iPadOS 26.1 Brought Back an Essential Multitasking Feature
iPadOS 26 is a huge deal for anyone who wishes Apple made a touchscreen MacBook already. The update rolls out a major multitasking overhaul that introduces macOS-like windows, a macOS-like menu bar, and macOS-like file management. The iPad even has the Preview app, for crying out loud, but to be honest, so does the iPhone.
Apple has toed the line with its tablets over the years, introducing features and functions that make the experience more like using a computer, without ever really fully committing to it. At this point, iPadOS 26 probably won’t replace your MacBook, but it comes pretty close. If your main concerns are things like window and file management, this update is probably for you. But even though this new era of the iPad seems like a more traditional computing affair, Apple is backtracking a bit, but in a good way: The latest iPadOS update brings back a fan-favorite multitasking feature: Slide Over.
Slide Over makes window management easier
Before iPadOS 26, Slide Over was the cornerstone of multitasking on Apple tablets for years. Although you can open multiple apps at once in different window sizes, Slide Over lets you designate an app window that maintains more of an iOS shape, particularly something long and vertical. As the name suggests, this window could slide to the driving side of the screen whenever necessary, and could easily slide back when not. It was perfect for keeping a social media feed or messaging app handy while working on something else: Imagine having two windows open on your iPhone, one for Safari and one for Google Docs, but whenever you need to send a text, you can pull out a Messages window from the right side of the screen and slide it out when it’s time to get back to work.
The Mac of course has no equivalent, because it relies on standard window management. Maybe Apple thought that if iPadOS 26 also had more standard window management, it wouldn’t need Slide Over anymore. As such, the company removed this feature as part of its big iPad update this fall. It’s unclear whether Apple received negative feedback about this omission, or whether the company decided it was missing the feature as well, but whatever the reason, Slide Over is back as of iPadOS 26.1.
Slide Over is a little different with iPadOS 26.1
Credit: Lifehacker
That said, this feature no longer works in exactly the same way as it used to. To use it, you need to use your iPad in Stage Manager or Windowed mode, which you can choose from Control Center or from Settings > Multitasking and gestures.
From there, open an app you want to use Slide Over for. Long-press the window controls in the upper left corner of the app window, then choose “Enter Slide Over.” The app will crash into an iOS-like window on the right side of the screen and you can close it by sliding it. You can also resize the window to any shape or size you want, while still maintaining that Slide Over capability. In the image above, you’ll see that I’ve shrunk my Apple Music window to a square, but you can make it as big as you want, although that may defeat the purpose of setting it as a Slide Over window.
How to Update to iPadOS 26.1 (and Beyond)
If you haven’t already, you can install update 26.1 now from Settings > General > Software Update. In addition to Slide Over, you’ll find other cool features and tweaks, like the ability to control how Liquid Glass looks on your iPad. If you’re a beta tester, you’ll go straight through iPadOS 26.1, as Apple is currently testing iPadOS 26.2. The public beta is currently available and allows you to add alarms to reminders for the first time.
