4 adjustments I make instantly on a brand new iPad

If you happen to hand around in Reddit tech boards for any size of time, you may inevitably see plenty of repeat posts. Within the Apple Watch subreddit, for instance, newcomers are usually asking if a selected dimension is simply too massive, or cease watchOS from switching to the Smart Stack view. A few of this may be blamed on folks not looking out by way of previous threads — different issues may be blamed on the character of the product itself.

Within the iPad subreddit, many individuals prefer to announce that they’ve purchased their first iPad by asking for suggestions. Whereas they is likely to be overly excited, bragging even, I’ve some sympathy for them — iPadOS is not probably the most intuitive software program for those who’re coming from a Mac or Home windows PC, and even an iPhone.

These are a few of the issues I modify each time I am establishing a contemporary iPad. Understand that the software program is about to alter radically — within the fall, iPadOS 26 is poised to make it extra Mac-like. At the very least a few of these tweaks ought to stay related, fortunately.

1

Activating Extra House mode

Why is not this on by default?

If you happen to want proof that Apple wasn’t actually involved about iPads serving as laptop computer replacements till just lately, look no additional than the Extra House choice, situated underneath Settings -> Show & Brightness -> Show Zoom. In truth, for those who’ve already arrange your new iPad, go forward and check out it sight unseen — you may be shocked by the distinction.

For these of you who haven’t got an iPad helpful, Extra House shrinks the scale of fonts and numerous interface parts to suit extra content material onscreen. It might make an enormous distinction to usability. In the course of the workday, the choice lets me run three iPhone-sized apps on my iPad Professional — and that is on an 11-inch display. If I wished to make my iPad my main writing machine, I merely could not do it with out Extra House creating sufficient room to run two decently-sized browser home windows.

There’s a tradeoff, after all. In case your imaginative and prescient is not the perfect, Extra House can probably make issues more durable to learn — however you’ll be able to at all times alter textual content dimension independently to compensate.

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2

Switching to Stage Supervisor

No exterior show vital

iPadOS 26 will introduce a brand new multitasking system that might make Stage Supervisor irrelevant for many individuals, however in iPadOS 18, the function is important in order for you your iPad to behave extra like a “actual” laptop. It allows extra management over positioning and resizing home windows than the split-screen system, and for those who’ve received an iPad with an M-series processor, it enables you to push some home windows to an exterior monitor whereas maintaining others in your iPad display. Voilà, a real multi-monitor workspace.

One other profit is Dock entry. If you happen to dimension all of your home windows in a method that leaves room on the backside of the show, you’ll be able to preserve the Dock completely onscreen, similar to macOS. That makes it far simpler to open or swap apps, significantly because the Dock contains an App Library icon. As soon as you’ve got cleared sufficient room, do a really quick swipe up from the underside of your display to make the Dock seem.

To get every little thing going, head to Settings -> Multitasking & Gestures and choose Stage Supervisor. You may toggle the Dock on or off as nicely, however I nearly assure you may need to depart it on.

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Stopping an terrible waste of area

On an iPad, there’s actually little level in filling your homescreen with app icons, in contrast to an iPhone. The Dock makes launching your most necessary apps a snap, and if that is not ample, the mix of Highlight search and a keyboard makes it straightforward to seek out apps by title.

As a substitute, the perfect use of the homescreen is filling it with widgets for at-a-glance data. On my iPad Professional’s homescreen, I’ve widgets for my calendar, a seven-day climate forecast, and the battery standing of related units. That is simply scratching the floor — you may, as an example, add a Information widget making it easier to open current paperwork, or a Reminders checklist exhibiting upcoming duties. Many third-party apps have their very own widgets, such because the information tickers supplied by Reuters and the Washington Put up.

You may add widgets to your individual homescreen by tapping and holding on an empty area. When icons begin to jiggle, faucet Edit within the upper-left nook, then Add Widget. Keep in mind that some apps have a number of widgets you’ll be able to swipe by way of, typically in several sizes — one outsized Calendar widget, as an example, will present you most or all your upcoming occasions for the subsequent a number of days.

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4

Disabling or limiting Auto-Lock

Be aware of your safety scenario, although

By default, iPads are set to auto-lock after a couple of minutes. If you happen to’ve received a passcode (and/or Face ID or Contact ID) enabled, this may generally be a helpful anti-theft measure, making it more durable for thieves to entry your information in the event that they ambush you. With or with out safety, the function can save energy for those who’re vulnerable to wandering away whereas a tool remains to be operating.

Auto-lock is just not solely pointless in plenty of circumstances, nevertheless, however one other hindrance to utilizing an iPad like a pc. Once I’m not touring, my iPad Professional often serves as a secondary show, letting me preserve tabs on music, chats, widgets, and sensible dwelling controls with out losing area on my laptop computer. Auto-lock would make this impractical, forcing me to faucet or swipe on my iPad each jiffy, or at the least stare at its Face ID digital camera. Think about in case your Mac locked in the course of studying a information article or analysis paper — you would not put up with that for lengthy both.

Go to Settings -> Show & Brightness -> Auto-Lock. If you’d like some type of failsafe, you’ll be able to select a delay as much as quarter-hour, however I might strongly recommend selecting By no means. Hitting the Sleep/Wake button in your iPad is not troublesome to recollect, and plenty of folio instances (just like the Magic Keyboard) will lock your iPad for you if you shut them. There’s simply no purpose to have Auto-Lock caught at two to 5 minutes except you are the type who likes to learn in your iPad in subways or public parks.

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