Big software updates can leave an iPad feeling like someone rearranged your kitchen overnight. iPadOS 26 changed how apps open, how menus look and where some buttons live. These five settings put things back to calm and simple. The steps work on iPadOS 26 and iPadOS 27. To check your version, open Settings, tap General, then About.

1. Make apps fill the whole screen again

iPadOS 26 lets apps open in windows you can resize and move, like on a computer. Handy for some people, confusing for many.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Multitasking & Gestures.
  3. Choose Full Screen Apps.

Now each app fills the screen, just like before. You can also switch between modes from Control Center: swipe down from the top-right corner and look for the windowed apps button.

Plain talk: Windowed Apps

Windowed Apps is the iPadOS 26 setting that lets several apps sit on screen at once in separate windows. Full Screen Apps turns this off. Stage Manager is a third, more advanced option.

2. Make the text bigger

  1. Open Settings and tap Display & Brightness.
  2. Tap Text Size and drag the slider to the right.
  3. Turn on Bold Text while you’re there.

For even larger text, go to Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, Larger Text, and turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes.

3. Make menus easier to see

The see-through “Liquid Glass” look can make buttons hard to read against busy backgrounds. On iPadOS 26.1 or later:

  1. Open Settings and tap Display & Brightness.
  2. Tap Liquid Glass and choose Tinted.

For even more solid backgrounds, go to Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, and turn on Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast.

4. Fix a tiny or split keyboard

It’s easy to shrink the iPad keyboard by accident with a pinch.

  • If the keyboard is small and floating: put two fingers on it and spread them apart. It snaps back to full size at the bottom of the screen.
  • If the keyboard is split in two: put two fingers on it and push the halves back together. To stop it happening again, open Settings, tap General, then Keyboard, and turn off Split Keyboard (if your iPad has this option).

Try this

Prefer talking to typing? Tap the microphone on the keyboard and speak. Say “period” or “question mark” for punctuation.

5. Lock the iPad to one app for the grandchildren

Guided Access keeps a child in one app, so they can’t wander into your email or photos.

  1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then Guided Access, and turn it on.
  2. Tap Passcode Settings and set a passcode only you know.
  3. Open the app your grandchild will use.
  4. Triple-click the top button (or the Home button on older iPads) and tap Start.
  5. To finish, triple-click again and enter your passcode.

Safety tip

Pop-ups that say your iPad is “infected” or “hacked” and tell you to call a number are scams. Close the page, and never call the number. Apple doesn’t show warnings like that in web pages.

Keep going

Want a simpler iPad all round? See Assistive Access, Apple’s simple mode, which works on iPad too.

Your iPad, Plainly Explained walks through every setting, app and safety feature that matters, updated for iPadOS 26 and 27.