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Chapter 1

      Unveiling the iPad

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      Are you familiar with the old proverb that says, “Well begun is half done”? Some say it comes from Aristotle, so if you mumbled to yourself that the phrase is “Greek to me,” you'd be spot on! The proverb's meaning is straightforward enough: If you start a project well, the rest of it will proceed so swimmingly that it'll feel like you need to expend only half the effort to get it done.

      This chapter is your chance to get your relationship with your iPad off to such a good start. Sure, you can dive right in and start tapping and scrolling stuff willy-nilly. If that's your style, go for it; I won't judge. However, one thing I've learned over the years is that if you approach a new piece of technology slowly and curiously, you'll end up with a solid grounding in the basics that will pay back your initial time investment manyfold.

      To that end, in this chapter, I offer a gentle introduction to all the pieces that make up your iPad, plus an overview of its most useful hardware features and a few software features that come with iPadOS.

In this book, I cover all iPad models that run iPadOS:

      Because the first four generations of iPad, the first generation of iPad Air, and the first three generations of iPad mini can't run iPadOS, they're not covered in this book. If you’re the owner of one of those models, you can still find a lot of handy information here, but some things might look or work differently.

The iPad: A Bird’s-Eye View

      The iPad has many interesting and useful features, but perhaps its most notable feature is that it doesn't come with a physical keyboard or stylus. You can get them as options (Apple’s first-generation $99 Apple Pencil, the second-generation $129 Apple Pencil, and the Smart Keyboard, which starts at $159), but they aren’t required to use your iPad. Instead, every iPad is designed to be controlled with a pointing device that you’re intimately familiar with: your finger.

      And I love the iPad’s plethora of built-in sensors. It has an accelerometer that detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape mode — and instantly adjusts what’s on the display. A light sensor adjusts the display’s brightness in response to the current ambient lighting conditions. Then there’s a three-axis gyro that works with the accelerometer and built-in compass. And all iPadOS-capable models also include Apple’s Touch ID sensor or Face ID. These features let you unlock your iPad with your fingerprint (Touch ID) or just by looking at it (Face ID)! I talk about both in detail later.

      Last, but definitely not least, all iPads include Siri, a voice-controlled personal assistant happy to do almost anything you ask.

      In the following sections, it’s time to take a brief look at the rest of the iPad’s features, broken down by product category.

      The iPad as a media player

The iPad’s built-in speakers and sharp, clear display mean you can enjoy all your favorite media — music, audiobooks, audio and video podcasts, music videos, YouTube cat videos, television shows, and movies — all from the comfort of your favorite armchair.

      The iPad as an internet device

      The iPad is a full-featured internet device. For example, your iPad comes with the Safari app, which is a no-compromise web browser that makes navigating web pages intuitive and even fun. Check out Chapter 4 to learn how to surf the web using Safari.

      The iPad also comes with an email app (called, somewhat boringly, Mail) that’s compatible with most mail services. For more on using your iPad for email, see Chapter 5.

      If you're more into text messaging, your iPad has you covered with the Messages app. The details are in Chapter 6.

      Another major internet feature is Maps, a mapping app that not only lets you see where things are

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