4 modifications I make instantly on a brand new iP...

When you hand around in Reddit tech boards for any size of time, you will inevitably see a whole lot of repeat posts. Within the Apple Watch subreddit, for instance, newcomers are commonly asking if a specific measurement is simply too massive, or easy methods to cease watchOS from switching to the Smart Stack view. A few of this may be blamed on individuals not looking by way of previous threads — different issues might be blamed on the character of the product itself.

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

These are a number of the issues I alter at any time when I am establishing a recent iPad. Take into account that the software program is about to vary radically — within the fall, iPadOS 26 is poised to make it extra Mac-like. Not less than a few of these tweaks ought to stay related, fortunately.

1

Activating Extra House mode

Why is not this on by default?

When you 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 possibility, situated below Settings -> Show & Brightness -> Show Zoom. Actually, should you’ve already arrange your new iPad, go forward and check out it sight unseen — you will be shocked by the distinction.

For these of you who do not have an iPad useful, Extra House shrinks the scale of fonts and varied interface components to suit extra content material onscreen. It may make an enormous distinction to usability. Through the workday, the choice lets me run three iPhone-sized apps on my iPad Professional — and that is on an 11-inch display screen. If I wished to make my iPad my main writing gadget, 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 very best, Extra House can doubtlessly make issues tougher to learn — however you possibly can all the time modify textual content measurement independently to compensate.

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2

Switching to Stage Supervisor

No exterior show mandatory

iPadOS 26 will introduce a brand new multitasking system that would make Stage Supervisor irrelevant for many individuals, however in iPadOS 18, the characteristic is important if you need 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 should you’ve received an iPad with an M-series processor, it allows you to push some home windows to an exterior monitor whereas preserving others in your iPad display screen. Voilà, a real multi-monitor workspace.

One other profit is Dock entry. When you measurement all of your home windows in a method that leaves room on the backside of the show, you possibly can preserve the Dock completely onscreen, identical to macOS. That makes it far simpler to open or swap apps, notably for the reason that Dock consists of an App Library icon. As soon as you have cleared sufficient room, do a really brief swipe up from the underside of your display screen to make the Dock seem.

To get every part going, head to Settings -> Multitasking & Gestures and choose Stage Supervisor. You may toggle the Dock on or off as nicely, however I just about assure you will need to go away 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 essential apps a snap, and if that is not enough, the mixture of Highlight search and a keyboard makes it straightforward to seek out apps by title.

As a substitute, the very best 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 would, as an illustration, add a Recordsdata widget making it less complicated to open current paperwork, or a Reminders record exhibiting upcoming duties. Many third-party apps have their very own widgets, such because the information tickers offered by Reuters and the Washington Publish.

You may add widgets to your personal homescreen by tapping and holding on an empty area. When icons begin to jiggle, faucet Edit within the upper-left nook, then Add Widget. Do not forget that some apps have a number of widgets you possibly can swipe by way of, typically in several sizes — one outsized Calendar widget, as an illustration, will present you most or your entire upcoming occasions for the following a number of days.

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4

Disabling or limiting Auto-Lock

Be conscious of your safety scenario, although

By default, iPads are set to auto-lock after a couple of minutes. When you’ve received a passcode (and/or Face ID or Contact ID) enabled, this may typically be a helpful anti-theft measure, making it harder for thieves to entry your knowledge in the event that they ambush you. With or with out safety, the characteristic can save energy should you’re liable to wandering away whereas a tool continues to be operating.

Auto-lock will not be solely pointless in a whole lot of circumstances, nonetheless, however one other hindrance to utilizing an iPad like a pc. After I’m not touring, my iPad Professional normally serves as a secondary show, letting me preserve tabs on music, chats, widgets, and good residence 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 couple of minutes, or not less than stare at its Face ID digicam. 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. In order for you some type of failsafe, you possibly can select a delay as much as quarter-hour, however I would strongly counsel selecting By no means. Hitting the Sleep/Wake button in your iPad is not troublesome to recollect, and lots of folio circumstances (just like the Magic Keyboard) will lock your iPad for you if you shut them. There’s simply no cause to have Auto-Lock caught at two to 5 minutes until you are the kind who likes to learn in your iPad in subways or public parks.

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