iPadOS 27 multitasking and Stage Manager: the complete setup guide

How multitasking works in iPadOS 27

iPadOS 27 multitasking is built on the windowing system Apple introduced in iPadOS 26. That release replaced the old Split View and Slide Over with resizable windows, Mac-style window controls and tiling, and it brought Stage Manager to every supported iPad. Our iPadOS 27 beta coverage notes refinements to windowing and external displays this year. We have not confirmed specific new gestures, so this guide sticks to the controls as they work today.

iPadOS 27 is on public release. The current version is iPadOS 27.0.1 (24A446), and the current beta is iPadOS 27.2 beta 4 (24B5110a). If you want to try the beta, our iPadOS 27 beta download guide explains how.

Full Screen, Windowed Apps or Stage Manager: which should you use?

Pick Full Screen Apps if you mostly use one app at a time, Windowed Apps if you want Mac-style freedom, and Stage Manager if you juggle several projects and want to keep each one's windows together.

You can change mode at any time without losing anything, so it is worth trying each for a day.

How to set up Stage Manager

Stage Manager organises windows into stages: groups of apps you switch between as a unit, much like separate desktops.

1. Open Settings › Multitasking & Gestures.
2. Choose Stage Manager as the multitasking mode.
3. Turn Recent Apps on to show your other stages along the left edge, or off for more room.
4. Choose whether the Dock always shows or only appears when you swipe up from the bottom.

For a quicker switch, add the Stage Manager control to Control Center. You can then turn it on and off from there without opening Settings.

Creating and managing stages

• Start a new stage: open an app from the Dock or App Library into an empty area.
• Add an app to a stage: drag the app onto a stage in the Recent Apps strip.
• Remove an app from a stage: drag its window to another stage or close it.
• Switch stages: tap a stage in the Recent Apps strip, or use trackpad gestures.

How to resize, move and tile windows

In Windowed Apps and Stage Manager, you move a window by dragging its top edge and resize it by dragging a corner. The window controls sit in the top-left corner, as on a Mac.

• Red: closes the window.
• Yellow: minimises the window out of the way.
• Green: enters full screen, or shows tiling options when you press and hold it.

To tile windows side by side, flick a window towards the left or right edge of the screen and it fills that half. Flick it into a corner for a quarter. Press and hold the green control to choose other layouts from a menu. This replaces what Split View used to do, with more control over the result. Slide Over, which disappeared in iPadOS 26, returned in iPadOS 26.2.

Seeing every open window with Exposé

Exposé spreads out all your open windows so you can pick the one you want. On the touchscreen, swipe up from the bottom edge. On a trackpad, swipe up with four fingers.

Using the menu bar

Swipe down from the top of an app window to show its menu bar. It gives you that app's commands and a search field, which is handy for features buried deep in an app. With a keyboard attached, hold the Globe key to see the shortcuts the current app supports.

How to use Stage Manager with an external display

Connect an iPad with an M1 chip or newer to a monitor and you get a second, independent workspace. Each screen can have its own stages, and you can drag windows from one to the other. Other iPads can only mirror their screen.

1. Connect the monitor with a USB-C to HDMI cable, a USB-C to DisplayPort cable or a Thunderbolt cable.
2. Make sure Stage Manager is on.
3. Open the display options in Settings that appear once the monitor is connected.
4. Choose to extend the display rather than mirror it, then set the arrangement and resolution.

If the monitor stays blank, try a different cable or port before changing settings. Many problems come from cables that carry power but not video.

Which iPads get iPadOS 27 multitasking?

Every iPad that runs iPadOS 27 gets the windowing system and Stage Manager. There are 23 models in total. Extended display remains limited to iPads with an M1 chip or newer.

Five iPads that ran iPadOS 26 do not get iPadOS 27: iPad (8th generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and iPad mini (5th generation). They keep the iPadOS 26 version of these features. The full breakdown is in our iPadOS 27 supported iPads list.

Tips for faster multitasking

• Switch apps quickly: swipe left or right along the bottom edge with one finger to jump between recent apps without opening the app switcher.
• Drag between apps: hold an item with one finger, use another finger to switch apps, then drop it where you want it.
• Let windows remember their place: close an app and reopen it, and its window comes back where you left it.
• Keep long jobs running: apps that support background tasks can keep working on an export while you use something else.
• Use Full Screen for battery: several live windows use more power than one app, so switch to Full Screen Apps when you don't need multitasking.

What to do if multitasking misbehaves

If windows stop tiling, Stage Manager will not turn on or apps draw strangely, start simple. Switch the multitasking mode off and on in Settings › Multitasking & Gestures, then restart the iPad. Keep plenty of storage free. Third-party apps sometimes need an update to behave properly in windows, so update the app, and report repeat offenders through Feedback Assistant if you are on a beta. Our iOS 27 bugs and known issues page tracks wider problems. If you are going back to a stable build, see how to downgrade from the beta; on iPad the restore target is iPadOS 26.6.1 RC (23G82).

What to do next

Pick a mode in Settings › Multitasking & Gestures and give it a full working day before you judge it. If you use a Mac too, our guide to macOS 27 features shows how the two systems line up.

Frequently asked questions