How to Multitask on OnePlus Pad

The OnePlus Pad marks OnePlus’ entry into the tablet market. It’s a mid-range Android tablet that packs solid hardware, runs on the latest Android 13 operating system, and packs several useful features, including a few multitasking features, like Split screen, Flexible windows, and Dual windows to help you multitask better.

If you’ve bought the OnePlus Pad or planning on getting one, knowing how to use these features can help you get the best multitasking experience on the tablet. Let’s check out each of these features and see how you can use them to multitask on the OnePlus Pad.

Multitask on OnePlus Pad Like a Boss!

Split Screen

Split screen is easily the best multitasking feature on the OnePlus Pad. It allows you to run two apps side-by-side to work on them simultaneously, so you don’t have to jump back and forth between them. The feature works really well, and thanks to OnePlus’ decision to go with a 7:5 aspect ratio display, it can fit more content on the screen than other tablets on the market.

There are three ways to enter the Split screen view on the OnePlus Pad.

Split the Screen From the Recents Menu

Oxygen OS puts a Split screen mode button on all compatible apps in the Recents menu. It works in both landscape and portrait orientations, and here’s how you can use it to enter the Split screen view:

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Recents menu.
2. Tap the window icon in the top-right corner of the app you want to use in Split screen mode.
   
3. Open the second app you wish to use alongside it.

Both your apps will now open in Split screen view. By default, the apps share an equal screen area. If you wish to change this, you can do so by holding the three-dot slider in the middle and dragging it left or right.

Similarly, you can also move an app from the left to the right or vice versa. Simply tap and hold the bar at the top of the app and drag it to your preferred half of the screen. When you minimize an app group, it remains open in the same state, and you can access it from the Recents menu to switch back to it.

Enter the Split Screen View From the Smart Sidebar

Smart Sidebar is a feature on the OnePlus Pad that puts your favorite apps in a sidebar along the upper-right edge of the screen for quick and easy access. You can put your favorite or frequently-used apps in this area and drag them onto the main screen to put them in Split screen view.

First, configure the Sidebar to include your preferred apps. Swipe left from the top-right edge of the screen to bring up the Smart Sidebar. Hit Edit and tap the minus (–) button to remove the apps you don’t wish to use. And then, tap the (+) button on an app to add it to your Sidebar.

Now, to open an app in Split screen view, access the Smart Sidebar by swiping left from the top-right edge of the screen. Then, hold and drag an app from the sidebar onto the screen. Once done, repeat the same steps to open the second app or, alternatively, launch it from the home screen or dock.

You can also bring up Smart Sidebar while you have an app open on the screen and drag the second app from the sidebar to use both apps side by side.

Use a Two-Finger Gesture to Use Apps in Split Screen

OnePlus offers a neat gesture on the OnePlus Pad that offers a quick and easy way to put apps in Split screen mode. It’s enabled by default, and using it involves a simple gesture. However, in case it isn’t, you can enable it like this: Go to Settings > Special features > Split screen, and toggle on the Swipe down with 2 fingers to split the screen option.

To use this gesture, open one of the two apps you wish to use in Split screen mode. Now, using two fingers, perform a swipe-down gesture in the middle of the screen, and the app will hide away along the left edge.

Open the second app you wish to use with this app, and you’ll now have both apps open side by side.

Flexible Windows

Flexible windows is another useful multitasking feature on the OnePlus Pad. With it, you can open any (supported) app in a floating window on your screen to use it while working on other apps.

It complements the Split screen feature really well and enables you to use three apps on your Pad at once. For instance, with Flexible windows, you can research something inside Firefox on one half of the screen while taking notes in Simplenote on the other half and simultaneously browse Twitter, all at once.

OnePlus offers multiple ways to use apps in a Flexible window.

Access an App in a Floating Window From the Recents Screen

Similar to the Split screen button, OnePlus also puts a Floating window button on apps in the Recents menu. This lets you open any app in a Flexible window on your OnePlus Pad. To use it, access the Recents menu screen, tap the three-dot menu on the app you want to open in a Flexible window, and select Floating window.

Once it’s open in a floating window, you can move it around the screen using the bar at the top. Similarly, you can also hide the window to focus on the other contents on the screen. Simply drag the app window to either side of the screen, and it’ll be tucked away under a tab. Hit the tab to get it back.

If you wish to expand the app in full-screen mode, hit the full-screen icon in the top-left corner. And to close it, hit the (X) button.

Open an App in a Flexible Window From the Smart Sidebar

The Smart Sidebar is another way to open any app in a Flexible window. For this method, first, add the app you want to use in a floating window as shown earlier, and then, simply access the Smart Sidebar and tap on an app to open it in a Flexible window.

Start an App in a Floating Window With a Swipe up Gesture

Lastly, you can also use a swipe-up gesture to access an app in a floating window on your OnePlus Pad. Open the app you wish to use in a Flexible window, perform a swipe-up gesture until you see a window at the top that says Release, and let go of it, and the app will open in a floating window on the screen.

Dual Windows

The last multitasking feature on the OnePlus Pad is Dual windows. As the name suggests, this feature lets you use two different instances of an app on your Pad side by side.

Unfortunately, as of writing this, Dual windows is limited to barely a handful of apps—most from OnePlus alone. OnePlus says the list of apps that support the feature will grow over time, but until that happens, we don’t think it’ll be of any significance on the OnePlus Pad.

Multitasking Works, but Feels Limited

Of the three multitasking features available on the OnePlus Pad, Split screen and Floating windows are the only ones that work as advertised. Both do a decent job of helping you use two or more apps at once to go about certain tasks.

However, since Oxygen OS isn’t optimized well to take advantage of the tablet’s large screen, you still can’t do many things. Like, the ability to drag-and-drop items between apps, for instance, is missing on the Pad, which makes the split-screen functionality a little less useful.

We hope things change for the better on the OnePlus Pad, but as it stands, there’s very little “productive work” you can do on the device.

Buy OnePlus Pad

Further Reading:

• OnePlus Pad Review: Android tablets get a flagship killer
• Got the OnePlus Pad? Change these nine settings right away