X

Gmail on iPad: Here's how to split your screen to use other apps

Gmail's Split View feature helps you multitask with Gmail, Google Calendar and other iOS apps on iPad.

Alison DeNisco Rayome Managing Editor
Managing Editor Alison DeNisco Rayome joined CNET in 2019, and is a member of the Home team. She is a co-lead of the CNET Tips and We Do the Math series, and manages the Home Tips series, testing out new hacks for cooking, cleaning and tinkering with all of the gadgets and appliances in your house. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.
Expertise Home Tips, including cooking, cleaning and appliances hacks Credentials
  • National Silver Azbee Award for Impact/Investigative Journalism; National Gold Azbee Award for Online Single Topic Coverage by a Team; National Bronze Azbee Award for Web Feature Series
Alison DeNisco Rayome
2 min read
apple-event-091019-ipad-7th-gen-10-2-8850
James Martin/CNET

The iPad just became a more useful multitasking tool for Gmail users. Google's latest update to its email service finally added support for split-view multitasking, so you can keep your Gmail pane active on one side of the iPad screen while browsing through different apps on the other side. 

With the Split View feature, you'll be able to have Gmail open while you check your schedule in Google Calendar to confirm a meeting time, or drag and drop pictures from Google Photos into an email. The ability to multitask makes the iPad a more appealing device for getting work done

Split View for Gmail is available now to everyone, from G Suite customers to personal Google Accounts, according to a Monday G Suite update post

Watch this: Here's what to do with that old iPad

Here's how to use Split View for Gmail on your iPad

1. Go to the Settings app, and tap Home Screen & Dock > Multitasking.

2. Select Allow Multiple Apps.

3. When you open Gmail, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the Dock. 

4. In the Dock, touch and hold the app you want to open alongside Gmail, and drag it to the left or right edge of your screen.

5. You're done! Now you'll be able to use Gmail alongside other iPad apps.

Split View support for Gmail has been a long time coming: Apple first added the split view feature to the iPad back in 2015, with iOS 9. However, many popular apps did not support it initially. Google added Split View support for Docs, Sheets and Slides in 2016. 

If you want to find more ways to use your tablet to get work done, you can also learn how to use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac, and all of the best multitasking gestures and iPad tips and tricks that make it more like a laptop