How to Use iPad Pro Split Screen: Real iPad Multitasking

Apple may have introduced Split View as an important iPad feature in iOS 9, but it didn’t become a viable way to work on the iPad until the iPad Pro came out. Here’s how to use iPad Pro split screen and run two apps at the same time.

One of the best things about the 13-inch iPad Pro is that it has a 13-inch screen. Its size alone allows the iPad Pro to be used for tasks that are impossible or possible, but annoying on smaller iPads (like the 10-inch iPad Pro and Air and iPad Mini). A prime example of this is split screen (Apple officially calls it Split View, but everyone calls it split screen): When the large iPad Pro is in landscape orientation, you can have two apps side by side in portrait mode, and both are easy to read and use.

Joyful to be able to Use some split-screen features on smaller iPads and it works, but it feels pretty cramped. It works the same on all compatible iPads regardless of size (currently side-by-side apps only work on two iPad Pro tablets, iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4).

iPad Pro split screen not working in all apps

You should know that you cannot use any app on your iPad in split screen mode. Not every app works in split mode, and most will not and probably never will. Apps need to be updated to explicitly support new features, so if you regularly use apps that haven’t been updated for a while, you may not be able to split them.

In this example Safari and PDF Expert 5 take up half the screen.

Activating your iPad’s split screen mode is actually really simple. To get started, install an app that we know works with Split View – safe bets include any of Apple’s own apps. We will use Safari. Tap the Safari icon and make sure your iPad Pro is in landscape (or landscape) orientation.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen and you’ll find a person watching your finger. This type of browsing an app is called Slide Over. Touch the left edge of this app and drag it to the left to bring it into full split screen mode. You will see your full screen app shrink to make room. You can leave the second app to only occupy a quarter of the screen (that’s the default – but keep dragging it to the left and you’ll see that you can have two apps each taking up half of your screen).

How do I organize apps in iPad Slide Over / split screen list?

So you learned how to side-shoot an app, but how do you choose which app to show up? When you swipe in, you will see an app or a list of apps. If you see an app, you can swipe down from the top of the screen (via the secondary app only) to access the list of multitasking apps. Scroll this list up and down until you find the secondary app you want, then tap the icon to bring it into focus.

Here is a list of possible split screen apps in a list that Apple doesn’t allow you to change.

Unfortunately, Apple has decided that the rule of thumb for using multiple apps on iPad is simplicity; As a result, you can’t really choose what goes into your multitasking list. No favourites, no rearranging them, nothing. This means you have to scroll, scroll and scroll until you find the app you are looking for. Hopefully, with the upcoming release of iOS 10, Apple will change the way this mechanism works.

Regarding this issue: There is no way to tell which apps support split modes unless you launch them and try to show two apps at the same time; Apple doesn’t keep a list in Settings to let you know which apps are running (some notable third-party apps that haven’t yet been updated to support the new functionality include the Google Inbox app as well as Facebook.

How can I change which apps are on the split screen?

There are two ways to change which apps appear in your split screen setup. If you’re happy with the app on the right and want to change which app appears on the left, simply press the Home button and launch a new app. If this new app supports Split View mode, you will see it appear on the left half of the screen and this secondary app appear on the right half. If you choose a new app that doesn’t support split screen modes, it will just fill the screen.

If you want to change which app appears on the right half of your screen, simply click and drag the app border to the right edge of your iPad. This closes the second screen and from there you can reopen this list of multitasking apps by swiping left and/or down.

If you want to close both apps or switch to something else, press the Home button and launch your new app. You may find that you have to manually close the Split View screen if you want to go back to using one piece of software at a time.

You can use Picture-in-Picture and split-screen applications at the same time

The third multitasking feature available in iOS 9 (after Slide Top and Split View) is called Picture-in-Picture. This isn’t really something you set, as it’s automatically enabled by supported apps. If you’re watching a video on your iPad—think Netflix, Hulu, or an iOS video player—you can press the Home button while the video is playing. Instead of closing the app and returning to the Home screen as you’d expect, the picture shrinks and appears in the lower right corner.

Safari and PDF Expert 5 each share the screen, but Hulu uses Picture-in-Picture mode.

If you want to resize the small movie window, you can pinch to zoom in and out; You can also drag it to the corner you want it to stay in.

Once you get to the home screen, launch the app of your choice and it will fill your screen – but the Picture-in-Picture window will remain floating at the top. If the new app you launch supports split screen modes, you can install for a second so you have two apps dividing your screen and a third app playing videos in the corner.

Like the Slide Over feature, you can use Picture-in-Picture on the iPad Pro, iPad Air 1 and 2, and iPad Mini 2, 3, or 4.