How to Adjust the iPad's Brightness

Save battery life and reduce eye strain

The iPad includes an auto-brightness feature. This feature changes the iPad's display based on the surrounding ambient light. Sometimes this isn't enough to get the display just right. Here are some ways to adjust the brightness of your iPad's screen.

These instructions apply to iPadOS 14, iPadOS 13, and iOS 12 through iOS 10.

How to Adjust the Brightness in the Control Center

The iPad Control Center is a convenient way to adjust several settings regardless of which app you have open. Here's how to use it:

  1. Open the Control Center by sliding your finger down from the upper-right corner of the screen.

    Opening the control panel on iPad
  2. The brightness controls are one of the two vertical sliders, along with the volume control. Move the slider up and down to adjust the brightness.

    Adjusting the brightness setting on your iPad is one way to save battery power. It allows you to use the tablet for longer periods of time before it needs a charge.

    How to adjust iPad brightness
  3. Press the Home button or tap anywhere on the screen to close Control Center.

How to Adjust the Brightness in Settings

You can also adjust the iPad's brightness through the Settings app. Here's how:

  1. Open the Settings app.

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  2. Tap Display & Brightness from the column on the left.

    How to adjust brightness on iPad
  3. Drag the Brightness slider left and right to adjust the brightness.

    You may want to adjust the brightness to compensate for glare when using your iPad outside or to tone it down when reading at night.

    How to adjust brightness on iPad
  4. Adjust other settings such as Night Shift, Text Size, and Bold Text.

How to Use Night Shift

The Display & Brightness setting provides access to the Night Shift feature. While Night Shift is activated, the color spectrum of the iPad shifts to limit blue light to help you get a better night's sleep after using your iPad.

From the Display & Brightness settings, select Night Shift to customize the feature. Tap From/To to specify times during which Night Shift will be active. Choose Sunset to Sunrise to make it automatic. Adjust the Color Temperature slider at the bottom to control the temperature of the light when Night Shift is on.

Night Shift menu on iPad

How to Adjust Text Size and Bold Text

The Text Size option adjusts the size of the text when an app uses Dynamic Type. It makes the type larger or smaller to compensate for diminished vision. Turning on Bold Text causes most normal text to become bold, making it easier to read.

Not all apps use Dynamic Type.

How to Turn True Tone On and Off

If you have a recent iPad model, such as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, you may see the option to turn True Tone on or off. True Tone is a new technology that mimics the behavior of natural light on objects by detecting ambient light and adjusting the iPad display to match it.

In real life, a piece of paper might range from very white under the artificial light of a bulb to a little yellow under the sun. True Tone tries to mimic this for the iPad display.

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