Paul McFedries - iPad and iPad Pro For Dummies

On the top of your iPad, you find the top button, headphone jack (iPad only), and microphone, as shown in Figure 1-1:

Top button: This button is used to put your iPad’s screen to sleep or to wake it up. It’s also how you turn your iPad on or off. To put it to sleep or wake it up, just press the button. To turn it on or off, press and hold down the button for a few seconds. On some iPad models, the top button is used also as a fingerprint sensor for the Touch ID security feature. Your iPad’s battery will run down faster when your iPad is awake, so I suggest that you make a habit of putting it to sleep when you’re not using it.To wake it up, press the top button again, or press the Home button on the front of the device (as described in a moment), or on iPad Pro, tap the screen.If you use an Apple Smart Cover or Smart Case (or any third-party case that uses the Smart Cover mechanism), you can just open the cover to wake your iPad and close the cover to put it to sleep.In Chapter 14, you can find out how to make your iPad go to sleep automatically after a period of inactivity.

Headphone jack: This jack lets you plug in a headset, although as I write this the latest models of the iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air no longer come with this feature. You can use pretty much any headphone or headset that plugs into a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack. Apple no longer makes headphones with a headphone jack, but it does sell EarPods ($29), which connect via a Lightning connector, and AirPods (starting at $159), which connect via Bluetooth.Throughout this book, I use the words headphones, earphones, and headset interchangeably. Strictly speaking, a headset includes a microphone so that you can talk (or record) as well as listen; headphones and earphones are for listening only. Either type works with your iPad, as do most wireless Bluetooth headsets and newer headsets with Lightning connectors.

Microphone: The tiny dot — or two dots on some iPad Pro models — in the middle of the top of the device is a pretty good microphone. ( Hint: You’ll sound better if you use a headset — any headset.)

Speakers (iPad Pro only): iPad Pro has four speaker vents, two on the top and two on the bottom.

FIGURE 1-1: The top edge of an iPad Pro.

On the bottom of your iPad are the speakers (two of the four speakers on iPad Pro models) and Lightning connector or USB-C connector, as shown in Figure 1-2:

Speakers: The speakers play audio — music or video soundtracks — if you don't have headphones or external speakers plugged in or connected via Bluetooth.

Lightning or USB-C connector: This connector has three purposes: Recharge your iPad ’ s battery: Simply connect one end of the included cable to the iPad’s Lightning or USB-C port and the other end to a USB or USB-C port, where appropriate. Synchronize your iPad: Connect one end of the same cable to the Lightning or USB-C connector and the other end to a USB or USB-C port on your Mac or PC. Connect your iPad to a camera or television: Make sure to use an adapter that works with the Lightning connector or the USB-C connector, depending on your iPad. If you connect your iPad to a USB port and get a Not Charging message, the USB port doesn't have enough power. Generally speaking, USB ports built into recent Macs and PCs, on powered hubs, or on the USB charging brick that came with your iPad will charge your iPad properly. Any USB data port connected to your Mac or PC will allow you to sync your iPad, whether or not it's charging.

FIGURE 1-2: All iPad models have speaker ports and a connection port on the bottom.

On the right side of your iPad are the volume up and volume down buttons, as shown in Figure 1-3. Press the upper button to increase the volume; press the lower button to decrease the volume.

The Camera app uses either volume button as an alternative shutter release button to the on-screen shutter release button. Press any of them to shoot a picture or start and stop video recording.

FIGURE 1-3: The right side of the iPad features volume buttons, and some feature a SIM tray, too.

On iPads with cellular capabilities, the SIM card tray is on the right side. Wi-Fi-only models do not have a SIM card tray.

Apple used to include a SIM card eject tool with iPads and iPhones. If you don’t have one lying around, you can straighten a paper clip and use it as a faux SIM card eject tool.

On the front of your iPad, you'll find the following (labeled in Figure 1-4):

Touchscreen: I describe how to use the iPad’s touchscreen in Chapter 2.

Home button: If your iPad comes with a Home button, then no matter what you’re doing, you can press the Home button at any time to display the Home screen, as shown in Figure 1-4. The Home button also doubles as a Touch ID sensor, so you can use your fingerprint (or a passcode) to unlock your phone and authenticate purchases. Recent models of the iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air don’t have a Home button. For these iPads, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go back to the Home screen.

Front (FaceTime) camera: You use the front camera for FaceTime video chats and taking selfies. You shouldn’t use it much for taking regular photos because the back camera on all iPad models is much better.

App icons: Each of the icons shown on the screen (see Figure 1-4) launches an included iPad app. You read more about these apps later in this chapter and throughout the rest of the book.

The back of your iPad has a rear camera, just below the top button, which is better than the one in front. iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air models have a 12-megapixel rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture, and the iPad has an 8-megapixel rear camera with f/2.4 aperture. The iPad can record HD video at 1080p, and the iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air can record video at up to 4K.

Courtesy of Apple, Inc.

FIGURE 1-4: The front of the iPad 10.2-inch.

The status bar, which is at the top of the screen, displays tiny icons that provide a variety of information about the current state of your iPad:

Airplane mode: Airplane mode should be enabled when you fly. It turns off all wireless features of your iPad — the cellular, 5G, 4G, LTE, 3G, GPRS, and EDGE networks; Wi-Fi; and Bluetooth — so you can enjoy music, video, games, photos, or any app that doesn’t require an internet connection while you’re in the air.Tap the Settings app and then tap the airplane mode switch on (so green is displayed). The icon shown in the margin appears on the left side of your status bar when airplane mode is enabled. You can also pull Control Center down from the top-right corner and tap the airplane mode icon to turn airplane mode on (the icon turns orange). Disable airplane mode when the plane is at the gate before takeoff or after landing so you can send or receive email and iMessages.To use Wi-Fi in flight with a cellular iPad, first enable airplane mode and then reenable Wi-Fi.