Make Way for the iPad; A New Multitasking King Is Coming to Market

My daily workflow revolves around browser-based services, and a durable tablet like the iPad is the ideal nomadic device for me. In fact, I’ve documented my adventures with the iPad as my primary computer many times in the past. However, as a compulsive multitasker, I always come back to my desktop. I swear by my multitasking setup with a 43-inch TV as a monitor, so you can understand why a tablet wouldn’t be enough for a full workday. However, OnePlus has a solution that has changed my mind.

I’ve been testing out the brand new OnePlus Pad 2, and I think the company’s Open Canvas system is the biggest step forward in tablet multitasking yet. And yes, it’s better than Apple’s Stage Manager. But we’ll get to that later. First, let’s take a quick look at how Open Canvas multitasking works on the OnePlus Pad 2.

Eagle-eyed readers will recall that Open Canvas isn’t exactly new. It debuted on the OnePlus Open, and my colleague Ryan called it the best approach to multitasking on any foldable in his review. It turns out that what works on a foldable shines on a tablet.

I’ve been using the OnePlus Open as my primary phone since it launched last year, and Open Canvas is one of my favorite features. However, I rarely use more than two apps at once due to the screen size limitations. Size isn’t everything, but 7.8 inches isn’t big enough to display three apps at once. The OnePlus Pad 2, with its massive 12-inch display, makes it very easy to have three usable apps on screen at any given time. Here’s how it works.

Once you’ve launched your main app, you can use the standard Android method of going into the multitasking menu and tapping the split-screen option or using a gesture shortcut. As long as the tablet is in horizontal mode, a two-finger swipe down in the middle will split the app and allow you to launch another one.

For your next app, simply swipe down from the top right corner to reveal the OnePlus Smart Sidebar. This floating toolbox lets you access any app on your phone. Simply hold the icon and drag it across the screen; this will open a third section on the OnePlus Pad 2’s large 12-inch display.

By default, the three-part split highlights two apps and shows the third app spilling off the screen. A quick four-finger pinch, however, reveals all apps at once. On the OnePlus Open, this three-app layout was simply too small to be readable. On the other hand, the OnePlus Pad 2’s spaciousness makes it a very practical solution.

As a hobbyist guitarist, I use my tablet to have tabs open all the time. However, I hate having to switch between the metronome app and Spotify or YouTube for backing tracks. Open Canvas lets you have all three open at once. Me? I like having the tabs and metronome on screen and Spotify at my fingertips. You can even lock specific app combinations to easily switch back to them. Awesome!

While Open Canvas itself is limited to a maximum of three apps, it has another trick up its sleeve. You can load a fourth app as a floating window. It’s not as usable as full multitasking, but it gets the job done. For me, that means loading a YouTube tutorial of an experienced guitarist demonstrating how to nail a complicated lick. But the possibilities are endless.

That said, I hope OnePlus opens up the Canvas multitasking system to more than three apps: the OnePlus Pad 2’s 12-inch screen is large enough to easily display four apps. Maybe even more if it were displayed in a smartphone-style vertical window. In fact, I wouldn’t mind an infinite canvas of apps either, even if it meant being limited to three apps visible at a time. But I digress.

OnePlus Pad 2 vs iPad Air: Who Multitasked Better?

Given that my favorite tablet is the iPad Air, I have a lot of experience multitasking in that ecosystem. So it made sense to compare the OnePlus Pad 2 to my iPad Air. Out of the box, the iPad’s multitasking is pretty basic, offering little more than a variety of two-way splits, with a third app tucked away on the side. However, there’s also Stage Manager to consider, Apple’s attempt to force desktop multitasking onto a tablet.

When I wrote about Stage Manager two years ago, I said it was a good start with a lot to learn. Unfortunately, Stage Manager hasn’t budged an inch since. I’m running the latest beta of iPadOS 18 and haven’t seen any improvements. It’s still a simple two-way split with the added benefit of slightly relaxed limitations on how you want to split windows. Apple’s focus on animations and theater means there’s a lot of wasted screen space, and a quick try later I was back to the normal interface. The feature is a pain to deal with and would explain why Apple hasn’t mentioned it once during its WWDC sessions since.

In contrast, OnePlus’ multitasking experience is much more functional and fluid, and makes the most of every inch of available screen real estate.

I could end this story by saying that OnePlus has built the best multitasking system on a tablet. And it has. But its limitations also need to be highlighted. For one, limiting it to three apps seems like an arbitrary restriction that has no place on a high-end tablet. Having more flexible window resizing would also be a great addition. However, the most glaring problem is the lack of education on how to enable the feature. If I hadn’t already used it on my OnePlus Open, I simply wouldn’t have discovered it. I’m sure the feature will remain sadly quite unknown to the majority of OnePlus Pad 2 users.

That said, it’s clear that OnePlus has the right ideas to truly maximize productivity on a foldable or tablet. I hope this feature is widely adopted across the Android (and Apple) ecosystems. It’s too good not to be. Good job, OnePlus!