While you may only use you to watch your favorite Netflix series, Apple's tablet can do nearly everything your laptop can do. If it's been a while since you've tried to push the iPad to its limits, it's time to give it another shot. Recent software updates, including the just-released, have added new features like an improved Safari browser, better multitasking, and even trackpad support.
With all of these new features -- and many of us now find ourselves working from home during the -- it may be time to turn to your iPad a. Below are five features that will help you get the most out of your iPad and its latest software.
Gesture control
Getting around the iPad isn't as simple as pressing the home button or swiping up from the bottom of the screen anymore.
In iPadOS, Apple has added several new multitasking gestures for doing things like using multiple apps at the same time, quickly switching between apps, and resizing apps. By our count, there are.
For example, you can now quickly switch between apps you have open in Slide Over with a simple swipe across the button of the app. And you're not locked into using Split View apps in a 50/50 arrangement -- you can adjust their window sizes.
Multi-window apps
After you master gestures, the next thing you should learn: Which apps you can use in multiple windows.
Similar to having two or three different Chrome windows open on your PC or Mac, you can now do that on the iPad with apps that support iPadOS. Safari is one app that I find myself using a lot with multiple windows on my ($700 at Best Buy).
What it means is that you can use Mail and Safari side-by-side in split-view, and then have another instance of Safari open on its own, with several tabs, at the same time that you have Apple Notes and Safari next to each other in another window. Safari isn't the only app that allows for multiple windows -- most of Apple's own apps like Notes, Mail and Messages, support it.
There are several different ways to open an app in multiple windows, but the easiest is to drag and drop an app's icon onto another app.
The easiest way to figure out if an app supports multiple windows is to long-press on the app icon, and look at the pop-up menu for a "Show all windows" option.
Speaking of Safari...
iPadOS brings with it a desktop-class version of Safari. This is a pretty big deal, and will open up the potential to use websites like Docs or Wordpress on the iPad. It also means that you should have fewer issues with websites properly loading, and instead of seeing mobile websites designed for use on a phone, you'll see the desktop version of a site load by default.
The new Safari also has a dedicated download manager, site-specific settings, and more tools for managing open tabs. In other words, Safari for iPad (and ($699 at Apple)) has grown up. Follow along as we .
Access thumb drives or full-out hard drives in the Files app.
You can now use external storage
The Files app in iPadOS 13 (and iOS 13, for that matter) is able to show you files and documents stored on an external storage device. So, you can connect devices such as a USB thumb drive, SSD, or external hard drive to your iPad, open the Files app, and move documents around as you would on a computer.
But in order to do that, you'll most likely need an adapter. The most recent iPad Pro's have a USB-C connector for charging and accessories, while the rest of the iPad lineup still uses Lightning ports.
Use something like the to attach thumb drives, but you'll need something like the to connect storage devices that require power, such as some SSD drives or external hard drives. If you're just wanting to connect an SD card from your camera, the will suffice.
Apple also offers the same adapters, but for Lightning devices. There's an adapter, adapter, and a.
With the appropriate adapter, connect a storage device to your iPad, open the Files app, and look for the device's name to show up in the Locations section. Select the device to access the files and folders.
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