iPadOS 15's multitasking changes are a great example of why user experiences are generally better when their interface has proper affordances. There are some minor functionality additions in 15 but most of the differences serve to make multitasking more obvious and accessible to users.
\nAffordance is a part of a thing that implies how that thing can be used. For example, the type of handle on a door is different depending on whether you need to push or pull it. Affordances exist everywhere in the real world and good user interfaces leverage this concept to make naturally less intuitive digital things easier to interact with.
\niPadOS's multitasking features have—up till now—been purely gesture-based, which meant there was no easy way to discover them. iPadOS 15 corrects this misstep by offering a new set of discrete buttons that reveal the multitasking options on tap or click. Simply making these features discoverable for less experienced users and more accessible for all users is a seemingly small yet high impact change.
\nI wanted more from iPadOS's multitasking but I've found the improved affordance makes these features more enjoyable to use. Being more enjoyable makes it more likely that I'll use them in a given situation. Additionally, by simplifying access to multitasking, it opened up opportunities to objectively improve the overall experience. The ability to select any app when you begin a multitasking workflow was sorely needed, but doing so previously, with only gestures, would have required an even more esoteric combination of swipes and drags.
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