As previously reported, the latest iPad mini can now run Final Cut Pro for iPad. However, despite having the same amount of RAM as the iPad Air and the base storage configurations (256GB or 512GB) of the iPad Pro, it still does not support Stage Manager to let you have multiple freeform windows on both your iPad and external display (when paired with a keyboard and mouse). This will come as a disappointment for iPad mini fans who still prefer the compact form factor, yet want more versatility.
Stage Manager was a feature that was introduced in iPadOS 16. It was initially limited to iPads with an M-series chip; however, Apple extended support for iPad Pro models introduced as early as 2018. Note that both the 2018/2020 iPad Pro models have Stage Manager support on only the built-in display, so when you connect those iPads to an external display, you can only do mirroring. This is because of the less amount of memory on those models:
- iPad Pro (2018) had the A12X chip with either 4GB (on 64GB/256GB/512GB storage tiers) or 6GB RAM (on 1TB storage tier)
- iPad Pro (2020) had the A12Z chip with 6GB RAM standard on all storage tiers.
So the main requirement to support Stage Manager is to have at least 8GB of RAM, and since the latest iPad mini now has that amount of memory, why doesn’t it run that feature? According to 9to5Mac, there was an internal feature that let developers test out the feature on older iPads. However, Apple decided to disable that feature on the software-end for the latest iPad mini, and the reason is that the display on there is a bit small it would not be as much of a great experience as on the larger iPads. Plus, Apple always pays attention to giving the most optimal user experience for its customers when using its newest features.
But to be honest, I think it was a missed opportunity not enabling an external monitor with Stage Manager support on the new iPad mini as that would be such a nice portable and versatile setup with a keyboard and mouse, similar to something like the PowerBook Duo as the new iPad mini can now support an external monitor up to 4K resolution at 60Hz, which is more than enough to run that feature. For what it’s worth, keeping Stage Manager exclusive to both the iPad Air and Pro models will allow customers to easily justify choosing at least the iPad Air over the iPad mini.
The iPad mini is now available to customers, and it starts at $499 with 128GB of storage.
