iPadOS 18 feature request: Clamshell mode, better Stage Manager, more

We’re just a few days away from WWDC 2024, when Apple will finally unveil the next versions of its operating systems – including iPadOS 18. Although I consider myself a Mac person, I also have an iPad Pro and I like to use it for specific tasks. However, there’s a lot of room for improvement in the iPad software – so read on as I share my feature request for iPadOS 18.

iPadOS 18 feature request: Stage Manager could be a lot better

For years, the iPad was limited to running just one app at a time. But since the introduction of the first iPad Pro, Apple has expanded the iPad’s multitasking capabilities. With iPadOS 16, the company introduced Stage Manager – a new way to run multiple apps in windows, giving users more freedom to organize their apps on the screen.

But two years later, Stage Manager still has some silly limitations that annoy me every time I try to use my iPad as a laptop.

For example, Stage Manager only lets you open up to four apps on the screen. When there are four windows on your iPad and you try to open a fifth, one of the other windows simply disappears. I can understand such behavior on an 11-inch iPad, but this also happens when you connect the iPad to an external display, which doesn’t make any sense.

Modern iPads have the same chips as Macs, so why can’t iPads run more than four apps at the same time? I really hope iPadOS 18 will address this. Another new feature I hope to see with the update: an option to resize the Dock in iPadOS. Even with my iPad set to “More Space,” the Dock is still unnecessarily large on the screen.

Clamshell mode

But more than just a better Stage Manager, there’s something I’d really like to see in iPadOS 18, and that would be a Clamshell mode. For those unfamiliar, Clamshell mode is a feature present on many laptops that lets you use them with the lid closed when connected to an external monitor.

While you can use your iPad connected to a monitor, you can’t simply turn off the built-in display to use the external monitor as the main one. This may not be a problem for some people, but I’m used to working with my MacBook in Clamshell mode in order to focus on a single large screen – and I can’t do that with my iPad Pro.

In fact, having more options for managing external monitors on the iPad would be great. I’d love to see more interface scaling options, for example.

Finder on iPadOS 18

Yes, iPads already have a Files app. But let’s be honest, this app is terrible for serious file management. The Files app is probably one of my biggest frustrations when I try to use my iPad for work, because it’s so basic that it makes everything much more complex.

The app has gained a lot of new features since it was introduced in iOS 11 (in fact, it already existed as an iCloud Drive app since iOS 9). However, I’d like the app to look more like macOS’s Finder.

I miss things like being able to rename a batch of files or open a file with a specific app and edit it there without creating a new copy, because that’s how iOS works. And surprise, Files app still can’t open DMG files, which Apple itself uses extensively.

Easier way to install fonts

Both iOS and iPadOS let users install custom fonts. However, doing so usually requires using third-party apps and a configuration profile. You can’t just download TTF and OTF files and install them on your iPad, which is a nightmare for creators working with custom fonts in their projects

Please, Apple. Bring Font Book to the iPad.

Wrap up

I could spend hours writing about the missing features in iPadOS, but right now these are the ones I miss the most. What about you? What do you expect to see in iPadOS 18 next week? Let me know in the comments section below.

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