months ago, Apple announced iPadOS 16, which brought with it new multitasking features for M1-powered iPads. It includes a new Stage Manager which will automatically organize windows and apps. This allows users to create overlapping windows in a single view, which is a first for the iPad. Moreover, with this update, the iPad Pro and iPad Air with the M1 chip get full external display support. Unfortunately, non-M1 iPads did not get this feature. However, that’s set to change with the latest iPadOS 16 developer beta.

According to an Engadget report, the newly released iPadOS 16 developer beta now includes support for Stage Manager on older iPads. So, instead of being limited to M1-powered devices, it will also work on the 2018 and 2020 models that utilise the A12X and A12Z processors. This means that Stage Manager will work on the first-gen and newer iPad Pro (11-inch) as well as the third gen and newer iPad Pro (12.9-inch). Do note that Stage Manager will only function with the iPad’s in-built display. Older iPads will not get the capability of extending the display to an external monitor.

Apple said in a statement, “We introduced Stage Manager as a whole new way to multitask with overlapping, resizable windows on both the iPad display and a separate external display, with the ability to run up to eight live apps on screen at once. Delivering this multi-display support is only possible with the full power of M1-based iPads. Customers with iPad Pro 3rd and 4th generation have expressed strong interest in being able to experience Stage Manager on their iPads. In response, our teams have worked hard to find a way to deliver a single-screen version for these systems, with support for up to four live apps on the iPad screen at once.”

Although the concept of multitasking with Stage Manager sounded great on paper, it came with its own issues. Many iPad users complained about various bugs, and now Apple has announced that the developer beta 5 of iPadOS 16 will remove external display support for Stage Manager even on M1 iPads. The company will likely work on ironing out the kinks and bring it back later this year as part of a software update.