When Apple released macOS Ventura and iPadOS 16, a new multitasking feature was one of the highlights. The Stage Manager, as Apple called it, was a new way to multitask on MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads. There are a few things to note before you can use Stage Manager on Mac and iPad.
For instance, when it comes to the Mac ecosystem, any iMac, MacBook Pro/Air, and Mac Mini running the latest macOS Ventura will support Stage Manager. But for the iPads, the situation can be a bit confusing. There are a handful of iPad models running iPadOS 16 that have received support for Stage Manager. These are:
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st gen and newer)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd gen and newer)
- iPad Air (5th gen)
With that out of the way, let’s see how Stage Manager works and how you can enable it on your Mac or iPad.
How to Use Stage Manager on a Mac
For any iMac, MacBook Pro/Air, and Mac Mini running macOS Ventura, follow the steps below to activate Stage Manager:
- Open System Settings from the dock or by using System Settings was called System Preferences in the previous macOS versions.
- In System Settings, open Control Centre and select Stage Manager on the right. By default, it is set to not show in the Menu Bar. Change it to Show in Menu Bar.
- Next, open the Control Centre from the Menu Bar on the top right of your screen. Select the Stage Manager icon to enable it.
- After enabling Stage Manager, you will instantly see the current app in the middle of the screen and all other open apps arranged neatly in a column on the left. You can click on any open app to bring it to the center and replace it with the current one.
- To turn off Stage Manager, tap on Stage Manager again in the Control Centre in the Menu Bar.
How to Use Stage Manager on an iPad
If you’re running the latest iPadOS 16 on a supported iPad, you can follow the steps below to activate Stage Manager:
- Open the Settings
- Find and tap on Home Screen & Multitasking on the left and then turn on Stage Manager on the right.
- On the following screen, you can customize Stage Manager to an extent. Choose whether to see your recent apps on the left and/or the dock. You can also leave both of the options ticked.
- You can now see all of your recent apps arranged on the left and the current app in the middle of the screen. You can also turn Stage Manager on or off directly from the Control Centre by swiping down from the top right of the screen. Also, you can long-press the enabled Stage Manager icon to see the customization options we mentioned in the previous point.
Wrapping Up
And that’s all you need to know about Stage Manager. Whether multitasking will get easier or not with the new feature is for you to decide. But for all your hardware issues with any of your Apple devices, you can easily book a repair with us to get your favorite device back to its full potential.
