Last year, Apple completely multitasking reinvented on the iPad, with the introduction of windows in iPadOS 26. At first, this meant the removal of the simplest version of multitasking, Split View and Slide Over. Those characteristics made eventually returnbut at a cost: they required you to use the clunky new window system. I was hoping iPadOS 27 would improve this, but it didn’t.
To be clear, I’m actually not totally opposed to the new windowing system in iPadOS 26 (and now 27). It has a time and a place, and when I try to jump between multiple apps at once on my 13-inch iPad Pro with magic keyboardworks exceptionally well. I have mixed feelings about it on smaller iPads, but that’s okay.
What I don’t like, however, is the fact that the only other option (apart from Stage Manager, which is more of an in-windows feature than a distinct option) is to use each application in full screen, without any flexibility.
what I would like to see
As mentioned above, iPadOS 26 made eventually bring back Split View and Sliding in later beta versions, but you can only use them if you only have windows enabled. This meant that if you wanted simpler versions of multitasking, you had to deal with all the layers of complexity intended for professional users.
It’s certainly nice, but sometimes it’s just annoying to have to position windows correctly to fit Split View or Slide, whereas it was much smoother before iPadOS 26. It’s also a loss for people who love windows, because if you drag the window slightly wrong, you could enter Split View when you don’t want to.
Apple lets you hold down the traffic light for more specific options for managing Split View and Swipe states, but this also doesn’t feel right just for simple iPad use.
Split View and Slide Over certainly belong on iPadOS, but including them inside the window makes it more complicated than it needs to be, even a year later.
Wrap
Ideally, there would be two sets of multitasking options in iPadOS: Classic and Pro. Classic would largely open apps in full screen, but would have the options for Slide Over and Split View, and Pro would have the windows that iPadOS 26 introduced. Within Pro, there would also be an option to enable/disable Stage Manager.
Overall, I feel like Apple took the iPad too far in one direction for magic keyboard/laptop replacement users, and the multitasking experience is a bit lacking for those who just want their iPad to be an iPad. Recovering a “simple” multitasking option would go a long way in that direction.
What do you think of iPad multitasking since iPadOS 26? Let us know in the comments.
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