At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) taking place in San Francisco this week, Apple on Monday announced a number of new features in iOS 9 that deliver multitasking to the iPad and aims to make it simpler to use.

First up is the new Shortcut Bar that displays actions tailored to the app a user is in, making typing faster and easier, claims Apple. Also in the “ease of use” category are new Multi-Touch gestures that makes selecting and editing text easier – one example is to drag two fingers to move the selector around inside a block of text.

Among the multitasking features added for iPad in iOS 9 is a new Slide Over feature that allows a user to work in a second app without exiting the first. Along with this, a new Split View feature (pictured above) lets users view and use two apps side-by-side. Both apps remain responsive and can be resized on-screen using a slider.

According to Apple, developers that have utilized auto-layout in their app designs will only have to make small changes to their app to make use of the new Slide Over and Slit View features. Apple claims it took Twitter very little time to get its app working with the new functionality in iOS 9.

Staying with multitasking, iOS 9 on iPad also brings Picture-in-Picture viewing that lets users continue a FaceTime call or even watch a video while using another app.

A new mode will also allow you to watch videos in a picture-in-picture style view, so you can use other apps and still watch the video you had open.

While Slide Over and Split View will only be available for iPad Air 2, older generations of iPad and iPad mini will get support for Slide Over, allowing users to slide in a smaller version of a second app from the side of the screen. Slide Over will also be available on iPad Air 2.

Other iOS 9 features introduced by Apple at WWDC include intelligent and proactive search and improved Siri features, as well public transit information for a host of cities worldwide and a new reading app, called News.

Image via apple.com