Stage Manager arranges open apps so that one appears at the center of the screen while the others become thumbnails on the side, letting you easily switch among them.
Apple’s Stage Manager is designed to address the challenges of multitasking on an iPad or Mac. The feature allows one app to be open at the center of the screen while all other open programs are organized as thumbnails on the side so that you can easily switch from one app to another. If your iPad is able to connect to an external display, you can use Stage Manager across both screens. This way, you’re able to drag and drop apps and windows between your iPad and the second monitor. Here’s how to use Stage Manager on an iPad and a Mac.Stage Manager on an iPad
In the past, Stage Manager was supported only on certain iPads, but Apple has expanded its reach to a wider range of models in iPadOS 26. the feature is compatible with the 13-inch iPad Pro (M4 chip), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later), 11-inch iPad Pro (all gens), iPad Air (3rd gen and later), iPad mini (5th gen and later), and iPad (8th gen and later).
To see which model iPad you own, check the model number in Settings or on the back of the device. To use Stage Manager with an external display, you’ll need an iPad with an M1 or M2 processor—which includes the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th gen and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd gen and later), or iPad Air (5th generation and later)—and iPadOS 16.2 or higher.
To update your device, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Next, you’ll need to open Settings > Multitasking & Gestures and enable Stage Manager. You’ll also want to turn on the Automatically Show and Hide Recent Apps option to access open apps on the left side of the screen and the Automatically Show and Hide Dock setting if you want to see the apps in the Dock while using Stage Manager.
In the Gestures section, read the description of each settings to see what they do and enable the ones you want to use. If in doubt, I recommend turning them all on (except Swipe Finger from Corner) and then seeing which ones you want to keep enabled.
To be able to access Stage Manager more quickly, swipe down from the upper right to trigger Control Center, tap the plus (+) sign, and then tap Add a Control. At the Controls screen, swipe down to the Utilities section and tap the Multitasking icon to add it to Control Center. To turn on Stage Manager, trigger Control Center and then tap the Multitasking icon.
