Multitask on iPad with iPadOS 26

Find out how to use windowed apps on iPad to use multiple apps at the same time.

To use Windowed Apps on iPad, make sure your iPad is running the latest version of iPadOS.

Turn on Windowed apps

  1. Open the Settings app.

  2. Scroll down and tap Multitasking & Gestures.

  3. Select Windowed Apps.

    Settings app open to the Multitasking & Gestures section

Open and switch apps

To open an app, tap an app from the Home Screen, Dock or App Library.

In some apps, such as Safari or Notes, you can open multiple windows from the same app. To open another window, tap and hold the app icon, then tap New Window.

To switch to another open app, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pause in the centre of the screen and lift your finger, then tap an app.

If you have an external keyboard, depending on your keyboard you can press the Exposé keynull or hold the Globe key and then press the Up Arrow key to see your recent apps.

Resize and move windows

Open an app, then drag any corner or the handle in the bottom right-hand corner of the window to resize it.

app open on iPad with grab handle in bottom right-hand corner

To move an app, drag the top edge of the window to a new location.

Close, minimise and rearrange windows

Tap the window controlsnull at the top of an app. If an app is in full screen and you can’t see the controls, swipe down from the top of the screen to see the controls in the menu bar.

  • To close a window, press the Close buttonnull

  • To minimise a window, press the Minimise buttonnull.

  • To make an app full screen, tap the Zoom buttonnull.

  • To rearrange windows, press and hold the window controls buttonnull, then choose an option.

Use two windows side by side

  1. Open an app, tap and hold the top part of the window, then flick it to the right-hand side of the screen.

  2. Open another app, tap and hold the top part of the window, then flick it to the left-hand side of the screen.

  3. If you want to resize the apps, drag the bar in the middle to adjust the size of the app windows.

You can also press and hold the window controls buttonnull, then tap the left and right buttonnull to use two windows side by side.

Add a Slide Over window

In iPadOS 26.1 or later, you can set one window as a Slide Over window to stay open on top of other windows. You can also move the Slide Over window off screen and bring it back when you need it.

App open on iPad in Slide Over mode

  1. Open an app.

  2. Press and hold the window controls buttonnull, tap Enter Slide Over, then do any of the following:

    • Move the Slide Over window: drag the top edge of the window to move it and the window will snap to the left or right side of the screen.

    • Resize the Slide Over window: drag the handle in the bottom corner of the window to resize it.

    • Move the Slide Over window off screen: swipe the top of the window or its left or right edge off screen. An arrow will appear at the edge of the screen, indicating where the window appeared.

    • Bring the Slide Over window back: swipe from the edge of the screen where you moved your Slide Over window to bring it back into view.

  3. To exit Slide Over, drag the app to the middle of the screen then let go. Or press and hold the window controls buttonnull, then tap Exit Slide Over.

Use the menu bar

You can access and search all of the commands available within an app in the menu bar.

  1. Tap or click the app you want to see the menu bar for.

  2. Swipe down from the middle of the top of the iPad screen or move your pointer to the top part of the screen.

Find out more

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