Check Out iPadOS 15's New Multitasking Features - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Check Out iPadOS 15's New Multitasking Features

iPadOS 15 includes most of the new changes that were introduced in iOS 15, but there are also some iPad-specific features designed specifically for Apple's larger-screened iOS devices. One of these new features is an update to multitasking, which we've highlighted in our latest YouTube video.


Multitasking can be done the same way as it was before, but there's also a new multitasking menu that streamlines the multitasking experience, offering quick-tap options for entering into Split View or Slide Over with two apps. In the App Switcher view, you can also get into a quick Split View mode by dragging one app's window onto another, which is handy.

Apple also added a "Shelf" feature for managing multiple windows of the same app, so if you have multiple Safari windows, you can use the Shelf to swap between them for multitasking purposes.

There are multiple keyboard shortcuts that are available for multitasking to make it easier to swap between windows without your fingers having to leave the keys. Many of the shortcuts use the Globe key on an attached keyboard.

These new multitasking features will take some time to get used to, but overall this seems to make multitasking more intuitive to use. Have you tried iPadOS 15? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

Waze logo

5 New Waze Features Rolling Out Now: Here Are All the Details

Monday July 13, 2026 3:42 am PDT by
Google today announced that Waze is getting a handful of new features, including some Gemini-powered personalization enhancements for Conversational Reporting. Conversational Reporting already uses Gemini when users report traffic incidents like slowdowns, but now you can use it to suggest map updates like road closures or outdated addresses. Saying something like "The road is closed here"...
Mac Pro Feature Teal

Apple's M7 Ultra Chip Designed to Match a 2019 Mac Pro Feat

Sunday July 12, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple's M7 Ultra chip coming in 2028 is designed to support up to 1.5TB of unified memory, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, whether such a configuration is offered may depend on the state of the ongoing memory chip shortage. In 2019, Apple released an Intel-based Mac Pro with up to 1.5TB RAM....
apple silicon 1 feature

Apple Silicon is Taking an Unexpected Turn

Friday July 10, 2026 7:24 am PDT by
Ever since the Mac switched from Intel processors to Apple silicon starting in 2020, each generation of M-series chips has included higher-end Pro and Max variants. If a recent report proves to be accurate, though, that streak will be coming to an end. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will be releasing a regular M6 chip, but it has no plans to offer higher-end M6 Pro and M6 Max...

Top Rated Comments

oneMadRssn Avatar
67 months ago
The problem is this isn't "new multitasking." All the issues and limitations of multitasking that have existed since iOS9 are still there.

This is certainly a UI improvement, and I like that there are more visual cues and less reliance on learning swipe-gestures. But this solves none of the reasons that people felt limited by multitasking on iPad.

Specifically, the maximum number of concurrent apps is still just two (three if you count the slide-over which has it's own usability challenges) and only in limited space configurations. But the bigger issue is there is no way to run a computationally or network intensive process in the background indefinitely. It is not true multitasking if important processes have to be kept in the foreground in order for them to complete.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LFC2020 Avatar
67 months ago

It looks so simple. I like it.

Apple needs to introduce more finger gestures.
Took a lot of courage releasing iOS 14 again.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiensoy Avatar
67 months ago
I really wanted the option for split view to be top/bottom apps when in portrait. 😔
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago
better than before, but still an awful implementation. there's a better way of doing multitasking that's more productive.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
67 months ago

It looks so simple. I like it.
Sarcasm?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheDailyApple Avatar
67 months ago

Took a lot of courage releasing iOS 14 again.
People when Apple stuffs a bunch of new features into an update:

“Why can’t Apple move to a biyearly update schedule or focus only on stability and speed every other year? This release is so buggy. I miss snow leopard!”

People when Apple doesn’t introduce many new features (which generally results in a more stable release):

“Apple can’t innovate anymore, they’re letting their platform stagnate. I’m switching to Android/Windows.”
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)