Apple is bringing back Slide Over for iPad, and I’m genuinely shocked

Apple recently released iPadOS 26.1 Beta 2 to the public for pre-release testing, and, in a surprising move, the update brings with it the re-introduction of Slide Over mode for iPad.

For those unaware, Slide Over was a popular iPad multitasking mode that allowed users to build a dedicated carousel of iPhone-sized applications that could then be manipulated, hidden off-screen, or swiped away entirely.

With the release of iPadOS 26 last month, Slide Over mode was removed in favor of a from-the-ground-up retooling of the entire iPad window management stack, which proved controversial to fans of the feature.

Now, with this latest beta build seeded directly from Apple, Slide Over is back in action — but with a catch. In its current reincarnated form, at least, the feature doesn’t work quite identically to the original Slide Over. Rather than an entire carousel, only a single application can be in Slide Over mode at any given time, though there’s more window size flexibility than there was in the original version.

It’s unclear whether Apple will continue to tweak Slide Over 2.0 to bring back the full window management experience of the original mode, but I reckon if Apple is willing to bring back Slide Over in the first place, it’ll be willing to go that extra bit further to please iPad fans.

Apple is finally listening to its user base

Could this be the start of something greater?

When I first installed the iPadOS 26 developer preview on my iPad Air back in June, I had two major impressions. Primarily, I was ecstatic about the ground-up retooling of app windowing across the system, and secondarily, I was disappointed to see Slide Over mode be removed entirely.

For the most part, I figured Slide Over was destined for the history books, and that Apple, in all likelihood, no longer saw the feature as a part of its creative vision for iPad-first computing.

I’m certainly glad to have been proven wrong on this one. While the new Slide Over still isn’t a one-for-one port of the original experience, it does bring back the essence of the feature, while also introducing more window size flexibility. Put together with iPadOS 26’s far more capable setup for floating and cascading app windows, and the iPad is (finally) shaping up to be a viable PC substitute in its own right.

It’s rare to see Apple listen to fans and walk back software decisions it’s made, and so I’ll take this win for what it is. I’m curious to see whether this means the company will revisit other controversial OS decisions made in the version 26 era, such as the removal of Launchpad from macOS.