The 3 dots at the top of screen were faster, easier, and more intuitive.
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iPad OS 26 is Amazing!
- Thread starter Alameda
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and watch Scott MaGregor pitch a masterpiece in game 5, 1983!
not the brand name though, the store kind. Slideover without capabilities for multiple apps is not Slideover its.. Overslide (trademark pending)
And i imagine people complain mainly about the invocation of the Splitview not the percentages of screen which can indeed be split and viewed. Hope i helped
Point is… having side-by-side apps exist in iPadOS 26 which is the definition of Split-View and SlideOver gains the ability to resize in any form instead of being stuck in an elongated shape (along with not being stagnant to two areas of the screen).
No, i get it. I’m just saying that people gain something and lose something in return this time around.
Yeah i’m happy for slideover returning in some form and being resizable, but i also need the multiple apps switcher thing, to switch between messaging apps or music or reference for drawing etc etc. So it’s not the usual Slideover we ve been using, there still is functionality that was taken away.
Same for Split view. Cool that it’s resizable now but i would also like the usual easiness to trigger it. No need for it to be gone. So it’s not the usual Split View we have to expect.
Hope they make they effort to restore these.
But that’s the thing… you are gaining a lot more around than what you are losing.
I think you are missing the whole picture… we have MORE freedom now. Okay, we are missing the ability of having multiple apps in SlideOver, but then we have the option to have more apps on display… have more apps in our dock that we can then switch between those apps via the dock.
Not sure how i’m missing the whole picture. I know we get more apps in display but why would i care for that?
It will surely be cool on the external monitor sure, but when I’m on my ipad i’m 90% of the time reading - annotating a pdf on Zotero and having a Split View safari window (usually 1/3) for associated searches on the right. Those two are just usable at this split view size for me. Why would i want to fiddle with resizing those two main apps or switch them entirely breaking my focus using the dock for others when i could just use the classic slide over app switcher utilizing one of many apps (to quickly answer an email, view a picture, choose a different song, check a note, look up a definition). No reason to just delete this whole functionality to make a clean slate. Some people were using that.
Yay for more freedom, absolutely, but nay for less speed and function. Maybe my brain is wired (or unwired) differently but this all seems counterproductive for me ymmv though. Two main app windows and an auxiliary are just right for me on the 13 inch (i even moved up a size due to this) and messing with that delays my whole workflow. I don’t even understand how you guys would deal with all this on smaller ipads. I was also budgeting to get the new mini. I wouldnt use split view on that thing. I would be counting on slideover constantly on that, so i have no reason now to buy one as it would do less for me if i used it only on full screen mode. So in the end I hope they just enable an app switcher for the slideover and classic gestures for splitview for feature parity. That’s all. Happy you guys are enjoying the new os, but I’m only updating and contributing with my wallet when i won’t feel i’ve been robbed of functions that were just there and my prefered way to work.
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Maybe I should explain this more clearly... okay, under Windowed mode for example you have Safari on left (1/2) and then PDF app on right (1/2). These two apps stay on screen. Then you open Files app on left (1/2) and Mail app on right (1/2).. again these two apps stay on screen.
Now lets go ahead and open up Word to the left (1/2) and then One Drive or 365 app to the right (1/2)... they stay on screen. And keep the process going with different set of apps.. they won't be VISIBLE until you click/tap them via the dock. Maybe you want an app on right instead of the left, use the traffic light to switch.
You don't have to fiddle with resizing (apps stay in their current state if you are entirely focused on Split-View apps).... how is swiping up to access your dock losing focus?
I keep sounding like a broken record here... (imo) reason the old system was removed because it was limited/restricted.
Would you please demo this? Im asking because what i understand is you are completely switching sets of apps albeit in a quick way. But switching apps for me is breaking focus. The slideover is perfect for not losing focus, as you don’t leave any of the working apps.
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I have two questions, if you are kind enough to explain to me before I update my precious M2 iPad Pro to iPadOS 26:
1) Do you still have the ability to maximize to full screen the apps even in the external monitor?
2) Can the Prime Video app finally be put in full screen mode in the external monitor?
Thank you!
Here is a demo below... within this video, you can see me open FireFox and moving it to the right, then Discord is moved to left. And then opened Outlook to move that to left, next opened Tapatalk to move that to the right. Last I opened Pocketcasts and moved to the left.
And then I went to open... Discord, FireFox, Outlook and Tapatalk. Notice I didn't have to do any resizing or anything, typically I don't have this many apps on my dock... but this is the example I wanted to show.
Edit. Video removed due to my email being shown.
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Yes, you can maximize apps to full screen. I tried Safari, no problem. I tried Amazon Prime Video and it works but it didn’t completely fill the screen. It does fill the screen but it didn’t go corner to corner; it put a black border around the video. But that is the app’s problem; it’s only fixable by Amazon.
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Not addressed to me but I can answer. Note: This was only tested on a 16” 2K external monitor.
1) Yes you can go full screen on apps on the external monitor. However, the support is solely based on the app and has nothing to do with iPadOS. There are apps that work perfectly full screen and others are very limited. So if it doesn’t, blame the app developer.
2) Yes and no. It goes full screen but you still have black vertical borders on each side. In my experience, video apps are the worst offenders on external monitors (see #1 above). I just did a quick test of 4 apps that display video. Only two go full screen and take advantage of the external monitor. The other two have black bars on both sides.
Working Fullscreen:
Xfinity Stream (Cable TV streaming app)
Disney+
Black Bars:
ESPN
Prime Video
Thank you for this. Your video is clear and on point. Yes it seems that it’s quick to switch between set split screen apps. Though, flicking seems slower as an action than dragging an app from the dock to the side as means to invoke split view. Not sure why they would choose one over the other. Then out of split view, would the apps retain the split size? Cause resizing them would also be slower than usual.Here is a demo below... within this video, you can see me open FireFox and moving it to the right, then Discord is moved to left. And then opened Outlook to move that to left, next opened Tapatalk to move that to the right. Last I opened Pocketcasts and moved to the left.
And then I went to open... Discord, FireFox, Outlook and Tapatalk. Notice I didn't have to do any resizing or anything, typically I don't have this many apps on my dock... but this is the example I wanted to show.
Watch ScreenRecording_10-26-2025 14-58-46_1 | Streamable
Watch "ScreenRecording_10-26-2025 14-58-46_1" on Streamable.streamable.com
Lastly, so if i understand correctly in current split view i can’t briefly have a third window in front of the splitview windows? For example, I would have to totally switch out of Notes app mid sentence and replace that with Safari to search for a definition for example? That’s the part where this would be absolutely problematic for me and make the ipad feel less capable.
Thank you very much. I still don’t know how an app such as Prime Video cannot operate in full screen on an external monitor. I mean, it cannot be that difficult!
This is all somewhat new territory for the iPad... just 3 or 4 years ago Apple implemented floating windows via Stage Manager. Apple could very well bring back the action of dragging an app to one side to invoke SplitView... but this flicking gesture is maybe a test run to see how things fare.
That's what I was demonstrating in the video... apps retain their sizes, so you can very well keep apps in their 1/2 state (no need for resizing).
Why not just keep Notes on the left side and Safari on the right? It would be much easier to place apps on the dock aligned to which Split-View side it's on. The more you adjust to it... you'll determine how to make it fit your workflow.
And from the video I tried to illustrate you can have all your apps in 1/2 state... opening apps via the dock and not worry about managing windows.
it seems unnecessary for the apps to persist launching in the smaller size, when out of split view. Not a dealbreaker though.
I probably didn’t phrase my question adequately so i’m repeating:
on ipados26, if im having a pdf on the left of split view, note-taking to the notes app to the right side of the split view, during split view, i can’t use a third window, so i would have to switch out of one of my main splitview apps. Is this correct?
In ipados 18 i could use the slideover window for brief tasks.
So can anybody say if i could choose an app to launch as a third smaller sized app overlayed in front of the split view apps? Is that doable with the freeform windows? For example could i launch a resized spotify window and search for a song without closing any of my two main working apps (in the example screenshot below lets say my two safari windows are the main apps)?
Edited to add an example screenshot
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You will be able to do what you want in iPadOS 26.1, but only with one app at a time in the pinned-on-top mode, which you can slide on and off the screen.
So: glass ui, some different / slower window management, > 4 apps on an external screen
In exchange for slowing down workflows and missing a crucial feature?
Whoever is in charge of this, that is just..
And i stand by my original claim that i don’t feel i’m missing any bigger picture. If the functionality is restored and bugs are ironed out yeah this might be good, but trading my current os for something that won't fit my needs would be bizzare.
There is absolutely no reason for the markedly slower user experience and no reason to just forgo a whole freaking window of multitudes of quick actions.
There is also no reason to claim that splitview is back without disclosing that it’s slower than usual to use and differently invoked and there is absolutely no reason to claiming slideover is back when it’s restricted to one freaking app. That would make it a dumber machine for me and i would hate walking blindly to that.
Honest thanks for the video, everybody answering my questions and for helping me stay on course. I probably can't even get an ipad mini and i have to guess i can't get a newer iphone either as an iphone coming with ios26 probably won't cooperate fully with ipados18 (? ). Here's hoping they add the full functionality back eventually. Won't bog down this thread any further until then.
In exchange for slowing down workflows and missing a crucial feature?
Whoever is in charge of this, that is just..
And i stand by my original claim that i don’t feel i’m missing any bigger picture. If the functionality is restored and bugs are ironed out yeah this might be good, but trading my current os for something that won't fit my needs would be bizzare.
There is absolutely no reason for the markedly slower user experience and no reason to just forgo a whole freaking window of multitudes of quick actions.
There is also no reason to claim that splitview is back without disclosing that it’s slower than usual to use and differently invoked and there is absolutely no reason to claiming slideover is back when it’s restricted to one freaking app. That would make it a dumber machine for me and i would hate walking blindly to that.
Honest thanks for the video, everybody answering my questions and for helping me stay on course. I probably can't even get an ipad mini and i have to guess i can't get a newer iphone either as an iphone coming with ios26 probably won't cooperate fully with ipados18 (? ). Here's hoping they add the full functionality back eventually. Won't bog down this thread any further until then.
OR… you could place Spotify in a 1/4 size… that way it won’t obstruct viewing with the two Safari windows.
That would mean that spotify and whatever window i place there would launch in that size next time. It would also mean i would have to resize my right main window to accomodate for that.
That’s slower than usual, expected or needed. Thank you for suggesting workarounds though. I have disabled automatic updates and i hope it won’t take any liberties autoupdating to 26.
That’s slower than usual, expected or needed. Thank you for suggesting workarounds though. I have disabled automatic updates and i hope it won’t take any liberties autoupdating to 26.