The big iPad - undivided characteristic ( like the Dock ) first protrude appearing iniOS 11 , and now Apple ’s tablets have a whole separate nomadic operating system to call their own . To mark the debut of iPadOS , which commence on reading 13 for continuity ’s sake , here are the dependable features you’re able to use on an iPad but not an iPhone .

Add widgets to the home screen

iPadOS becomes Android ! Sort of . With a swipe to the rightfield on the home screen , you may bring the Today View widgets into view , and keep them there , if you want — just toggle the replacement under Home Screen Layout on the Display & Brightness tab of options .

you’re able to have iPadOS show small or braggy icon on the home projection screen as well , depending on how you desire to habituate all that iPad filmdom blank space : Just prefer More or Bigger under Home Screen Layout on the same configurations pill . Widgets ca n’t be immobilize to the home screen in the cock-a-hoop modal value , but they can still be consider with a swipe to the right .

Use your iPad as a second display

iPadOS and a novel feature called Sidecar allow an iPad to be used as a wired or wireless secondary video display ( complete with softwareTouch Bar ) for any Mac campaign macOS Catalina — you could even employ the Apple Pencil as a improvised trackpad or mouse on your iPad when in Sidecar style . The easy way to launch Sidecar , once your iPad and Mac are on the same wifi web or connected together , is to open up the AirPlay devices heel from the macOS menu .

The Dock was around before iPadOS , but it remains one of the secure iPad - only feature — a Mac - style navigation stripe for set up apps and accessing the various multitasking options in iPadOS .

Long pressure on an app ikon , then take Rearrange apps and drag in the icon down to the bottom of the screen to pin it to the Dock . The Dock is always seeable on the home screens and can be brought up when hidden with a quick swipe up from the bottom of the display .

With iPadOS , you could produce folders of app icons as well , just as you would on one of the nursing home filmdom — drag one app on top of another to create a folder .

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Image: Apple

Run apps in Split View

The Dock is also the Francis Scott Key to Split View : With one app on screen , strike and drag out another app image to the left or the right - hand edge of the display , then use the dark Browning automatic rifle in between the two apps to decide what sort of screen break up you want to have .

Certain apps , including Notes , Mail , and Safari , now digest multiple window . strain dragging a distinction entry , or an email conversation , or a Safari tab over to the side of the CRT screen , and you ’ll see Split View is enabled — very handy if , for example , you ’re trying to take notes from two webpages at once .

Run apps in Slide Over

lantern slide Over gets some extra multitasking abilities in iPadOS . you may drag out an app up from the Dock to the right or leave ( but not quite the edge of the screen ) to put it into Slide Over modality , as before . Yet now a swipe up on the Slide Over sidebar brings up all the apps you ’ve latterly used in this mode . To switch speedily between the two most latterly used Slide Over apps , swipe across the barroom at the bottom .

Make use of drag and drop

When you ’ve catch all your apps up in multiple windows , side by side — squint your eyes and it ’s almost like you ’re using a laptop computer — you’re able to hale and miss pictures and liaison from one app to another . Tap and hold on something you desire to transfer , then move it over to the app on the other side of the covert .

Move the keyboard

With iPadOS , you’re able to pick up and drag out the keyboard , then put it wherever you require on cover . Use a two - finger’s breadth pinch to make the keyboard portable , then a two - finger puff - and - drop ( or the bar at the bottom ) to move it around , then a two - fingerbreadth expand motion to put the keyboard back where it was again .

Browse files in column view

The Files app on iPadOS plump for more views than the Files app on iPhone : When you ’re inside a folder , sweep down from the top good - hand corner of that folder ( not the screen as a whole ) to bring out more display pick . you’re able to pick from grid , lean , and pillar views , with that last one make it much easy to dive deep into several subfolders on your iPad .

The column view also actuate a window on the far rightfulness of the interface that preview certain file types , including figure and some document . When one of these file is selected , iPadOS lets you get at sure quick actions too — turn out or annotating range of a function , for example .

Browse websites in desktop mode

One of the biggest difference between using a laptop computer and using an iPad is that you do n’t get the full desktop web experience with Apple tablets . Apple is render to do something about that by append a desktop mode to Safari on iPadOS .

While it ’s not perfect — Apple is applying some under - the - hood magic to get desktop sites looking well in iPadOS Safari , and the deficiency of a repoint twist is keenly feel on some site — it works well for internet site like Google Docs and WordPress .

Use the Apple Pencil

you may use the Apple Pencil as a topnotch - accurate , super - sensitive style on the iPad ; you cannot , as yet , apply it with the iPhone .

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