iPadOS might get floating app windows when a keyboard is connected for better multitasking

According to a new leak that's come out online, Apple may be looking into making the iPad a bit more multitasking-friendly. AppleInsider reports about a new leak that tells us that in the future, iPadOS will detect if you connected a keyboard and a trackpad, and if that's the case, apps that you open will float instead of opening in full-screen mode.

iPadOS may get better at multitasking

Currently, you have a split-view window for multitasking on iPad, but leaker Majin Bu has some interesting pieces of information to share with the way iPadOS might handle multitasking. According to the leak published on Twitter, Apple is working on a smart system that will detect whether or not you have connected a keyboard or a trackpad to the iPad, and if so, will shrink apps that you open so they don't take the full screen by default.

The leaker doesn't specify whether this new feature will come with iPadOS 16, which we expect to be officially released with iOS 16 and the new line of iPhones sometime in the fall for this year. However, the leaker does say that the feature will likely be exclusive to iPads running Apple's M1 chip.

Currently, only the 2021 iPad Pro models and the newly-announced 2022 iPad Air.

Reportedly, the feature is dubbed "Apple Mixer" internally, and in the tweet, you can see what this will reportedly look like on the iPad screen. It looks a bit like the floating Notes window that you can see on the header image of this article.


The leaker has not shared any additional information on the feature so far. In case you're wondering, Majin Bu is a leaker that's primarily known for more hardware-related leaks such as the size change of the Apple Watch Series 7.

So far, it is unclear whether if you've already opened an app prior to connecting a keyboard, the app will shrink automatically or remain in full-screen mode.

When we know more, we'll make sure to let you know, so stay tuned!