iPadOS 16: Stage Manager is far from unanimous

Flagship feature of the new iPadOS 16 update, Stage Manager missed its start. The option should make it possible to better organize the home screen of the Apple tablet by placing open windows on the side of the screen in a sort of carousel.

Made public on Monday, the functionality has since been thoroughly tested by experts from around the world. Already in the beta versions that have been released in recent months, the option had not had very good press. The official release of iPadOS 16 was supposed to sweep all this aside, but this is clearly not the case.

A feature still full of bugs

For Federico Viticci, editor-in-chief of the MacStories site, the functionality was “poorly designed” and it is still full of bugs. He also criticizes the fact that Stage Manager doesn't seem "finished." According to him, several interactions are “confusing” and basic functionalities are missing.

A very harsh verdict, but which is echoed by several of his colleagues. In conclusion, Viticci writes that it is “heartbreaking” to see Apple “groping” in this way with the arrival of a new functionality. Still in his own words, Viticci explains that Apple “botched” the release of iPadOS 16, leaving many problems in this version of the software.

Several rumors in recent months have mentioned the difficulties encountered by Apple in the development of Stage Manager. Present on both iPad and Mac, the functionality was intended to be a complete redesign of the home screen. Ultimately it is today a den of bugs and other problems.

An emergency fix coming?

In the long list of things that are wrong with iPadOS 16, Viticci explains in particular that supporting the switch from landscape to portrait iPad is difficult. Switching to full screen also resizes windows poorly while keyboard predictions clearly need to be reviewed.

Apple should release a new update for iPad and Mac in a few weeks, notably concerning Stage Manager. If there are too many problems in this version 16.1, Apple could provide a fix in the coming days. It remains to be seen whether the Apple teams are technically capable of producing this fix or if they are at an impasse.