The rules changed with iPadOS 26, so older advice is misleading. Two things happened: iPadOS 26 replaced Split View and Slide Over with Windowed Apps (a Mac-like windowing system), and Stage Manager became an optional mode available on far more iPads — from iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd gen), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st gen), iPad Air (3rd gen), iPad mini (5th gen) and iPad (8th gen) onwards.
For external displays the key split is still the chip: extended (non-mirrored) output — where the monitor is a separate desktop with its own windows — requires an M-series iPad. On other iPads, the external display mirrors the built-in screen. And extension no longer requires Stage Manager at all: Windowed Apps can drive the external display directly.
In extended mode the iPad screen stays usable, and windows can be moved between the two displays. Connect the monitor, then manage window placement from the iPad's windowing controls.
Sources: https://support.apple.com/105075 · https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/22/ipados-26-expands-stage-manager-to-more-ipads/
— Osnivo Editorial