Earlier this week, Apple announced the iPad mini 7. With 8GB of RAM, an A17 Pro chip, and Apple Intelligence support, this is exactly what iPad mini Pro users have been craving. But even after boosting the iPad mini’s specs, Apple’s smallest tablet still lacks Stage Manager, a key feature of iPadOS.
Stage Manager was first introduced in iPadOS 16 and requires top specs such as 8GB of RAM and Apple’s latest M-series chips. Over the years, Apple has made concessions to extend this feature to other iPad models. For example, the base iPad Air 5 does not have memory swap, which is a requirement for Stage Manager, but the feature is still supported.
Apple has since expanded Stage Manager to iPad models with 6GB of RAM and older iPad Pro models with A12X and A12Z chips. Still, the iPad mini 6 didn’t even meet the reduced requirements, as the previous generation tablet had an A15 Bionic chip and 4GB of RAM.
With the iPad mini 7, Apple has significantly improved the specs of its little tablet, but there’s no official explanation as to why the device doesn’t already include Stage Manager. The most likely answer is that the 8.3-inch display is small and may not provide an ideal multitasking experience.
I would argue that if Split Screen has always worked on the iPad mini, Stage Manager shouldn’t be a problem. nevertheless, 9to5 macFilipe Espósito says that as a workaround, Apple could offer Stage Manager if the tablet is connected to an external display. In this way, users get a portable device that, when connected to a display, becomes a powerful computer.
The release of the iPad mini 7 is coming next week, and it may depend on whether customers ask Apple to add this feature in a future software update, preferably before iPadOS 19. do not have.
