Slide Over, one of the best iPad multitasking features, got rescued from the rubbish heap with the new iPadOS 26.1. It’s an ideal way to keep an application that you check frequently but not constantly within easy reach — it’s offscreen but accessible with just a flick of a finger.
Here’s how to use Slide Over, and why you shouldn’t ignore the option now that it’s back in iPadOS 26.1, which launched on Monday.
iPad Slide Over returns — here’s how to use it
Apple gave a huge revamp to multitasking with iPadOS 26. It introduced a powerful windowing system for apps that makes iPad work more like a Mac than even. But the redesign also included kicking out an existing multitasking option from the iPad: Slide Over. Happily, Apple walks that back with iPadOS 26.1.
Cult of Mac writers are spread around the world, and we use an instant messaging app to communicate. I check it many times a day, but don’t need it to be on the screen of my iPad all the time. Slide Over is perfect for this.
I can keep the application’s window off my screen while I’m writing, but with a flick of my index finger or a twitch of the mouse/trackpad, I can bring it back for a quick glance. When I’m done, another flick is all it takes to hide the app again.
As enthusiastic as I am about the return of Slide Over, I have bad news for those who used the earlier version for multi-multitasking. Previously, the system could hold multiple applications stacked on top of each other, and one could easily flip between them. That’s not included in iPadOS 26.1. I’m sorry if you miss this bonus feature, but I suspect few iPad users even knew about it.
How to use Slide Over on iPad in iPadOS 26.1
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Putting an iPad application into Slide Over is easy — it really only takes one step. Choose and open the app, then tap and hold the window controls (with the red, yellow and green dots) in the upper-left corner of its app window. A pop-up will open, and one of the options will be Enter Slide Over. Tap on it. The application window will get a grey border around it so you know it’s changed. There, you’re done.
You can now flick the app window so it will Slide Over off the left or the right side of your iPad screen. You need to use the great border to accomplish this. The window disappears, but a “handle” briefly shows up to reassure you that you didn’t accidentally close the application.
To get the app back, flick your finger or the cursor from the outside of your iPad screen toward the middle. Obviously, this needs to be the side where you sent the app before. The window will Slide Over back into view. Alternatively, if the app icon is in your iPad’s Dock, tapping on it will make it slide out.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
When set this way, the application always floats above whatever app windows you have open. To see what’s behind it, flick the window off the screen. Or you can change the shape, size and location of the Slide Over app window.
This returning multitasking option can be used in either the iPad’s Windowed Apps multitasking system or with Stage Manager but not Full Screen Apps.
As noted, you can’t put a second application into Slide Over. If you try, the second app replaces the first.
To undo all this, once again tap and hold on the window controls of the app window. Now, one of the options will be Exit Slide Over (see here). Tap on it.
Split View and Slide Over: Together again
While iPadOS 26 revamped the iPad user interface, it didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Slide Over is now back, and the popular Split View option never went away — it just gets set up slightly differently now.
Just as importantly, those who prefer the classic iPad UI can stick with the Full Screen Apps option. It’s simple and easy to use.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
