I don’t think I’ve seen it talked about anywhere, but am I the only person that has realized the new windowing system on iPadOS 26 did actually bring Stage Manager to the iPad Mini? While not necessarily a huge deal for that particular device, it means there is no feature delineation at that level anymore across iPads, a win for the entire ecosystem.
Ryan Britt
@_RyanB
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Software Developer. Server and PM tooling/integration by trade. iOS dev enthusiast.
@stroughtonsmith I’m thinking the “Air” could be its own line. Basically, the fall could see the reveal of Air/Air Fold which pushes form factors in new ways and the Pro/Pro Max which pushes capabilities in new ways. Then, they have the iPhone/SE in the spring which keeps the baseline/budget options up to date on chips and whatever else is considered standard.
@overcastfm I’m really enjoying the lighter touch approach. Great job! It feels familiar with an additional bit of whimsy from iOS 26. Just on first interaction, the movement of the ad spot does feel disorienting. I find it to be more obtrusive and actually less helpful when in the standard “adds thrown in your face” placement at the top of the screen. I also wonder if I’ll simply tune it out more this way and not benefit from any of the suggestions.
@viticci I remember you talking about trying the Surface line, but I don’t know how much you talked about the experience. What did you think? I received a Surface 5 or 6 from a gracious act of tech “recycling” a couple years back, and I was surprised by several of the use cases I could find for it. However, it was ridiculously old hardware even then, so I didn’t expect much from it either.
While there are many other faults with the characterization of the changes, here's a simple example.
Any reader that has installed a single beta of iPadOS 26 could determine that both an onboarding preference selection and the obvious toggle in Control Center hardly deserve the implied feature abandonment behind the words "buried in iPadOS 26 is a throwback mode[.]"
For a more balanced read, check out @viticci’s interview with Craig Federighi.
Interview: Craig Federighi Opens Up About iPadOS, Its Multitasking Journey, and the iPad’s Essence
It’s a cool, sunny morning at Apple Park as I’m walking my way along the iconic glass ring to meet with Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, for a conversation about the iPad. It’s the Wednesday after WWDC, and although there are still some developers and members of the press around Apple’s campus, it
They could have used this opportunity to call out Apple on the actual problems with iPad: slow software innovation, reluctance to implement tried and true paradigms, etc. Instead, they sensationalized the lifespan of a product category that is only 15 years old while invoking the memory of a man who died midway between the 2nd and 3rd generation of a product. To honor the style of the piece and its quotes; if your product criticism depends on invoking the ghost of Steve Jobs, *you* blew it.(2/3)
I just read a piece from Wired call “Apple Finally Destroyed Steve Jobs’ Vision of the iPad. Good”. I have feelings about its quality / editorialization.
This is the most sensationalist thing I've read in Wired in a while. Granted, I might be feeling that because of my history with the iPad. However, there is an abundance of rhetoric in this piece — so much so, that it is approaching "clickbait" territory, in my opinion.
(1/?)
@atpfm @caseyliss @siracusa In what I’m guessing is a bug (due to language in Settings), I just learned it is possible to bring up Quick Note by swiping from the right with Apple Pencil. So, the off screen handle already *technically* works with the new windowing system. See the image below for small window with resize at bottom right and Quick Note popover hidden)
@atpfm I’m glad that @caseyliss and @siracusa talked about the usefulness of SlideOver. I really like John’s idea of extending it to all windows. I wrote up a feedback on the 13th about how its removal is a functional regression for any sort of “ephemeral” / hidden window functionality.
If anyone is interested, it’s FB18027123 (Removal of SlideOver / Quick Note in “Windowed Apps” creates a functional regression)
Hot take: removal of SplitView/SlideOver doesn't make iPadOS easier to understand. It simply changes the mental model of iPadOS (and introduces a functional regression with the lack of an ephemeral window option) from what it has grown to be over the past 10 years, ever since those features were enabled.
Would it have been the worst thing if Apple simply left the "default" the way it was like they did with the introduction of stage manager?