YouTube updates iPad app, adds Slide Over and Split View

YouTube has updated its iPad app with two features that make it work more like the site does on desktop.

The two features are called Slide Over and Split View, and both are multitasking features. The first lets you check an app briefly by sliding it onto the screen. The second lets you run software side-by-side.

However, don’t expect these features to work universally. They only work if the app which you want to look at or run side-by-side also supports the features. Considering the features were added as part of last year’s iOS 9 update, you’d hope most app makers would have added them. But we’re sure plenty haven’t.

Split View will also on work on newer iPads, namely the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, and both models of iPad Pro. But Side Over should work on every iPad going.

Omissions? Google didn’t add iOS 9’s Picture-in-Picture mode for some reason, so you can’t watch YouTube clips while on the iPad’s home screen, or while using another app. Which seems a bit of an oversight.

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There are some other tweaks too. Use the iPad in landscape mode, and the home tabs will appear in the navigation bar, which should make them easier to access. Plus there’s the usual bug fixes.

The multitasking skills are really the flagship features though. They should help position the smaller iPad Pro as a desktop replacement, even if it is slightly less powerful than its bigger brother.