The long-awaited split-view multitask update is finally here. Gmail for iPad’s latest update allows you to have two screens open, meaning you no longer have to open a full Gmail screen to send or check your emails.
Although Apple introduced the split-screen feature back in 2015 for the iOS 9, tech companies have been moving slow to support the feature for iPad including Spotify and Adobe Lightroom, which only added support to the feature last year.
The split-view feature has been widely used for years now with Google adding in the support feature also in 2015 for Google Chrome. A year later, it added split-view to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and YouTube. So the important question is why has Google taken this long to bring support to the iPad?
Google says the feature will work with any other iOS apps that support split-view multitasking. You will need to swipe up at the bottom of the screen to display the dock, touch, and then hold another app, then drag it up to either the left or right side of your screen to open the window in Split View.
You won’t need to actually enable the feature as it will be on by default. However, if you have mistakenly disabled multitasking on your iPad, then go to Settings, Home Screen & Dock, Multitasking, and select “Allow Multiple Apps”.
Google also recommends that users should take advantage of keyboard shortcuts for Gmail on your iPad as it is more efficient when you multitask. The feature is available for both G Suite customers and free Google Accounts.