The iPad supports multitasking. It allows you to use two or more apps on one screen. This is interesting both in terms of productivity and in terms of convenience. You can use this feature on the iPad Air as well.

What do you need to split screen on an iPad Air

Multi-window mode on the iPad, called Split View, was first implemented with the release of iOS 9. Since then, Apple developers have changed the way it works several times.

With the release of iPadOS 15, users never got the serious, long-awaited update for the iPad, which was so much hoped for. After all, Apple’s tablet had virtually no apps or desktop-class multitasking. Fortunately, iPad multitasking in the new iPadOS 15 has been improved after all.

One of the multitasking features introduced in iOS is the split screen, in which apps can run side-by-side, but there are actually two types of split screen.

All modern iPad models have the ability to use split-screen mode, which allows you to open two apps at the same time. Using split screen mode on the iPad is fairly easy if you learn how it works, but it’s also not always detectable or intuitive to understand.

Well, here’s how to split the screen on your iPad Air.

What is a Split View

Split View is essentially two simultaneously open apps, each taking up half of the screen by default. You can resize apps by dragging the slider between them. Split View on iPad allows you to fully work (view content, copy links, text, and images between windows) on your Apple tablet with two apps at the same time.

There’s also a mode called Slide Over. In this mode, one app is displayed in a small floating window that you can drag to the left or right edge of the screen.

How to use multitasking on iPad Air

iPadOS uses the Dock to interact with the multitasking system. To activate it while working with any app, you need to swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen. After that, you can open another program with Slide Over or Split View.

Split View

With Split View multitasking, you can split the iPad screen into two parts so that you can use a couple of apps at once. For example, you can view photos from recent trips in Photos on one side and browse the web in Safari on the other.

To launch an app in Split View mode you need to open Dock while using any program, keep your finger on the icon in the bottom panel and drag it to the left or right side of the screen. It will immediately split into two parts for full interaction with a couple of apps.

While using Split View, you can change the proportions of the split screen. To do this you need to press the separator between the two programs and drag it to the desired side. To exit Split View mode you need to drag the separator to the side of the program to the edge of the screen.

Slide Over

Slide Over opens an additional app on top of any program or even two programs running in Split View mode. With this mode, it’s very convenient to correspond on social networks, to solve work issues in messengers. Such a window can be quickly minimized by swiping it to the edge of the screen.

In order to launch an app in the Slide Over mode, you need to open the Dock while using any program, keep your finger on the icon in the bottom panel and drag it to the screen. You can then move the window to the left or right side of the screen by simply pinching and dragging.

You can also open multiple apps in Slide Over mode. In this case, you can quickly switch between them by swiping on the bar at the bottom of the window running on top of other apps. This is handy if you, for example, are messaging through several messengers at once.

You should also know that you can easily disable screen splitting on the iPad.

What does picture-in-picture mode mean?

The Picture-in-Picture multitasking mode deserves special attention. It allows you to work in the text editor Pages, watch videos, communicate via FaceTime, plan professional tasks for the near future via Notes, and reply to an email in Mail, without taking your eyes off the Apple TV+.

To activate Picture-in-Picture mode, you need to click on a special button to reduce the window, which can be found when watching movies and TV shows, or video chatting on FaceTime. The mini window can be moved to any of the corners of the screen, as well as change its size.