OnePlus Open’s excellent ‘Open Canvas’ multitasking is coming to OnePlus Pad

Ben Schoon | Nov 2 2023 - 9:50 am PT

Multitasking on Android has always been pretty useful, but attempts to move beyond two apps at once have often proved a bit clunky. With the OnePlus Open, the “Open Canvas” multitasking system was launched with a truly powerful way to use multiple apps at once, and now that’s coming to the OnePlus Pad.

“Open Canvas” takes a different approach to multitasking than Android usually does. Instead of just splitting the space, the system lets apps expand just off-screen. If you have, say, a web browser and a messaging app, they can both be in fullscreen forms but move back and forth when you need them. Or you have two apps split the screen, with a third in fullscreen just a swipe or tap away.

It’s a pretty wild concept and one that works exceptionally well as we said in our initial hands-on with OnePlus Open.

You can put two apps side by side and then add a third that sits just offscreen. Tapping the edge of the app moves it back into view, whether to put it side-by-side with another app or take up the full display. In action, “Open Canvas” on the OnePlus Open is the most fluid and useful multitasking I’ve experienced on a smartphone or tablet. It’s seriously that good.

See below for a quick demo because it’s actually rather difficult to explain the system without showing it.

Background aside, the news today is that OnePlus has confirmed that Open Canvas is coming to the OnePlus Pad.

OnePlus confirmed on Reddit during an AMA that it is “working on” bringing Open Canvas to the OnePlus Pad, but there’s no word on exactly when that will happen. The confirmation was first spotted by OnePlus tipster @1NormalUsername.

This is certainly good news, as this system would only prove more useful on the Pad’s bigger screen and would definitely be a perk to the otherwise pretty barren multitasking software on that tablet.