iOS 9: How to Use Slide Over on Your Modern iPad

iOS 9 introduces a handy feature called Slide Over for iPads. It allows you to slide in a secondary app from the right side and interact with it, perhaps to quickly check on something or grab some data.

Unlike Split View, in which apps run side by side (50-50 split) on only the latest iPads (including the iPad Pro), Slide Over runs on many more models. See the table below.

Image credit: Apple

System Requirements for Slide Over

  • iOS 9.0 or later
  • iPad mini 2,3,4
  • iPad Air, Air 2
  • iPad Pro

1. There is no setting required to enable this feature. It's not active on a home screen; instead, it's designed to work in concert with any app that's already running and a secondary app enabled for Slide Over. It works in portrait or landscape mode.

2. With any app running, called the primary app, touch the right edge of the iPad display and swipe to the left. You'll see a list of what's called secondary apps. Apps must have been enabled for Slide Over to appear here.

Touch and drag from the right side to bring Slide Over column into view.

3. To remove the Slide Over column, touch and hold the left side of the column and slide back to the right, reversing step #2.

4. With the Slide Over column in view, tap one of the secondary app icons to bring it into view from the right. You can interact with this secondary app in the usual fashion.

5. To dismiss the secondary app, touch the small grey handle at the top of the Slide Over column and drag down.

To dismiss the scondary app, drag downwards from the Handle.

 

6. To remove the Slide Over column, go back to step #3.

Slide Over works equally well in landscape mode.

 

Slide Over goes a long way towards exploiting the power of your modern iPad and can come in very handy when you need to check on something briefly, grab some data, and then resume what you're doing. It's a welcome addition to iOS 9.x.