WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): Apple’s new iPad multitasking system, Stage Manager, does not replace the need for a true Mac-like interface and the experience is overcomplicated and perplexing, Bloomberg reported.
The Starters
Today’s iPad Pro costs nearly as much as a Mac, connects to an advanced and powerful keyboard and trackpad, and is powered by the same chip as Apple Inc.’s computers. Nonetheless, the company appears to have done everything in its power to avoid offering the iPad the kind of multitasking you’d expect from a desktop computer.
Let’s take a look at how Apple handles multitasking on the iPad. With the release of the first Pro model in 2015, the company began allowing users to place two apps side by side. Apple added a feature to slide over a third window and a more advanced app dock over the next few years. Its most recent attempt, and most significant to date, is iPadOS 16: Stage Manager.
The component is a completely new multitasking system, unlike anything previously available on the iPad or Mac (the Mac also gets Stage Manager as an option in macOS Ventura).
The trouble is that Stage Manager is insufficient for many users and is yet another unfulfilled promise of true multitasking on the iPad. In fact, Apple does not believe in the system enough to make it the default multitasking interface. It must be enabled in Control Center by the user.
For those who are unfamiliar, Stage Manager works as follows: The most recent open apps are shown on the left side of the screen, and you can click over them to create one the foreground app. You can also drag additional windows over to work on multiple apps at once, which is a first for the iPad.
However, the Stage Manager experience is overcomplicated and perplexing. You get the impression that Apple was attempting to create something new and different—a multitasking solution unlike anything else available on the Mac today.
Although the company deserves credit for attempting to create a new interface, the correct approach would have been much simpler: simply using the existing macOS multitasking system.
An iPad that allows users to run as many windows on one screen as they want, similar to a Mac, would be fantastic, reports Bloomberg. Th e good news is that Stage Manager is beginning to incorporate some of the technologies that will ideally enable that to happen eventually, such as window resizing and multiple windows at the same time. The software is also still in beta testing, so Apple may make additional changes before iPadOS 16 is formally released in the coming months, which is unlikely.
However, according to publication, the current iteration of Stage Manager falls short of the mark. This is why:
The ability to jump into a single main app that sits in the centre of the screen isn’t particularly appealing. Far superior is the long-standing ability to Command-Tab between multiple full-screen apps.
Some apps perform poorly in Stage Manager and are difficult to use concurrently with others. That is unlikely to change anytime soon. Many developers do not plan to update their apps in the near future because the feature is optional and only available on some high-end iPads.
When you drag a window, the system inexplicably moves it around. It occasionally resizes windows incorrectly. Stage Manager also hides window controls, such as the close button, behind a menu. It also frequently switches the corner in which the resize indicator is located.
If Stage Manager has any advantages, it is the external display mode, which makes working with a second screen easier. That mode is compelling and useful, the author stated. Perhaps Apple should have restricted Stage Manager to additional displays.