Chapter 1: How Do I Start Using My iPad or iPad mini?

When you first look at your iPad or iPad mini, you probably notice its sleek, curvaceous design. Then, you probably notice what might be its most remarkable feature - it's nearly button-free! Unlike your garden-variety tablet that bristles with keys, switches, and ports, the iPad and iPad mini have only a few physical buttons. This makes for a stylish (possibly even sexy) design. However, it leads to an obvious problem: How do you work the darn thing? This chapter gives you the grand tour of your iPad or iPad mini. It covers the few buttons, as well as the real heart of the tablet - its remarkable touchscreen.

Using the Home Button

Working with the Sleep/Wake Button

Working with the Side Switch

Operating the Volume Controls

Getting to Know the Rest of the Tablet

Running Your Tablet from the Control Center

Using the Home Button

The starting point for most of your iPad or iPad mini excursions is the Home button, which is the circular button on the face of the tablet at the bottom, as shown in Figure 1.1.

1.1 Press the Home button to (among other things) leave standby mode or return to the Home screen.

The Home button has the following main functions:

• When the iPad or iPad mini is in standby mode, pressing the Home button wakes the device and displays the unlock screen.
• When the iPad or iPad mini is running, pressing the Home button returns the device to the Home screen (or, if the Home screen is currently displayed, it displays the Search screen).
• Pressing and holding the Home button invokes Siri, which enables you to control many iPad or iPad mini features using voice commands. (If Siri is turned off, pressing and holding the Home button invokes Voice Control, Siri's predecessor.)
• Double-pressing the Home button displays the multitasking bar, which enables you to quickly switch between your running apps.

If your tablet is in standby mode, press the Home button to display the slide to unlock screen, as shown in Figure 1.2. (This screen appears for up to about 8 seconds; if you don't do anything, the tablet drops back into standby mode.)

1.2 Slide your finger along the screen from left to right to unlock your iPad or iPad mini.

Place your finger on the left side of the screen and slide it to the right side of the screen. This either unlocks the tablet and displays the Home screen or, if you configured a passcode during setup, it prompts you to enter that code.

Working with the Sleep/Wake Button

If your iPad or iPad mini is on but you're not using it, the tablet automatically goes into standby mode after 1 minute. This is called Auto-Lock, and it's a handy feature because it saves battery power when your tablet is just sitting there. However, you can also put your tablet into standby mode at any time by using the Sleep/Wake button. You can find this dash-shaped button, shown in Figure 1.3, at the top of your tablet. The Sleep/Wake button has two main functions: Sleeping/waking and powering on/off.

1.3 Your tablet's Sleep/Wake button.

Sleeping and waking the iPad or iPad mini

If you're currently using your iPad or iPad mini, you can put the tablet in standby mode by pressing the Sleep/Wake button once, which drops the power consumption considerably. You can still receive incoming e-mail messages and texts but the screen powers down. Tap the Sleep/Wake button again to wake your tablet. This is just like pressing the Home button: You're prompted with the slide to unlock screen and you slide your finger from the left side of the screen to the right to unlock the tablet (or enter your passcode).

Press the Sleep/Wake button to put your tablet in standby mode whenever you're not using the screen. This not only conserves battery power but also it prevents accidental screen taps. If you have a program (such as the Music app) running, it continues to run even after the tablet is in standby mode.

Powering the iPad or iPad mini on and off

You can also use the Sleep/Wake button to turn off your iPad or iPad mini so that it doesn't use any power. This is a good idea if your battery is getting low and you don't think you'll be able to charge it any time soon. You might also want to turn off your tablet if you won't be using it for a few days.

To turn off your iPad or iPad mini, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for 3 seconds. When the slide to power off slider appears on the screen, as shown in Figure 1.4, use your finger to drag the slider all the way to the right. The tablet shuts down after a few seconds.

1.4 Hold down the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds to see the slide to power off screen.

If you change your mind and decide to leave your iPad or iPad mini on, tap the Cancel button that appears at the bottom of the screen. Note, too, that the slide to power off screen automatically cancels itself if you do nothing for 30 seconds.

When you're ready to resume your iPad or iPad mini chores, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Apple icon. The tablet powers up, and then, a few seconds later, displays the slide to unlock screen.

When your cellular-enabled iPad or iPad mini is in standby mode, it still communicates with the nearest cellular network to check for new messages. This isn't a problem at home but it can lead to massive roaming charges if you're overseas. When you travel, you should always power off your cellular-enabled tablet when you're not using it.

Working with the Side Switch

To prevent your iPad or iPad mini from disturbing the people nearby, you can put your tablet in silent mode, which means it doesn't play any alerts or sound effects. When the sound is turned off, only alarms that you've set using the Clock app will sound.

You switch the iPad or iPad mini between normal and silent modes using the Side switch, which is located on the right side of the device, near the top (assuming you're holding the tablet in portrait mode, where the Home button appears at the bottom), as shown in Figure 1.5.

1.5 Use the Side switch to toggle your tablet between normal and silent modes.

Use the Side switch to control the following functions:

• Put the tablet in silent mode. Flick the Side switch down. You see an orange dot on the switch and the screen displays a bell with a slash through it.
• Resume the normal mode. Flick the Side switch up, toward the top of the tablet. You no longer see the orange dot on the switch and the screen displays a bell and the current volume level.

  The iPad Air 2 doesn't have a Side switch, so you have to adjust the volume manually using either the Volume controls or the Control Center (discussed later in this chapter).

Operating the Volume Controls

The volume controls are on the right side of the iPad or iPad mini (again, when you're holding the tablet in portrait mode) right below the Side switch. The iPad mini has two separate buttons but the iPad has what looks like a single volume control (see Figure 1.5). However, there really are two buttons on the iPad. On both devices, the button closer to the top of the tablet is Volume Up, and you press it to increase the volume; the button closer to the bottom of the tablet is Volume Down, and you press it to decrease the volume. As you adjust the volume, a speaker appears on-screen with filled-in dashes representing the volume level.

You use these buttons in the following ways to control the volume on your iPad or iPad mini:

• If you're using the Music app, the volume controls adjust the music volume.
• In all other situations, the volume controls adjust the output of sounds, such as alerts and effects.

Getting to Know the Rest of the Tablet

In addition to the touchscreen, there are other physical features of your iPad or iPad mini that you need to get to know. For starters, the tablet's bottom panel has the following two features (Figure 1.6 shows the bottom panel on the iPad mini):

• Speaker. The iPad has a single speaker to the right of the Lightning connector, while the iPad mini has a two-speaker stereo system - one on each side of the connector. This is where the sound is broadcast when you listen to music, ask Siri something, or talk to someone over FaceTime.
• Lightning connector. This feature is on the bottom panel of the tablet in the center. This is where you connect the USB cable to either charge your tablet or hook it up to a computer.

1.6 The bottom panel on the iPad mini houses two speakers and the Lightning connector.

Because the speaker is at the bottom of the tablet, you may have trouble hearing it. In that case, hold the iPad or iPad mini so that the bottom panel is facing you, which should give you better sound...