Apple broke an essential presentation feature of iPads

Your iPad presentation will expose your notes and other private app content to your audience.

Apple's iPadOS 27 has introduced a significant bug that disrupts its presentation capabilities, particularly for users who rely on projecting their iPad screen to an external display while multitasking. Previously, users could manage presentations, notes, and other applications simultaneously, with only the presentation content visible to the audience. However, in iPadOS 27, any interaction with an app other than the primary presenting application causes the external display to revert to showing the iPad's entire screen, exposing notes, poll results, and other private information. This regression negatively impacts teaching, conference presentations, and other scenarios requiring discreet multitasking. Developers of presentation apps like GoodNotes, Keynote, and PowerPoint have reported varying degrees of disruption, ranging from temporary view resets to complete presentation exits and the need for restarts.

This regression in iPadOS 27 fundamentally alters how professionals utilize iPads for presentations, shifting from a seamless multitasking experience to one that exposes the user's entire device interface. The previous, albeit clunky, method allowed presenters to maintain control and privacy while engaging with supplementary apps. Apple's solution, which prioritizes the most recently tapped app on the external display, inadvertently breaks the core functionality that made iPads valuable for live teaching and professional presentations, forcing users to choose between full presentation visibility or the ability to manage other necessary applications.

The issue has drawn criticism from educators and presenters, highlighting a critical need for Apple to address this flaw, potentially by reinstating presenter app precedence on external displays. The current behavior, where any interaction snaps the external display to the main iPad interface, renders the device unreliable for situations demanding discreet multitasking. This oversight not only affects individual users but also raises questions about Apple's commitment to supporting professional workflows on the iPad, prompting users to consider alternative devices or older operating system versions until a resolution is provided.