It looks like the old iPad Pro users don’t have to feel any more FOMO for not being able to get their hands on the Stage Manager. Yes, you read it right. The latest iPadOS 16 Beta version is expanding the unbelievably cool feature of Stage Manager to previous models. The predefined condition of having an M1 chip to support Stage Manager is no longer mandatory.
The Stage Manager is the new multitasking system released with iPadOS16 that allows users to switch between apps by adding overlapping resizable windows. When the iPadOS 16 was launched at the beginning of this year, the feature was said to be limited to only iPads running on an M1 Chip.
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The mandatory chip only came in iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions, both released in May of 2021. Apart from this, the M1-powered iPad Air was also in the small list of iPads that got the Stage Manager feature. Due to this limitation, every other previous iPad model was left with the new multitasking feature.
Now with the recently released beta version upgrading the game for iPad users, the Stage Manager feature will now work on a wide number of previous iPad models. This is great news for users of older models including the 2018 and 2020 iPad models that come with A12X and A12Z chips.
However, there is one catch here. The old iPad users would only be able to use the Stage Manager in the built-in iPad display. So, even with the beta version, the user of old models would not be able to expand this feature to any external displays.
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If media reports are to be believed, Apple has revealed its decision of removing external display support of Stage Manager even from the beta iPadOS 16 version on M1 iPads. It appears the company is taking its time and paying attention to all the concerns raised by iPad users regarding the multiple issues faced with the external display feature.
Apple is expected to re-introduce the feature after putting enough hours of work into it in an upcoming software update scheduled for the end of the year.
In a statement released to select media outlets, the company reportedly said, “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.
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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. External display support for Stage Manager on M1 iPads will be available in a software update later this year.”
Earlier in June this year, Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi was quoted in the media stating the reason for limiting Stage Manager to M1 chips. As per Federighi, “the availability of memory” was the primary reason behind Apple’s call to limit the feature of Stage Manager in the first launch.
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