5 things you never knew your iPad could do

These days, iPads are everywhere. Workers carry them around offices. Patrons order food on iPads in restaurants. Entire stores have traded their cash registers for iPads. The flagship Apple tablet isn’t just a novelty item for watching movies on the sofa; it has become a major workhorse, transforming our domestic and professional lives.

These shortcuts can accelerate your workflow, enhance your browsing, and protect your privacy, all with a few taps of your fingers.Whether you use your iPad for work or play, you won’t want to miss these handy iPad secrets.

1. Scroll faster and easier

One of the biggest differences between a tablet and a traditional laptop is the lack of “mouse.” Your finger is clumsy compared to a trackpad, which gives you surgical precision on the screen.

Editing text can be tedious on the iPad, but fortunately, Apple has enabled “trackpad mode” for the first time on iOS 12. With trackpad mode, you can quickly scroll through text that you’ve typed and instantly jump from the top to the bottom of a page (or vice versa).

To enable trackpad mode, hold the space bar down on the keyboard until all the keys go gray. As long as you don’t remove your finger, you can quickly scroll through the entirety of your content.

2. Secret setting extends battery life

iPads are known for maintaining long battery life, but sometimes you’ll notice an abrupt drain. This annoyance usually happens because of apps that run in the background and continue to use data and power. 

While it can be useful to have Apple’s “Background App Refresh” downloading and preparing the latest updates to your Twitter timeline, turning the feature off can help you save critical battery life for when you need it most.

To disable the Background App Refresh, navigate to your Settings app, and select General. Then, select Background App Refresh and turn the feature off from the top. Your apps may take a few seconds longer to load when you first open them, but the extra battery life is well worth that nominal wait.

3. Hide private photos from view

When families get together and trade photos, they often pass around an iPad. But we might not want everyone to see all of our business in one place. Thankfully, there’s a way to instantly hide your private photos by default into an album that’s separate from your current camera roll.

To hide photos, open your Photos app and tap Select in the upper right-hand corner. Next, tap the photos you want to hide and select the Share button from the bottom left of the screen (it looks like a box with an arrow coming out). Select Hide from the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen.

Now, your photos are hidden in a separate album for you to access at your convenience.

4. Scan documents like a pro

Scanners have largely disappeared, and most of us say, “Good riddance.” Unless you work in an office environment, you probably won’t need to use one again, thanks to the Notes app on your iPad.

If you have something that needs to be scanned, you can use your iPad’s camera to take a photo of your document and add it directly to your Notes. You’ll never need to use a separate scanning app. Notes works.

To use it, open the Notes app and tap the plus button in the bottom center of the display. Then, choose Scan Documents. Also, options like black and white, grayscale, or color can help make the document stand out for easier reading whether it's typed, handwritten, or printed

5. Search like a pro

Did you know your iPad comes with a built-in search engine that can help you locate anything stored on your device or the cloud?

To access the Spotlight tool, touch the center of your display, and pull down. You’ll see a menu appear with a search bar, Siri Suggestions of apps to use, and some recommendations based on previous activity. From here, type to search for your query, and touch the results to open them.