Apple says Stage Manager is coming to older iPad Pros

Stage Manager helps you focus on the task in hand

It seems Apple intends introducing Stage Manager to older, non-M1 iPads, though it has removed external display support from the current beta.

Coming to an older iPad Pro near you?

It seems iPad Pro models from 2018 and later will be able to use Stage Manager when iPad OS 16 ships. That means it will be available on the first-generation 11-inch iPad Pros and recent 12.9-inch models. That also means it will work on A12-series iPad chips.

Stage Manager is a critical new user interface feature Apple intends introducing to both iPads and Macs running macOS Ventura. It’s fair to say the UI hasn’t had the easiest of rides in the beta testing process, with some testers complaining about its stability and utility.

Engadget has published a statement from Apple in which the company states multiple-display support for Stage Manager is only possible with the full power of M1-based iPads.

It also explains that Apple’s teams, “have worked hard to find a way to deliver a single-screen version,” for older iPads, “with support for up to four live apps on the iPad screen at once.”

An iPad running iPad OS 16

What is Stage Manager?

In case you’ve missed the memo, Stage Manager is a new user interface concept in which all available open windows appear in view as small images at the left-hand side of the display – very like Spaces on the Mac.

The idea is that the window of the app you are working on occupies the center of the screen, while other open applications are arranged in the Stage Manager view. Just tap to change and use Control Center to activate it. You can also resize windows by dragging the curved white line at the bottom of the app.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering explains: “With Stage Manager, which takes multitasking on iPad to a whole new level, plus new ways to share and collaborate via Messages, Safari, and the new Freeform app, and new pro features like Reference Mode and Display Zoom, users can get even more done on iPad.”

We had anticipated the feature would make its debut with new iPads at a once anticipated October event. It now seems possible there will be no such event and new products will be introduced via a press release.

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