A big iPadOS 16 feature will finally make Instagram suck less on iPads

News
By Oliver Haslam
published

Instagram logo on phone
Instagram logo on phone (Image credit: Joe Maring / iMore)

What you need to know

  • The latest iPadOS 16 beta includes improvements to Stage Manager on M1 iPads.
  • Non-iPad apps can now be used in Stage Manager for the first time.
  • iPhone apps like Instagram now behave as if they were iPad apps.

Instagram might actually be usable on your iPad once iPadOS 16 arrives later this year, with Stage Manager being the feature that will make it all possible.

The latest iPadOS 16 developer beta includes improvements to Stage Manager, a new windows multitasking mode that will debut this fall. With this beta, Twitter users have noticed that even iPhone apps can now take part in multitasking, making it easier to use apps like Instagram alongside others. Any other App Store app that doesn't have an iPad-specific version will work just as well, too.

Let's hope Instagram doesn't see this as a reason not to give us that iPad app we've been screaming for.

Stage Manager is a new option, limited to M1 iPad Pro and iPad Air hardware currently, that allows multiple apps to run concurrently. The same feature is also coming to the Mac via macOS Ventura. Stage Manager will support window resizing, fast app switching, external displays, and more.

Running an iPhone app in Stage Manager does still only give you a small window, just as you'd expect. But the result is something that's better than the previous full-screen option we were used to and makes for improved multitasking options once iPadOS 16 arrives.

Apple is expected to make iPadOS 16 available alongside iOS 16 and a raft of other updates in or around September, around the same time that we expect the iPhone 14 lineup to also be made available.

12 9 Inch Ipad Pro 2021 Silver
iPad Pro (2021)


The 2021 iPad Pro features much-improved performance, faster 5G radios, a creative new front-facing camera, and on the larger 12.9-inch model, a seriously great display. It's still the best tablet ever, but costs more than ever.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.