Table of contents for Issue 52 in iPad User Magazine

From day one, Apple has been keen to position the iPad as closer in nature to a computer than an iPhone. And with its extra screen space – especially on the larger models – it was great when Apple introduced multitasking to iOS. It’s possible to use two apps side by side (Split View), and have one in a floating panel on top (Slide Over), though you’ll need a suitable device: an iPad Pro, 5th-gen or later iPad, iPad Air or Air 2, or iPad mini 2 or later. You can also play video atop other apps, and run two instances of Safari at once – useful when making comparisons. 1 Try Slide Over When in an app, drag the Dock upwards and stop when it’s fully in place (don’t…

1 Smart Invert Accessibility features in iOS are in Settings > General > Accessibility. In Display Accommodations > Invert Colours, Smart Invert is like a dark mode. In some apps (Safari, Photos) image content is deliberately unaffected by this. 2 Adjust the white point You can, of course, reduce your screen’s brightness from Control Centre. Reduce White Point (also in Display Accommodations) is subtly different. It reduces the intensity of bright colours, which may help if you get eye strain. 3 Use the magnifier Turn on Magnifier (in Accessibility > Vision). Triple-click the Side/ Home button to use the camera to magnify what it’s pointing at. Tap the padlock to lock focus, or the shutter to freeze the view. Hold a finger on the pic to save it. 4 Larger…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to use masks and Instant Alpha YOU’LL NEED Pages, some photos to import Calling Pages a word processor is like calling Everest a hill: it’s a bit more than that. You can create complex, professional-looking layouts rapidly, and there are clever tools for adding and using images. In this tutorial we’re going to focus on two particularly useful tools: masking, which enables you to fit a photograph into any shape you like, and Instant Alpha, which can turn a specified colour transparent. The former is great for creating interesting layouts and effects, while the latter is really useful for removing backgrounds. Both of these tools work well with Pages’ text wrapping: if you remove the background, Pages forms the text around…

1 Open your image Tap the icon of an image in the top-left corner of the screen – this takes you to the library of images you’ve worked on in Pixaloop. Tap the orange banner at the top to access your photos, and choose one to import it. 2 Adding Paths Tap the ‘Animate’ option at the bottom, then the ‘Paths’ option. Draw a line with your finger to create a Path – make it one that follows logical movement within the image. You’ll see a dotted line appear: it’s your Path. 3 Test what you’ve made Tap the Play button at the bottom-right corner of the image to see what effect your Path will have. Tap it again to stop, though you can add more Paths (and Anchors –…

IT WILL TAKE At least 45 minutes YOU WILL LEARN Key things to think about in establishing your podcast, and the basics of Anchor YOU’LL NEED An iOS 10 device, Anchor, an internet connection, and a microphone The greatest thing about this setup is that Anchor is free Once upon a time, the iPad was thought to be a content consumption device, but that perception has changed in the  last couple of years. A great example of this is Anchor’s update from June, which enables you to record, polish and publish a podcast entirely from your iPad. Everyone has a topic they love to talk about, and with Anchor installed on your iPad we’ll show you how to record and publish your very own podcast. The absolute minimum you need…

There’s a ‘what you see is what you get’ reputation to the iPad and iPhone. Although they are more locked down than PCs or Macs, that doesn’t mean they’re devoid of settings for fine-tuning your experience. In fact, there’s quite a lot of customisation on offer – provided you know where to look. We’ll show you various options for doing this throughout the rest of this feature. On this page, we’ll primarily concentrate on the Home screen, Dock, Spotlight searches and Control Centre. As ever, explore and experiment to make your iOS device just right for your needs. Master the basics 1 Arrange your apps Hold a finger on an app on the Home screen until they all jiggle, then drag and drop to rearrange them. Drag one onto another…

IT WILL TAKE 20 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to create and customise 3D charts YOU’LL NEED Some numbers in Numbers! We humans are a visual species: we process visual information much more quickly than textual or numerical data. That’s very obvious with financial and statistical data, where a decent chart can often get the message – “everything is brilliant!” or “we’re doomed!” – across much more effectively than a densely packed table of numbers. When we say a “decent” chart we mean a chart that’s visually appealing as well as numerically accurate. Numbers is particularly good at creating those thanks to Apple’s graphics engine, which uses realistic textures and lighting effects to produce charts that look superb. Those charts are incredibly customisable too, so for example if you use…

1 Start from the Lock screen Add the Notes item in Settings > Control Centre > Customise Controls, and check in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode that Control Centre is available when locked. Note: a long/ firm press of the button offers extra options. 2 Start with Apple Pencil Starting or continuing a note from the Lock screen is even easier on iPad if you have an Apple Pencil. Simply tap its nib on the Lock screen. You don’t even have to unlock using your passcode or fingerprint first. 3 Choose what you start with Do this in Settings > Notes > Access Notes from Lock Screen. You may want a new note every time, or to resume either the last note created from the Lock screen, or viewed…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to browse Reddit using Apollo YOU’LL NEED iOS 10 or later, Apollo Reddit calls itself “the front page of the internet”, and there’s certainly no shortage of stuff to read on the website.  The site is divided into sections (‘subreddits’), each of which is a forum full of threads and topics. From Apple discussion to adorable dog videos, if you can imagine it, there’s probably a subreddit for it. Despite that, reading Reddit topics in Safari or the Reddit app on your iPad can be less than satisfactory – and that’s where Apollo comes in. Developed by a former Apple engineer, Apollo is a fantastic way to read about subjects you love on your iOS device. Apollo combines ease of use…

The Files app is like iOS’s version of the Mac’s Finder. It is split between Recents and Browse tabs. The former lists recently opened and shared docs. The latter provides a traditional file browsing experience. In the Browse tab, tap Edit above the Locations list, then tap switches to integrate relevant installed third-party apps with Files. Examples include cloud storage providers Dropbox and Google Drive, productivity apps like PDF Expert and Yoink, and FileBrowser, which can access computers on your local network (to access shared folders on your Mac) and remote servers (FTP and so on). Manage favourites In the file browser on the right, tap a download icon to store a file locally, or tap the file itself to preview it (if possible on iOS). Hold a finger on…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN Speedy ways to create notes and find them again later on YOU’LL NEED iOS 12 (most steps work on older versions) You may be wondering why you should bother with Apple’s Notes app on iOS when there are so many great alternatives  on the App Store. Well, a key reason to use it in addition to them (not necessarily instead) is that Notes’ integration with the Lock screen means you’re at most just a tap and a swipe away from jotting down something important. If you’ve paired an Apple Pencil with your iPad, the process is even faster. Even better, what you write with it is made searchable using the command in our walkthrough’s final step. That said, we find Notes’ handwriting…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to make parts of still photos look animated YOU’LL NEED Enlight Pixaloop app (free), iOS 10 or later, some images The still photographic image has done us pretty well over last 180-ish years, but one interesting trick of the form is to try to add movement – catching the blur of travelling, the rush of a waterfall, the streak of stars, or the roiling of a turbulent sea. What if you could take a still photo and add actual movement to those elements, through clever animation techniques, that add to the evocative feeling? That’s the principle behind Enlight Pixaloop. You can import a photo, draw Paths that twist and turn, and the app will morph the image to make it look…

We love the free version of Apollo, but its paid-for Pro edition has even more on offer. Some are subtle improvements, such as setting a default subreddit to load or an automatic dark mode that changes based on the time of day. Others give you more power, like the ability to add custom gestures and multiple accounts. Apollo Pro lets you log in with Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode, and it even gives you custom app icons. Unlocking these features and more requires a one-off ‘donation’ of either £2.99, £4.99 or £9.99 – it’s up to you which you pay.…

JBL Everest Elite 150NC ★★★★ £179 jbl.com These Bluetooth headphones are packed with features, but that means they command a premium price. They provide a really excellent sound stage, and you can feel the range with every single note. The adaptive noise cancelling scores them a stack of extra marks. It’s dead quiet until you choose to let sound in, and when you do, it avoids the robotic sound that often plagues some ANC options. ANC does hit the battery, shaving around two hours off the usual 14-hour runtime. Insta360 ONE X camera bundle ★★★★★ £449 insta360.com For shooting 360° ‘virtual reality’ photos and videos, Insta360’s new ONE X is the latest in this field, and comes in a bundle containing everything you need, including a monopod and a bullet-time…