Stage Manager

By MacRumors Staff on June 22, 2025

Stage Manager is Apple's multitasking feature for Mac and iPad introduced with macOS Ventura and iPadOS 16. It keeps apps and/or app groups organized along the left side of the screen, while allowing the most complete multitasking experience to date for iPad. Stage Manager allows up to four windows to be displayed on-screen at one time, and a later iPadOS update will allow Stage Manager to be extended to an external display for M1-based iPad models, allowing up to eight apps to be displayed simultaneously.

Stage Manager Articles

iPadOS 26 Expands Stage Manager to These iPad Models

Sunday June 22, 2025 5:48 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

As noted in a Reddit thread earlier this month, iPadOS 26 expands Stage Manager to all iPad models compatible with the software update. Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 from the WWDC 2022 keynote On iPadOS 18, Stage Manager is limited to the following iPad models: 13-inch iPad Pro (M4 chip) 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later) 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later) iPad...

iOS 19 Rumored to Add Stage Manager Support to USB-C iPhones

Thursday April 24, 2025 11:49 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

A leaker known as Majin Bu today claimed that iOS 19 will enable support for at least a limited version of Stage Manager on iPhone models with a USB-C port. In a blog post citing sources, the leaker said that when an iPhone with a USB-C port is connected to an external display, users will be able to take advantage of a Stage Manager-like interface with multiple apps open at once on the...

New iPad Mini Compatible With Final Cut Pro, But Lacks Stage Manager

Tuesday October 22, 2024 7:41 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple last year released Final Cut Pro for iPad Pro and iPad Air models with the M1 chip and newer, and now we have confirmed that the professional video editing app is also compatible with the new seventh-generation iPad mini. Apple recently updated the App Store listing for Final Cut Pro to indicate the app is now compatible with both M-series chips and the A17 Pro chip in the new iPad...

Stage Manager Criticized as 'Poorly Tested' Feature With 'Plethora of Bugs' Still Unfixed as iPadOS 16 Released

Tuesday October 25, 2022 8:49 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Alongside the release of iPadOS 16 on Monday, MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci shared some candid feedback about Stage Manager, a new feature that allows for multiple overlapping windowed apps on the iPad. Viticci expressed his continued disappointment with Stage Manager, criticizing it as an "over-designed" and "poorly tested" feature with a "muddled constellation of missing features, ...

Stage Manager Still Has Several Issues as iPadOS 16 Nears Release

Wednesday October 5, 2022 9:50 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple is set to release iPadOS 16 to the public this month, yet users continue to face several issues with the new Stage Manager feature. In the latest iPadOS 16 beta seeded earlier this week, developer Steve Troughton-Smith and MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci highlighted various user interface issues they continue to face from time to time while using Stage Manager, including...

Testing Stage Manager on a 2018 iPad Pro With the New iPadOS 16.1 Beta

Tuesday September 27, 2022 2:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover

With the latest beta of iPadOS 16.1 that was provided to developers today, the Stage Manager feature has expanded to the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro models. We thought we'd test it out on an older ‌iPad Pro‌ to see how it works, because Apple spent several months telling us that it didn't offer a satisfactory experience on non M1 iPads. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. ‌S...

Apple Criticized for 'Fundamentally Misguided' Approach to Stage Manager in iPadOS 16

Friday August 19, 2022 1:57 am PDT by Sami Fathi

Stage Manager in the iPadOS 16 beta is receiving heavy criticism for being "fundamentally misguided" in its approach to bringing a new level of multitasking to the iPad experience, with some even calling on Apple to delay the feature entirely due to its shortcomings. Federico Viticci, the founder and editor in chief of MacStories and a prominent member of the Apple community, outlined his...

Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 Now Optimized for Instagram and Other iPhone Apps

Thursday July 7, 2022 3:45 am PDT by Sami Fathi

Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 is now optimized for iPhone apps on the iPad, letting users use apps made for the smaller iPhone screen as individual windows on M1-powered iPads while using Stage Manager. With the release of iPadOS 16 beta 3, Apple is now allowing iPhone apps to run as individual windows in Stage Manager. This means popular iPhone apps that have no iPad app, such as Instagram,...

Video: Testing Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 With an External Display

Friday June 17, 2022 9:43 am PDT by Juli Clover

With iPadOS 16, Apple introduced Stage Manager, a feature that's designed to improve multitasking through a more Mac-like multi-window experience. Apple also added full external display support, so for our latest YouTube video, we thought we'd test out both of these features to show MacRumors readers what the iPad experience is like in iPadOS 16. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for ...

iPadOS 16 Includes Internal Mode for Testing Stage Manager on Older iPads

Thursday June 16, 2022 4:07 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Amid the controversy surrounding Stage Manager and its hardware requirements, an investigation has revealed that iPadOS 16 in fact includes an internal mode that allows Apple to test the multitasking feature on iPads that don't have an M1 chip. Code found by 9to5Mac in the beta software reportedly references an internal setting that enables "Chamois" (the Stage Manager codename) for "Legacy...

Apple Tested Stage Manager on iPads Without M1 Chip and Wasn't Satisfied

Tuesday June 14, 2022 1:07 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

As more post-WWDC interviews with Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi surface, we continue to learn more about Apple's reasoning behind iPadOS's new Stage Manager feature being limited to iPads with the M1 chip. The latest interview was published by Forbes contributor David Phelan, who asked Federighi if Apple attempted to make Stage Manager work with iPad models without the...

Apple's Craig Federighi Further Explains Why Stage Manager is Only for M1 iPads

Monday June 13, 2022 12:46 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Following the WWDC keynote last week, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi spoke with TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino about the new Stage Manager feature for iPad and Mac. Notably, he elaborated on Stage Manager being limited to M1 iPads. On the iPad, Stage Manager allows users to resize apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. Stage Manager also...

Apple Explains Why Stage Manager is Limited to M1 iPads in New Statement

Friday June 10, 2022 7:46 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

One of iPadOS 16's key new features is Stage Manager, which allows users to resize apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. Stage Manager also fully supports an external display, allowing users to work with up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external display simultaneously. To the disappointment of some users, Stage Manager is limited to iPad ...

'); }