iPads are powerful and versatile devices, but they can easily be underestimated. Apple likes to hide complexity under a surface of simplicity, and getting the most out of your iPad may not be as easy as you might think. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 10 essential tips and tricks for iPad owners that will provide handy advice for anyone trying one of Apple’s tablets for the first time – and might even teach power users a gem they weren’t aware of.
Go back and refresh
Right off the bat, there are two gestures every iPad owner should know: tap to return to the top of the screen and pull to refresh the current page. Like the iPhone, they don’t apply to every single app, but they pop up so often and are so useful when they do that it’s always worth giving them a try.
If you’ve scrolled down a web page, a list of options, or any other long-running screen, a single tap at the top of the screen will likely take you right back to the beginning. (This is so useful that we’ve long argued that it should be available on the Mac.) Dragging the screen down for a second or so will refresh the page, usually showing web pages and apps with updated content like Twitter .
The control center
Swipe down from the top right corner of the iPad’s screen and you’ll see the Control Center. You know it from the iPhone and it’s just as useful here – a handy place to access some of the most commonly used toggles and controls, such as screen brightness, airplane mode, do not disturb, focus modes and orientation lock.
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The top switches are set in stone, but you can choose what appears below. Go to Settings > Control Center to see a list of “included controls” (tap the red “minus” icon to remove one of them) and “More controls” (tap the green “plus” icon to add one to add).
Everything everywhere at once
The iPad’s large screen is great for multitasking, and Apple offers a few different ways to do it on the iPad. Tap the three-dot multitasking button in the top center of any supported app and you’ll open the multitasking menu, which has three options. The top option is to keep your app in full screen, the middle option is Split View which lets you open other apps besides the one you have open, and the bottom one is Slide Over which changes the app you have open to a smaller floating window and lets you open a new app behind it.
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There’s a third multitasking mode called Picture in Picture that lets you watch a video while doing something else. While using a video-based app like YouTube, look for an icon with two overlapping rectangles with an arrow pointing down and to the right; this causes the video to float above other apps. (If it doesn’t work, go to Settings General > Picture in picture and turn on the Start PiP Automatically switch.)
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Finally, there’s Apple’s latest and most advanced multitasking interface, Stage Manager, which is only for select iPad Pro and iPad Air models that support the feature. Stage Manager works similarly to how it works on macOS Ventura by resizing the current app as a floating window and displaying the dock at the bottom of the screen and recent apps on the left. You can tap on one of the app windows to switch to it or drag it out to have both on screen at the same time. To enable Stage Manager, open the Control Center and tap the icon with three vertical dots next to a rectangle.
Minimize distractions
Your iPad should be at your service, not the other way around. To avoid constant distractions, you can customize your notifications by going to Settings > notifications and reducing things to the essentials. Use the most discreet alerts whenever possible, and we recommend avoiding sounds except for apps you really need to respond to immediately. Think of your iPad as your Mac: you want to keep working or gaming uninterrupted for as long as possible.
Limit screen time
While in Settings, go to the Screen Time page to monitor your daily usage and set limits on how long the iPad or specific apps can be used without entering a special code. This can help reduce eye strain, improve sleep patterns, and free up time for activities away from a screen.
This is especially useful if you generously gave an iPad to a child. Set Downtime to limit usage to a specific period of time during the day: remember to start this when they need to turn on the iPad from and end when they are allowed to use the iPad again. You can also specify certain apps (maybe messages or something educational) that are always allowed, block inappropriate content, and limit who the user can contact.
Learn to focus
There will be times when you want to use the iPad (or at least have the iPad turned on and available), but in a specific and limited way. There are many such options under Settings> Focus menu.
Do Not Disturb is self-explanatory: it blocks messages, video calls, and notifications except for certain apps and contacts, but it’s worth noting that you can set a schedule or automation for when it’s triggered. Sleep is similar but tied to the sleep schedule on your iPhone, and Driving does the same for your iPhone’s vehicle trigger (like when you connect to CarPlay).
But it doesn’t stop there. You can also schedule or manually activate fitness, work, and personal modes, and in any case specify allowed apps and contacts, notification settings, and even specify a custom home page to display.
Clean up your home screen
Tap and hold anywhere on your iPad’s home screen and after a few seconds you’ll enter edit mode. (If you’ve tapped and held an app icon, you’ll need to select “Edit Home Screen” from the pop-up menu first.) From here you can move app icons, including those in the dock at the bottom of the screen, and delete or uninstall apps you don’t want anymore.
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Note that there is a difference between removing an app from the home screen and actually removing it. These days, an app can stay on your iPad without its icon appearing on a home screen, and you can delete entire pages of apps in an instant. You use the App Library just like on the iPhone, but it is even more convenient on the large screen of the iPad. If you uninstall apps, you can use Spotlight search (swipe down from the center of the screen) or go to the app library located to the right of your last home screen page to find them.
Customize your home screen
While in edit mode, tap the “plus” symbol in the top left to open the widgets menu. From here you can search for and select from a huge range of mini apps to place on your home screens: the weather for a selected area, the time in multiple zones, recently played albums or Apple TV shows, a summary of Reminders or upcoming Calendar events, and so on.
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Once you’ve chosen a widget, you’ll likely be given a choice of styles and sizes, so consider how much information you’ll need and how much space you’re willing to allow it to take up. They’re a bit limited by the grid, but widgets are still a great way to get bits of information without having to constantly open apps.
Protect your privacy
Apple’s reputation as a pro-privacy tech company took a hit this year, but the iPad is still a great choice if you want to protect your data, habits, and personal details. Go to Settings > Privacy and security to fine-tune your setup.
The list of privacy settings here isn’t organized by app (a list of which would be overwhelming), but by what the apps are requesting access to. Select Camerafor example, and you will see a list of all the apps that currently have access to it and you can tap the green switch to deny this access from now on.
Pay particular attention to the To follow entrance near the top. This is for apps that have asked to track your activity in other apps and websites. We routinely decline this request (and recommend turning off the global “Allow apps to track” toggle), but this menu makes it easy to retroactively revoke the permission.
Improve your keyboard
The keyboard of the iPad takes up a lot of screen space, especially in landscape mode. To shrink it down to a more manageable size, pinch in with two fingers (the same gesture you would use to zoom out of an image). The smaller floating keyboard can be placed anywhere on the screen, just use the bar at the bottom to move it. If you want to go back to the full keyboard, do a “pinch” with two fingers.
A third option is the split keyboard, but note that not all iPad models support this feature. Go to to enable it Keyboard Settings (either via Settings > General > Keyboard or by pressing and holding the emoji key) and toggle Split keyboard to On.
Finally, and perhaps most useful of all, your iPad’s on-screen keyboard can double as a trackpad. Tap and hold the keyboard with two fingers and the keys will all be grayed out. and a cursor appears in the text Then move your fingers to control the cursor and find the text you want to edit. Hold still for about a second and the cursor will change shape to indicate that you are now in text selection mode.
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