Table of contents for Issue 25 in iPad User Magazine

The recent launch of Apple’s iPad Pro marks a big departure for the company… in more ways than one. As its name suggests, the Pro – with its massive display – is intended to effectively replace, and perhaps even better, traditional laptop computers. Does it succeed in this? And how important are the two optional accessories launched alongside it, the Pencil and the Smart Keyboard? You can find out in our in-depth reviews this issue. Of course, you don’t need a top-of-the-line iPad Pro to be able to use your tablet to the full. In this issue we’ll show you how to do a variety of things with the latest version of iOS – including a guide to extensions, one of the most useful but perhaps lesser-known recent additions. We’ll…

SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU’LL NEED iPad, iOS 9 Before iOS 6, the iPad got its maps from Google by default – but then Apple ditched its rival in favour of its own service, which got off to a shaky start (thanks to some initially inaccurate data and some wonky 3D). However, since then it has steadily improved and now offers some useful features, notably satnav-style turn-by-turn navigation. You still don’t get the Street View feature which is part of Google Maps, but if you want it, you can simply install Google’s own app – it’s a totally free download from the App Store. Here we’ll look at the main features of Apple’s Maps app. One thing to note is that the search…

Extensions mean you aren’t reliant on Apple adding support for new social networks SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU’LL NEED iPad, iOS 9, an app that provides a Share or Action extension Along-standing complaint about iOS is the tight degree of control that Apple exercises over what apps are able to do. Those restrictions have been relaxed in iOS 9 to allow apps to extend the system’s capabilities in carefully defined ways. This means you aren’t reliant on Apple adding support for a particular social network to be able to share something directly to it, and kludgy workarounds such as special bookmarklets that send a web page to an online service are no longer necessary. Extensions enable photo-editing apps to make filters and tools…

SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it IT WILL TAKE A couple of minutes YOU’LL NEED iPad, iOS 9 Like peppering your Facebook posts, tweets or Messages conversations with smiley faces and other illustrative symbols? If so, you’ll be pleased to see that iOS 9 comes with emoji images built-in. They’re available from an extra keyboard containing hundreds of graphical symbols – everything from straightforward smiley faces to animals, weather symbols, seasonal figures, buildings and various symbols. If you’re struggling to express yourself with words, then take a trip to the emoji keyboard to see if a colourful graphic can better convey your message. (Or if you decide you don’t want it, you can remove it by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and tapping Edit.) Sometimes it…

SKILL LEVEL Taking things further IT WILL TAKE 20 minutes to get started YOU’LL NEED iPad, iOS 9, some photos, optionally some apps with photo-editing extensions Your iPad’s camera can be used to take amazing shots, but the fun doesn’t end in the Camera app: you can apply a variety of adjustments and effects to live up your snaps using iOS 8’s dedicated Photos app. The tools you’re likely to use most often are crop-and-rotate and, for portraits, Remove Red-Eye. The Auto Adjust option is also handy: one tap can improve many images. For more control you’ll want to get to know the new adjustment options. In Photos, you can manually adjust Light and Colour, and create custom mono conversions. There are also a range of photo filter effects, but…

£79 Manufacturer Apple, apple.com Connectivity Bluetooth Charging Lightning connector Includes One extra tip Apple isn’t the first company to make a pressure-sensitive iPad stylus, but as is often the case, now it has finally made one, it is probably the best iPad stylus you can buy. Developed specifically for the iPad Pro, the Pencil connects using Bluetooth and transmits a signal back and forth 240 times a second, so there’s almost no perceptible lag when drawing. For many digital artists this potentially resolves the issue of latency, which has held back other styluses from being truly exceptional – and, when combined with a phenomenal degree of accuracy on the Pro’s supersized screen, means your artwork is able to look better than ever before. The Pencil feels great to use in…