Cisco boosts Webex on iPad with Stage Manager and better multitasking

It’s been a while since we last came across a story showing how iPads continue to evolve into perfect machines for mobile business professionals, so it’s appropriate to note that Webex by Cisco has introduced something special in the form of multi-window support on iPad for Webex Meetings.

A better way to meet online

This should be welcome news for anyone looking to share content with others during a meeting, as it makes the experience easier and more effective. It does this by giving users the ability to pop out shared content, such as presentations, from the Webex Meetings screen, while maintaining a focused view of the magnified content separately in another window on the iPad, as well as on a connected desktop screen .

Cisco

The new feature is the latest demonstration of the alliance between Apple and Cisco. The two companies began collaborating in 2015, when they announced plans “to create a fast track for iOS business users by optimizing Cisco networks for iOS devices and apps, integrating iPhone with Cisco enterprise environments, and unique collaboration on iPhone and iPad.”

Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at Cisco, explained a little bit about the latest feature: “With hybrid work so prevalent today, employees need flexibility in when, where and how they work – in combined with an exceptional user experience. At Cisco, this is at the heart of everything we do. I am proud of our continued partnership with Apple to improve the Webex on iOS experience for hybrid employees.”

The need to meet better

The moves reflect Apple’s continued progress in the enterprise. Just as Apple’s enterprise market share gains really started to accelerate in 2021, Patel told me, “I don’t believe you can be a credible enterprise software provider if you’re not part of the Apple ecosystem today.”

At the time, he also made a prediction: “I expect Apple’s adoption to increase over the next six years, as does their priority for security and privacy today, a top business priority.”

What’s New in Webex for iPad?

Coming back to the addition of the Webex feature, the idea is to allow iPad users to see both meeting participants and the content they want to share with those participants on a single or pair of connected desktops.

What it means is that users can chat on one screen while multitasking and focus on the unfolded content side by side. It follows last year’s news from Cisco when it introduced Picture in Picture support to Webex Meetings on iPad and iPhone.

But this goes further, as it also means that an iPad user can view other meeting participants on their iPad while showing the shared content on a second display, such as a connected monitor, whether wired or not. You can move windows using the “Move to view” button.

Stage Manager takes a meeting

Another improvement provides support for Stage Manager within Webex. That means you can move any open Webex Meeting between screens, resize open windows, and treat those Webex Meetings like any Stage Manager-compatible app. It’s a great update for iPad-using business professionals or anyone using Webex on an Apple tablet.

The new features are now available within Webex on iPad. Apple, of course, uses Webex itself.

That’s not to say that Cisco only has eyes for Apple. The time has come at the beginning of March 2023 introduced some new features for Webex on Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 devices, including live camera feeds from the device’s camera.

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