How to Use the Dock on iPad (with iPadOS 26 Features)

The Dock on your iPad is more than just a row of app icons. It’s a powerful multitasking tool that gives you fast access to your favorite and recent apps. With iPadOS 26, Apple has upgraded the Dock with a sleek Liquid Glass design, support for folders, and smarter drag-and-drop gestures. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use, customize, and get the most out of your iPad Dock.

What is the iPad Dock?

The iPad Dock is designed to streamline your workflow by letting you open or switch apps with a single swipe, similar to how the Dock works on a Mac. You can also add folders from the Files app to quickly drag items into other apps.

It appears as a horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen in both portrait and landscape mode. The Dock is divided into two parts:

• Left Side: Contains your favorite or manually added apps.
• Right Side: Shows recently used apps, suggested apps, and the App Library (if enabled).

With iPadOS 26, you can now add folders to the right section of the Dock for quick access to your files.

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How to Access the Dock on an iPad

The Dock is always visible on the Home Screen. When using an app, swipe up gently from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Dock without exiting the app. Make sure not to swipe too far up, or you’ll return to the Home Screen.

How to Customize the iPad Dock

Apple allows you to personalize your iPad Dock to suit your workflow. From controlling suggested apps to arranging your favorites, here’s how to make it work for you.

Remove Suggested and Recent Apps From the Dock

You can stop iPadOS from automatically showing recently used or suggested apps on the right side of the Dock.

1. Head to Settings > Home Screen & App Library.
2. In the Dock section, toggle off Show Suggested and Recent Apps in Dock.
   
   

Hide App Library in Dock

To remove the App Library icon from your Dock:

1. Go to Settings > Home Screen & App Library.
2. Under the Dock section, toggle off the Show App Library in Dock option.
   
   

Add and Rearrange Favorite Apps

With suggested apps and the App Library hidden, you can fully personalize your Dock with apps you use most.

Add apps to the iPad Dock:

1. Press and hold on any empty space on the iPad Home Screen until all the app icons start to jiggle. Alternatively, long press on an app icon and tap Edit Home Screen.
2. Now, drag and drop the app icon into the Dock to add it.
   
   

Remove apps from the iPad Dock:

1. Follow the same first step as shown above until you see the jiggling apps and tap the – (minus button) in the top-left corner of the app icon in the Dock.
   
   
2. Then, tap Remove from Home Screen to remove the app from the Dock.
   
   
3. Alternatively, you can drag the app from the Dock and drop it on the Home Screen to remove it from there.

To reorganize the apps in your Dock, simply long-press on an app’s icon until the icons start jiggling, then drag the icons to rearrange them in your preferred fashion.

How to Add a Folder to the Dock

iPadOS 26 lets you pin folders from the Files app directly to your Dock for quick access.

1. Open the Files app and navigate to On My iPad or iCloud Drive in the left sidebar.
2. Tap and hold the folder you want to add. Gently drag and don’t lift your finger yet.
3. Using another finger, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Dock.
4. Drop the folder in the right‑hand section of the Dock, next to the App Library icon.

That’s it! Now you have a folder in your Dock for quick access.

Note: You can only add folders from the Files app. Apple does not yet support folders from third-party apps.

Multitasking on an iPad with the Dock

Thanks to Apple’s powerful M-series chips and iPadOS 26, multitasking on iPad is smoother than ever. The Dock plays a central role in enabling features like Split View and Slide Over.

Slide Over

When you use Slide Over to multitask on your iPad, you can simply drag an app from the Dock onto the screen to open the app in a floating window. This is easy and more convenient than the traditional method of using Slide Over.

Split View

Similarly, when using Split View for multitasking, you can drag an app from the Dock to the edge of the screen to split the display and use two apps simultaneously.

For instance, suppose you are reading an article on Safari and instantly want to take notes. You can swipe up to access the Dock, drag and drop the Notes app and use it in Split View with Safari.

You can check out our detailed guide on iPad multitasking to learn more ways to multitask.

How to Use Files in Dock Folders

Folders in the Dock allow for faster access to important files. Here’s how to get the most from them:

1. Tap the folder icon in the Dock. It will show a Mac-like menu with files and subfolders right above it.
2. Tap a file to open it automatically. Most files open in the Files app whereas images and PDFs open in the new Preview app.
3. If there’s a subfolder, it expands and shows its contents in the same menu.
4. Touch and drag any item from the Dock folder and drop it into another app like dragging an image into Notes or Pages.

You can also change how you view items. Simple, long‑press the folder icon in the Dock to open options for:

• View Content As: Fan or Grid
• Sort By: date modified, name, or size.

Tip: To avoid clutter, tap and hold the folder icon, select Options, then tap Remove from Dock when the folder is no longer needed.

Signing off…

The iPad Dock is an essential productivity tool that often goes unnoticed. With the latest iPadOS 26 enhancements, including folder support and drag-and-drop improvements, it’s more useful than ever. Whether you’re juggling multiple apps or managing files, the Dock helps you get things done faster and more efficiently.

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