Stage Manager was released to much fan-fare with macOS Ventura in 2023. Like most Mac-using folks, I was excited at the opportunity to finally have a new window management option in macOS. But, for me, real world usage of Stage Manager was another story. After using it for a week, I turned it off and never looked back.
Apple touted Stage Manager as a feature that would improve focus, thereby improving productivity. But instead of being more productive, I was struggling with Stage Manager. On the one hand, I appreciated having a quick visual of the open apps and windows floating on the side of my display. But on the other hand, organizing and pairing multiple windows in Stage Manager felt too clunky and cumbersome. In short, I was spending more time managing Stage Manager than doing my actual work.
If I could summarize my experience with Stage Manager from that initial go-around, I would say that the concept was good, but the execution was half-baked.
Apple’s approach to onboarding new features these days leaves a lot to be desired. While the Stage Manager feature was promoted after a fresh OS install, macOS did not include a quick start guide to help users understand how to use it. Perhaps the fine folks at Cupertino felt that the feature was intuitive; my experience was anything but.
I remember a time (a long time ago) when Apple was world-class at onboarding new users. The Apple of today seems to have largely jettisoned this approach, leaving it as an exercise for interested users to figure out on their own. This rationalization would be fine if the feature was intuitive, but in the case of Stage Manger: it’s not.
Two years later, on the eve of WWDC 2025 and Apple showing us what is in store with the next version of macOS, rumored to be called Tahoe, I wanted to revisit Stage Manager on macOS Sequoia with the intention of answering the question: Have things improved with Stage Manager?
Begrudgingly, I activated Stage Manager on both of my production Macs: a 2021 14” MacBook Pro M1 Pro model and a 2024 M4 Mac mini. Below are the Stage Manager settings I applied to both Macs.
One of the biggest challenges I had with Stage Manager was managing multiple browser windows side by side. For example, after opening Safari, I would often create a second Safari window to view them both simultaneously. However, in Stage Manager, creating a new Safari window would cause the original one to automatically minimize into the Stage Manager strip, making it difficult to view both at once.
Thankfully, in the latest version of macOS (15.5), I can finally open two (or more) browser windows without the minimizing behavior. Huzzah! This behavior also carries through to applications where I have multiple documents open at a time, like Microsoft Word and Excel.
Often times, I switch between design programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. With Stage Manager active, the simple act of copying a vector object in Illustrator and pasting it into Photoshop document would be an exercise in futility. The problem was doubly infuriating if more than one Photoshop file was open.
Thankfully, those problems have disappeared in my latest testing. I was able to copy a vector object from Illustrator and select from one of two open Photoshop files to paste the vector object into.
When I first tested Stage Manager, it took up valuable real estate, especially if one or more documents are fully covering your display. This wasn’t as big of an issue on a large display, but on a laptop screen, where screen real estate is precious, Stage Manager was adding to the visual clutter.
Now, if two windows are open side-by-side, Stage Manager’s strip is hidden. Moving your Mac’s cursor to the right of your display will reveal the Stage Manager strip. This is a welcome improvement.
Not all is beer and Skittles with Stage Manager. Pairing Stage Manager sets (groups of specific app windows) remains cumbersome, however. You still cannot drag directly from the left-hand Stage Manager strip into an existing group. You must activate the window, ungroup it, then recombine it with the desired set. It would be amazing if it were possible to drag items from the Stage Manager strip from one set to the other.
Stage Manager has improved a great deal since I first tested it in macOS Ventura, but as a polished, bullet-proof app, it’s still not quite there yet.
The real question is: Is Stage Manager good enough for me to use now? Yes. Three of my biggest gripes with Stage Manager have been rectified. I haven’t had a reason to turn it off, and that, in and of itself, speaks volumes. If you’ve felt frustrated with Stage Manager in the past, I would encourage you to give it another spin. It’s actually useful now.
Here’s hoping that the next macOS release brings additional improvements to Stage Manager.
