by Jason Snell
More depth on iPadOS 15 multitasking
TechCrunch’s Mathew Panzarino got an interview with Apple marketer Bob Borchers and exec Sebastien Mariners-Mes in which they addressed the changes to multitasking in iPadOS 15:
“It was a very deliberate decision on our part,” says Mariners-Mes about adding this new element. “This really brings a new level of productivity where you can have, you know, this floating window. You can have content behind it. You can seamlessly cut and paste. And that’s something that’s just not possible with the traditional (iPadOS) model. And we also really strive to make it consistent with the rest of multitasking where that center window can also become one of the windows in your split view, or full size, and then go back to to being a center window. We think it’s a cool addition to the model and we look really look forward to 3rd parties embracing it.”
I’m of the opinion that the changes in iPadOS 15 aren’t rearranging deck chairs, but resetting the iPad’s multitasking metaphor so it’s capable of growing into a new take on a multi-window interface.1 The floating center window and QuickNote are both examples of Apple being a lot less precious about preventing windows from overlapping other windows on the iPad. It sure feels like this is the first step in a much larger interface overhaul.
- In advance of fully supporting large external displays. I want to believe! ↩