What is the point of Stage Manager when we have Spaces?

[unrigestered]

with Mission Control, it's actually just one click.
you have to have the windows open for this and not minimized or hidden.
that's actually something that i'd like to see improved.

in the App Switcher, you have to use the up arrow first and then select the app.
these are more steps, but way more?
in practice, it should take you just a fraction of a second more, as if you could select these if they popped up automatically

 

[thadoggfather]

it does seem... weird and incomplete

The fact that you toggle it on in CC is awkward enough, I kinda like the icons being taken away from the Desktop to just stare into the wallpaper purely, looks cleaner, but I dunno it's just annoying in practice and like im trying to make it work when it should just be a ' ah thats great ' feeling.

if I have like 5 safari windows open, all minimized in SM do I really have to click through each freaking one to get to the one deepest in the stack?

the animation is occasionally chunky too and it takes up too much space on the left vertical area. should be able to shrink it like the dock, its tonka toy proportions imo

I dont HATE it for what it's worth, it's just not something I see using beyond for occasional novelty and gimmick.

its like its fighting with the dock, not working with it. I use dock to launch new apps (or launchpad) then I go to minimizing apps through SM? I like the ghost effect on dock but occasionally do the SM one.

--

im not updating my iPad to iOS 16 for a while, but is it the same exact thing on that? or better / worse?

 

[gank41]

it does seem... weird and incomplete

The fact that you toggle it on in CC is awkward enough, I kinda like the icons being taken away from the Desktop to just stare into the wallpaper purely, looks cleaner, but I dunno it's just annoying in practice and like im trying to make it work when it should just be a ' ah thats great ' feeling.

if I have like 5 safari windows open, all minimized in SM do I really have to click through each freaking one to get to the one deepest in the stack?

the animation is occasionally chunky too and it takes up too much space on the left vertical area. should be able to shrink it like the dock, its tonka toy proportions imo

I dont HATE it for what it's worth, it's just not something I see using beyond for occasional novelty and gimmick.

its like its fighting with the dock, not working with it. I use dock to launch new apps (or launchpad) then I go to minimizing apps through SM? I like the ghost effect on dock but occasionally do the SM one.

--

im not updating my iPad to iOS 16 for a while, but is it the same exact thing on that? or better / worse?

I hadn't tried it on my iPad until later on in the beta cycle when they enabled it on other iPads (I've got the 2018 Pro 11inch model), and it probably should have worked a little better at ... whatever it is it's supposed to be doing. I agree with everything you said. I mean, I guess it's a cool concept? If it worked well and made sense or at least had some common sense type of 'flow'? But nope. None of it makes any sense to me at all. I'm happy swiping twice to get to my full screen app. Hopefully they don't take THAT away from us..

Other than Stage Manager on iPadOS, though, it works just fine. You don't have to enable it.

 

[owidhh]

if I have like 5 safari windows open, all minimized in SM do I really have to click through each freaking one to get to the one deepest in the stack?

Not anymore - there's an option (default?) where all of an app's windows are shown together on screen at the same time. You can use expose to view them all, or cmd-` to cycle through them. or arrange them together on your screen as you see fit.

 

[Feek]

I've just enabled this and I really don't see the point at all. The initial presentation underwhelmed me and in practise, I can't see any use for it.

 

[yellowhelicopter]

Why not just make Mission Control to show all windows (i.e. minimized and hidden too). I set the MC to left bottom active corner, it would be an ideal solution - just a hand move and all existing windows are in front of your eyes.

 

[thadoggfather]

Not anymore - there's an option (default?) where all of an app's windows are shown together on screen at the same time. You can use expose to view them all, or cmd-` to cycle through them. or arrange them together on your screen as you see fit.

I see thanks (Expose worked). Thats still a bit awkward I think

 

[unrigestered]

Why not just make Mission Control to show all windows (i.e. minimized and hidden too). I set the MC to left bottom active corner, it would be an ideal solution - just a hand move and all existing windows are in front of your eyes.

You have to keep in mind that Mac users don’t get Stage Manager because of some deeper thought into actually making an improvement for macOS.
We get it because it’s a very simple way to slap something on it that hasn’t been deemed good enough for macOS for 1.5 decades, but now will be enhancing iPadOS, on top of an OS that doesn’t really need a fifth, sixth, or seventh solution, instead of actually improving the workflow of the already existing features which could easily actually improve macOS, instead of adding some additional half assed clutter on top

 

[diegotheplantboy]

Can someone really explain to me how this makes workflow/usability on a Mac any different?

I get it on the iPad.. but on the Mac? What do I do with it?

 

[MajorFubar]

I hear you.
I feel it has absolutely zero purpose on a Mac. We already have numerous ways of swapping between live apps, heck we even have multiple desktops. I feel it was implemented on the Mac purely to provide some kind of parity with iPadOS. But count me among the cohort of people who really don't like this gradual iOS-ification of MacOS, because it worries me what they're going to remove. I can't stand the new preferences pane either, and no it won't just grow on me.

 

[MrGunny94]

I can't really see the point of this in my portable setup or at home. At home I have dual 4K monitors and Stage Manager doesn't make any sense to me because I use apps side by side while working for example I have Teams opened while I'm doing changes to code on the side.

I don't wanna focus on a single app at any given time besides when I'm browsing same for on the go with the Mac.

 

[MacGizmo]

Beside the fact that it breaks one of the most important features (for me, anyway) of Default Folder, I don't care for the extra click it takes to see the desktop when that feature is turned on.

That being said, now that I've used it, I can see how some people might like it. It's almost like running full screen mode without actually running in full screen mode.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

If you can't see the benefits of Stage Manager for your workflow, then there probably aren't any for you. 🤷‍♂️
For me, it reduces clutter and makes it faster to switch between windows/app groups.

 

[EuroChilli]

I'm still playing with it, and I can see how it could be useful. But, on a 13" screen my mouse pointer very quickly arrives at the left of the screen and activates Stage Manager when I don't want it at a given time. I have my mouse set pretty fast, faster than my trackpad.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Can't tell if Stage Manager is buggy or just incomplete... I've tried drawing windows onto the 'stacks' in the left bar and they don't group together. Also, some windows not appearing in the said stacks.

This is one of the most unintuitive and unnecessary macOS features I've seen in a long time - and I've seen the faux leather on the calendar app!

 

[Toutou]

After enabling it, trying to come up with any use for it, failing miserably, encountering several bugs where my windows were randomly yeeted offscreen and then disabling the feature forever, I'm going to go ahead and declare that Stage Manager is ass.

 

[gank41]

Can't tell if Stage Manager is buggy or just incomplete...

I've been following Federico Viticci along with his comments and perspective of Stage Manager all Summer, he's got a great writeup here:

Stage Manager in iPadOS 16: At the Intersection of Bugs, Missing Features, and Flawed Design

This article wasn’t supposed to go like this. iPadOS 16 is launching to the public today, and it carries a lot of expectations on its shoulders: for the first time since the introduction of the original iPad in 2010, Apple is embracing a Mac-like windowing system that lets you use up to four...

www.macstories.net

It's both buggy & incomplete. I gave up using it because it doesn't make sense in my workflow. He kept going with it and going and going, as if he had to because that was his only option, just to test it. There's a few people in some of these posts that have pointed out that these "fringe type" experiences shouldn't/wouldn't impact the average Joe. But, imagine if Apple had gotten their way and made this the new'fangled way across the board, Macs & iPads, to use your device. Stage Manager is the new Desktop. I think if it wasn't for folks like Federico and Stephen Troughton Smith going to great lengths to test Stage Manager, we'd all be using (or not using! lol) an even buggier/crappier iteration of Stage Manager.

 

[Kylo83]

For me it is usless I use better snap tool to snap windows and this just ruins it, I don’t get the point of it

 

[coffeecatt]

It’s a neat idea that I don’t have a ton of use for because I don’t work on my Mac. For heavy users it actually makes a ton of sense though.

The real benefit, in my opinion, comes from being able to group multiple apps together in stages. If you have a complex workflow that sees you juggling 5 or more apps at once, that all take up significant screen real estate, being able to set them up into window layouts and swap between them with one click is great. If you do compiles, renders, etc. then having real-time previews of the content on the stage thumbnails is also super handy.

While it’s true that you totally can use Mission Control, multiple desktops and monitors, etc. to accomplish similar workflows, Stage Manager does have a distinct feel. Like most of Apple‘s advanced features, it’s less about fundamentally changing how you use your device, and more about offering new options to improve your usage. If it’s not for you, don’t use it - the old way is still there and still works fine.

 

[Cram]

I can see how it could be useful for some, but I turned it off about 2 minutes after turning it on.

 

[AAPLGeek]

Stage manager is aimed at zoomers using their tiny laptop screens to “create content”. Anything more than a single window is too complex for them.

 

[MistrSynistr]

Has anyone figured out how you drag and drop something from desktop/finder into an application with stage manager on?

 

[myret]

I wish we were able to see the desktop contents when we activate stage manager... I won't use this like this

 

[Cinder6]

I wish we were able to see the desktop contents when we activate stage manager... I won't use this like this

There's an option for this.

 

[Cram]

There's an option for this.

And that is?