Apple’s Stage Manager feature looks like it could be available for both the M1 and older iPad tablets in iOS 16.1, but with some caveats.
The feature, which Apple introduced at WWDC 2022 back in June, was announced as exclusive to iPads with an M1 chip. Per the latest beta of iPadOS, Apple seems to be trying to enable it for several iPad Pro units.
Engadget reported that Apple has made Stage Manager available older iPad Pro models. These included the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro released in May 2021 and the M1 iPad Air released in 2022.
With the latest iPadOS 16.1 beta, Stage Manager now works on the first generation and later models of the 11-inch iPad Pro. It will also work on the third generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro as well as on 2018 and 2020 iPad models using the A12X and A12Z chips.
The caveat is that Stage Manager will only work on the built-in display of the older iPad Pro models and won’t work on an external display connected to the iPad.
Additionally, Apple said that it will temporarily remove external display support for Stage Manager on its iPadOS 16 beta 5. However, this will be reinstated via a software update later this year. Incidentally, Apple received various criticisms from iPad owners who experienced issues with Stage Manager on an external display. So, the company could be dedicating more time to re-work the feature and solve that issue.
External display support for Stage Manager on M1 iPads will be available in a software update later this year.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and Engadget