Table of contents for Issue 49 in iPad User Magazine

Back in the early days of iOS (or ‘iPhone OS’, as it was known then), each update was relatively simple. You got a few headline features – such as the ability to copy and paste, or multitask, or install apps – and a couple of new checkboxes in the Settings app, and that was it. These were exciting, but it was all relatively simple. Over the last decade of updates, the new versions of iOS have become complicated. There aren’t many big features that need adding any more – it’s all about the changes that make it easier to use your iPad or iPhone in more advanced ways. That’s why we’ve dug even deeper in to the changes iOS 12 brings, so you get the most out of every new…

Password practices often leave a lot to be desired, many of us reusing the same password in multiple places. If just one sites suffers a breach, you run the risk of those credentials being tried on other sites and services to gain access to even more of your information. So, iOS 12 does a few simple things to encourage you to adopt better habits. When creating an account on a website, iOS 11 would ask if you wanted it to create a secure password, but offered the option of cancelling and choosing your own. The difference in iOS 12 is subtle. The phrasing in its dialog tells you it has gone ahead and generated a strong password, though it doesn’t submit it to the website or app until you allow…

1 Find it in Settings Start by going to Settings > Siri & Search. At the top of this page are some new options. My Shortcuts (topmost) is where, later on, you’ll be able to manage all the shortcuts you set up. 2 Available shortcuts Under Suggested Shortcuts are a few actions it’s thought you might like to invoke with your voice. Tap All Shortcuts to see a bigger collection of actions your device has recognised you take. 3 Set your command Tap an action in either place, then tap the button to start recording and say the phrase you want to use. If Type to Siri is on, you’ll need to type, even if you sometimes speak to Siri using a headset.…

Look up passwords When you need to enter a password on a device that can’t use iCloud Keychain, say things like “Hey Siri, show my Netflix password”. This takes you to Settings > Passwords & Accounts and, after checking your identity, shows the requested credentials. Look up memories You can ask Siri to show photos of named people in your library, places, times, and even objects. For example, try “Hey Siri show photos of my dad”, “of dogs”, or “from last December”. Translate more Siri in iOS 12 is able to translate between more than 40 language pairs. Not sure if one you need is available? Just say “Translate” to Siri and it’ll return a list of the languages it works with.…

1 Share what you see You can share from any app that displays the Share icon, which is the box with a vertical arrow pointing upwards – it’s on the far right of Safari’s toolbar in the above screenshot. Tap it to see the share options available to you. 2 Decide what to do Swipe on the middle and bottom rows to see even more options. For example, we can share this recipe from Safari to Facebook, save it to iBooks, or post a link on Twitter. You’ll also see the option to create a PDF. 3 Rearrange the options Scroll to the far right of a row and tap More to show or hide items, and to reorder them so the most used are listed first. If you don’t…

1 Find your people You can use iCloud Drive to share files with multiple people. To do that, open the Files app, select a file – in this example we’re using a PDF – and tap the Share icon. You should now see Add People among the options in the bottom row. 2 Select the service Now you need to choose how you want to send your sharing invitation. Mail and Messages are the most likely options, but you can also send it using third-party apps, such as Facebook’s Messenger, if you have one installed. 3 Set the options Tap Share Options to specify whether the link that’s generated will work for anybody or just the specific people you’ve invited, and whether others can make changes to your document or…

1 Add a default transition To add a transition, place the playhead between two clips on the timeline. Tap the Add Clip + icon in the panel at the right of the timeline. Tap on Transition in the Add Clip window. A purple transition bar will appear between the two clips. 4 Add a fade If you drop a transition between two clips, it will cross fade between them. By dragging a Cross Dissolve transition to the start of the timeline, you can create a fade in from black. Pit a transition at the end of the timeline to fade out to black. 7 Modify text properties The components of the title preset appear as layers. You can tap the eye icon to toggle layers on and off. Tap a…

This is the time of year when your iOS devices get a raft of improvements and new features, thanks to a major software update. We’ve spent the summer months bearing with the beta versions of iOS 12, investigating fresh features and scouring for new settings and behaviours to bring you this comprehensive collection of tips. iOS 12 works on all the same devices as iOS 11, and Apple boldly claims that it delivers performance improvements to older devices, not just the latest ones. We’ll leave it up to you to determine the accuracy of Apple’s performance claims about iOS 12 being dramatically faster. But, we will say based on our time with iOS 12, other improvements bring enough benefits to consider this a great update. Check the apps and accessories…

The ability to mark up docs and images in any app where the Share sheet is available is immensely useful, but the tools were a little lacking in options – until now! 1 Line thickness After selecting one of the three drawing tools, tap on it a second time to reveal new options. There are five line thicknesses and an opacity slider. 2 Opacity reminder Sometimes you’ll see a tiny number displayed at the bottom of the selected tool’s graphic. That’s shown only when the tool is set to draw semi-transparent lines, reminding you to change that setting if it’s not what you want. 3 More colours! Do with your document, or maybe you want something that pops a bit more? You’re no longer limited to six colour presets. Tap…

Machine learning already makes your devices proactively helpful, a prime example being the app suggestions in Spotlight that save you searching. Your devices work out what to show there based on what you do and when. However, iOS 12 takes this to the next level by suggesting much more specific actions you can ask apps to do. If you often call someone, request a route and start a playlist on your way home, your device may recognise that. You’ll start to see shortcuts for things like these on the Lock screen and in Spotlight, saving you having to unlock your device and jump between apps. You can control where shortcuts appear under Siri Suggestions in Settings > Siri & Search – the Lock Screen item is new in iOS 12.…

1 Check data usage If you have a 4G iPad, it’s easy to work out which apps use the greatest amount of your mobile data allowance. In Settings > Mobile Data, they are sorted in order of usage, not by name, so you can identify hogs without scrolling through them all. 2 Search by lyrics Enter a snippet of lyrics in Music’s Search tab. No Apple Music subscription is needed to search its lyrics library, and you can be fairly inexact. So, ‘Looks like a limb torn off’ finds ‘It’s looking like a limb torn off’ in a Band of Horses song. 3 Podcasts playback Scroll down in Settings > Podcasts to find new settings for what happens when you tap the skip buttons during playback. You can choose from…

1 Select your photos In Photos, select some pictures, then open the Share sheet. The top row shows nearby Apple devices. If none are listed, check the recipient is set to receive from contacts or everyone (in Control Centre), and has Personal Hotspot turned off. 2 Send the photos To share using AirDrop, tap the device’s icon in the top row. Here we’ve shared with our iMac. A blue progress line goes around the icon while sending, then changes to “Sent” as confirmation. Other people have to accept receipt. 3 Use external apps iCloud can share individual files, but it can’t do it for whole folders. If you want to do that you’ll need to install the app for a third-party service such as Dropbox, which integrates with iOS’s Files…

1 Create lists and items Tap the plus icon to create a list, then tap on the list to select it and use the plus icon at the lower right to add a new item. Tapping items enables you to assign them to dates or times. 4 Add extra info Tap on a list item and you’ll see this pop-up menu, which enables you to add it to today’s tasks, set a date or time, change the list it’s in, add notes or tags or create location specific reminders. 7 Change the options You can do lots in Settings: import Calendars, add gamification (game-style trophies for using the app), sync over iCloud with other devices or protect your personal data with Touch ID or Face ID. 2 Everything at a…

These days, you don’t need a laptop to get work done on the go. With a few clever accessories, you can turn your iPad (or iPhone, even) into a mobile workstation that lets you be productive wherever you are. For instance, you’re going to need some form of external keyboard – whether that’s as part of a keyboard case or one that connects to your device over Bluetooth. A good stand can help raise your device to a comfortable height, while a sturdy case will protect your valuable tablet if you drop it while out and about. We’ll consider all of these and more in this tutorial, and show you how to hook up your iOS device to a TV if you have to work away from your home and…

Battery life is the one concern that never goes away, so in recognition of that Apple has made the Settings > Battery page more visual and interactive to help. Additionally, it has extended the longterm view to 10 days, which may help if you find your phone runs low on power on specific days as you can compare your app activity and routine on them. The data visualisation has two parts: The top chart shows battery charge over time, and the bottom one shows activity from apps and services for each period, and an idea of how much of it took place while the screen was on or off. Below the new charts is a breakdown of apps’ energy usage, like in previous versions of iOS. You may see a…

The third-party app called Workflow, which Apple bought in 2017, has been renamed Shortcuts and gained new capabilities. Other apps expose to it actions that can be taken within them. You stitch together a sequence of actions, potentially involving multiple apps, to achieve a task. These sequences can be run within Shortcuts itself, from the Share Sheet, from a Home screen icon, from Shortcuts’ widget in the Today view, or – like the one-step shortcuts that iOS itself suggests – by saying your chosen phrase to Siri. 1 The gallery Not sure how to use the app? A good way to learn is by example. Tap Gallery in the bottom bar to browse premade shortcuts you can download. Tap one, then Show Actions to see what it can process and…

1 Pick a design Create your document as usual, choosing a template from the Book section (or a blank template if you prefer). Landscape works best for image-heavy books, or books that include a lot of media such as video. 2 Replace text and images If you’ve gone for one of Apple’s templates it’ll already have headlines, text boxes and perhaps images too. Just replace the text and images with the actual content that you want to use. 3 Add your video To add your video, tap on the Plus icon at the top right. You can choose Photo or Video, which goes to your Photos library, or Insert From, which takes you to Files and iCloud Drive as shown here. 4 Move it around Video works like any other…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to add preset titles, customise those title presets, and add transitions YOU’LL NEED iOS 11 or later Cutting down hours of raw footage into a slickly edited sequence is time-consuming work, much like baking a cake. Inserting titles and transitions into the timeline is like icing the cake! It’s quicker to do and produces a more attractive looking result. Titles help complete your edited video and make it look more professional. LumaFusion comes packed with a collection of animated presets that help your footage’s titles and captions look as professional as those in any broadcast TV show. As well as introducing your programme with a main title, you can add captions to identify locations or introduce people. You can also modify…

Compass 2 This iPad stand (£34.99, twelvesouth.com) lets you use your device in portrait and landscape modes. Its soft rubber feet and grips ensure your iPad stays put. K480 keyboard Logitech’s keyboard (£54.99, logitech.com) features a tray that holds an iPhone or iPad, plus a switch so you can change between up to three Bluetooth-connected devices. Logitech Base Instead of fumbling for charging cables, try this stand (£89.99). It integrates Apple’s Smart Connector to charge your device while you use it (it’s iPad Pro-only, though).…

1 Turn on mirroring Open Control Centre on your iOS device, then tap Screen Mirroring to show a list of receivers you can share your device’s screen with. Select your Apple TV, then type the passcode that appears on your television (if one is set). 2 Connect your keyboard Go to Settings > Bluetooth on your iOS device and make sure the feature is turned on. If your keyboard has a pairing button, press that now. It should appear under My Devices in the Bluetooth settings – tap its name to connect it. 3 On the big screen Anything you do on your device will be mirrored on your TV, with your TV essentially functioning as a large display for your iPhone or iPad. Glance at your device as you…