Old iPad Pro users rejoice! Apple just gave it a Mac-like feature

The iPadOS 16 update for iPads has been a controversial one, and is yet to come out. Apple finally gave the iPadOS its own release schedule but it wasn’t for awarding it a distinction. One of iPadOS 16’s hero features, i.e., Stage Manager, was causing issues among iPad models and hence, Apple had to delay the release and fix the issues. Jumping straight to iPadOS 16.1 for the upcoming stable release, Apple has now added another feature that could make old iPad Pro users happy.

In the initial iPadOS 16 feature list, Apple said that it could only bring the Stage Manager feature to select iPad models. The new multitasking feature was slated to come only on the M1 chip powered iPad models. This included the M1 iPad Pro models, as well as the 5th Gen iPad Air. However, the latest test beta of iPadOS 16.1 has now introduced Stage Manager to the older iPad Pro models, Apple confirms in a media statement to Engadget.

Stage Manager comes to older iPad Pro models

“Customers with iPad Pros 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,” says Apple.

Hence, if you have the 2018 iPad Pro as well as the 2020 iPad Pro with the Apple A series chips, you will be able to enjoy the Stage Manager feature. However, the External Display support for Stage Manager will only be restricted to the M1 powered Apple iPad models and will be released in an update later this year.

Stage Manager is a new interface layout to enable easy multitasking with multiple apps on a single screen. The idea is that you have your main app taking up most of the space on your screen, while the background apps are listed on the left hand side. This allows to quickly switch between them, thereby making multitasking easier. Stage Manager is available on both iPads and Macs.

The arrival of Stage Manager on these older iPad Pro models could help in a big way, especially if you have the Magic Keyboard setup.