iPadOS Settings: the iPad menu, and where it differs from the iPhone

How iPadOS organises its Settings

The iPad shows Settings as a two-pane layout: the list on the left, the selected pane on the right, so the structure is the same as iOS but you see more of it at once. Radios come first, Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Cellular Data, then Battery, then the system block, General, Accessibility, Camera, Control Center, Display & Brightness, Home Screen & Multitasking and, since iPadOS 26, Multitasking & Gestures, which is where the iPad's real windowing lives.

Apple Pencil and Search sit next, then Apple Intelligence & Siri and Wallpaper. The attention rows, Notifications, Sounds, Focus and Screen Time, follow; then Face ID & Passcode and Privacy & Security; then App Store, Game Center, Wallet & Apple Pay and Passwords; and finally the Apps row that iPadOS 18 introduced for every per-app entry. Safari keeps a row of its own. General still carries About, Software Update, AirDrop, Picture in Picture, iPad Storage and the reset options.

The top-level menu in iPadOS 27.0

The 28 entries on the first screen of Settings, in the device's own order; each links to the options inside it.

1. Airplane Mode (switch)
2. Wi-Fi
3. Bluetooth
4. Cellular Data
5. Battery
6. General
7. Accessibility
8. Camera
9. Control Center
10. Display & Brightness
11. Home Screen & Multitasking
12. Multitasking & Gestures
13. Apple Pencil
14. Search
15. Apple Intelligence & Siri
16. Wallpaper
17. Notifications
18. Sounds
19. Focus
20. Screen Time
21. Face ID & Passcode
22. Privacy & Security
23. App Store
24. Game Center
25. Wallet & Apple Pay
26. Passwords
27. Apps
28. Safari

What changes between versions

Six releases span two reorganisations. iPadOS 16.6, 17.0 and 17.5 keep the older root list with per-app rows at the top level. iPadOS 18.6 took the iOS 18 reshuffle: Battery moved up, the system block went alphabetical and the Apps folder appeared. iPadOS 26.6 added Multitasking & Gestures once the iPad gained resizable windows. iPadOS 27.0 brings Siri AI and the rebuilt Screen Time with Time Allowances and Ask to Browse.

• iPadOS 27.0 (newest)
• iPadOS 26.6
• iPadOS 18.6
• iPadOS 17.5
• iPadOS 17.0
• iPadOS 16.6

Three settings worth knowing the path to

1. Settings > Multitasking & Gestures

   Where you choose Full Screen Apps, Windowed Apps or Stage Manager, and whether a swipe to Home closes every window. New in iPadOS 26 and the row most people are looking for when windows behave unexpectedly.

2. Settings > Apple Pencil

   Scribble, the double-tap action and the colour palette shortcut all live here, and the row only exists because the hardware is optional. Nothing about the Pencil hides anywhere else.

3. Settings > General > Picture in Picture

   One switch decides whether a video keeps playing in a corner when you leave the app. It is an iPad-only row inside General and easy to miss among the storage and language entries.

Questions people ask about iPadOS settings