Multitasking on iPadOS 26

there are three options in the multitasking settings in iPadOS ‘26…

•”Fullscreen”: this mode is exactly what it sounds like. Every single application runs in full screen mode. This is for the classic early iPad lover, who misses the days of the iPads 1 and 2, before all of this fancy multitasking. This, to put it simply, is the “big iPhone” mode. there is no multitasking other than swiping with four fingers between open applications with VoiceOver, or across the home bar without voiceover, and of course the app switcher. Everything runs in full screen without any extra buttons.

•”Windowed Apps”: this mode allows apps to be resized and freely be scattered across the iPad’s screen. there are several different window ornaments. In the bottom right corner there is the “Resize” handle. with voiceover, this can be accessed by going all the way down to the last item of an application, and swiping right. This handle allows full screen apps to be resized into windows of any size with a drag, or a double tap and drag with VoiceOver. once an app is turned into a window, a button appears in the top left corner called the “Multitasking menu”, which when expanded with a double tap reveals the three options from macOS, “Close”, “Minimize” and “Zoom”. these will appear as red, yellow, and green buttons.
“Close” completely closes an application, same as flicking up on it with three fingers in the app switcher. This is for when you are completely done using an application.
“Minimize” banishes an app to the app switcher where it will be held in memory, including its window position.
“Zoom” returns a window to full screen, or alternately a double tap and hold with voiceover opens a contextual menu that allows you to choose options like “Split Screen” or “Tiled” applications.

•”Stage Manager”: similar to “Windowed Apps” mode, but you can make multiple stages, or basically multiple spaces for anyone coming from the Mac. why they don’t just synchronize these terms I don’t understand. basically you can create a space that has all of your windows for working, and with a swipe get to another space that has all of your windows for reading, etc… honestly this is the mode I haven’t had much time to experiment with, I can come back and add more details. it is quite a bit different than the previous version of “stage manager” though, so even if you have used the mode previous and found no use for it, it’s something to look into.

miscellaneous:
•The previous Multitasking” button in the middle of the status bar that’s been there from iPadOS 15 to 18 is completely gone, replaced by the new menu in the top left corner in “windowed” mode, and replaced by absolutely nothing in “full screen” mode.
•SlideOver”, an option available since iOS 9, is completely gone.
• if you have several windows open and you’d like to add an application, swipe to the home screen as you regularly would just once, and VoiceOver will allow you to add that new window to your workspace. if you want to completely get out and just open an app on its own, swipe home one more time and you will return to an empty space.
•In Settings>Multitasking & Gestures, there is an option for “Close All Windows After Swiping Home”, for those who want their apps to open on a blank slate every time, but still want the windowed mowed.
• to access the new Mac Like “menu bar”, swipe down from the top as if going to the control center, but then swipe back up. same way to access the dock within applications, just from the top. It doesn’t seem to work in all scenarios in the current beta, but it should by the time of public launch. The new menu bar has options like “File”, “Edit”, “View”, “Window” and “Help”.