Top 5 secret new iPadOS 15 features and changes you should know about

Now that iPadOS 15 is here, and if you own an Apple tablet made in the last seven years you're likely on it, it's time to take a look at some of the more minute features and changes that you may find interesting.

We already did an iPadOS 15 hands-on preview, showcasing the bigger new features in Apple's newest iPad OS version, but did you know…

iPad Instagram in landscape? It finally works

Instagram and other iPhone-centric apps that you can download on iPad used to awkwardly change your screen orientation from landscape to portrait, which is a particularly bad experience if you're using your iPad like a laptop, with a keyboard and everything.

Well, as of iPadOS 15, this forced orientation switching is no more. Now Instagram will open in landscape, but with huge black borders around it, looking just like it would on an iPhone.

Unfortunately, some of us were hoping that Instagram would also now work in a Slide Over pop-up window, or at least in Split View, but it doesn't. Still, a small win for iPad Instagram users.

You can now use a physical keyboard to navigate the home screen

While the use of physical keyboards is still rather limited even on iPadOS 15, at least when compared to a desktop PC, you can now use the arrow keys of your first or third-party physical keyboard to navigate through the home screen, highlight apps and widgets, and open them.

And remember that you can always press and hold the Command key (cmd) while on the home screen and inside apps to see what available keyboard shortcuts you have to work with.

An iPad power user who owns a physical keyboard can, for example, press the Globe key + up arrow on the home screen to see all of their open apps, then use the arrow keys to navigate to one and press Enter to switch to it. iPadOS navigation without even touching the display is getting better and better.

The Safari browser's interface can be switched between compact and traditional

If you want some extra screen space for browsing the web, the Safari browser has a new setting you may find useful. Navigate to your iPad's Settings app, then scroll down on the list to the left to find Safari, and tap it.