At WWDC 2022, Apple announced iPadOS 16 and the latest versions of its other operating systems, including macOS Ventura. One of the notable improvements with iPadOS is upgraded multitasking features. The two key additions are full external display support and Stage Manager — a window interface that brings iPadOS closer to a desktop experience than ever before.
My M1-powered 11-inch iPad Pro has been sitting at my desk since I bought it, seeing very little use because it gives me very few reasons to pick it up over my phone or laptop. So I decided to take the iPadOS 16 developer beta out for a spin on it to see if Stage Manager has the potential to change that. My conclusion? Stage Manager is definitely a step in the right direction, but it’s still got a lot to learn from Samsung Dex.