With iOS 12, Apple taught the iPad to act like an iPhone X. Even though iPads still had a Home button at the time, Apple redesigned the multitasking gestures so they’d match the buttonless iPhone X — which meant unlearning years of muscle memory. If you just updated and keep opening the wrong panel, you’re not alone. Here are the four new gestures you need, each with the old habit it’s replacing.
The new gestures
Control Center — swipe down from the top-right corner. On older iPads, Control Center appeared with a swipe up from the bottom edge. In iOS 12, that gesture does something else, so remember: Control Center now lives in the top-right corner, exactly like on the iPhone X. Place your finger on the battery and Wi-Fi icons and pull down.
Notification Center — swipe down from roughly the left two-thirds of the top edge. This one trips people up the most. Previously, you could swipe down from anywhere along the top edge to see notifications. Now the top-right third of the screen belongs to Control Center, so a swipe there opens the wrong panel. Aim for the left side of the clock and you’ll land in Notification Center every time.
Trackpad cursor — press and hold the space bar. This is the best hidden trick in the bunch. When the on-screen keyboard is visible, press and hold the space bar: the keyboard keys fade out and the whole keyboard turns into a virtual trackpad. Slide your finger to move the text cursor with pixel precision — far easier than tapping between letters. Release to get your keys back. Apple’s iPad support documentation covers this gesture alongside the other multitasking shortcuts.
Switch between running apps — swipe up to reveal the Dock, then drag sideways. The least intuitive of the new gestures, so read carefully. Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen — but stop before the gesture takes you all the way home. This reveals the Dock floating above the bottom of the screen. Then, without lifting your finger, drag left or right to jump directly between your recently used apps. The two-step nature is what makes it confusing at first: the swipe summons the Dock, and the drag switches apps. Practice it a few times and it becomes second nature.
Why Apple changed them
The goal was consistency. With the iPhone X losing its Home button, Apple wanted one gesture language across all its devices — so the gestures you learned on the phone would work on the tablet too. It made the next generation of buttonless iPads feel familiar from day one. 9to5Mac covered these gesture changes extensively when iOS 12 first launched.
If it still doesn’t work
First, confirm you’re actually running iOS 12 or later: Settings → General → Software Update. If the gestures still misbehave, check Settings → General → Multitasking & Dock to make sure multitasking gestures are enabled. Also remember that the bottom-edge swipe now reveals the Dock instead of opening the old app switcher — if you swipe too far, you’ll just go home.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get the old swipe-up-from-bottom gesture back?
No — the bottom-edge swipe-up is permanently repurposed in iOS 12 and later. It reveals the Dock; continuing the swipe goes to the Home screen. The old app-switcher layout is gone, but the new two-step swipe is faster once it clicks.
Do these gestures work on all iPads with iOS 12?
Yes. The gesture changes apply to every iPad that can run iOS 12, including older models with a Home button. You don’t need a buttonless iPad Pro to use them.
Conclusion
iOS 12’s gesture overhaul was Apple’s way of preparing the iPad for a buttonless future: a corner swipe for Control Center, a left-side swipe for notifications, a space-bar trackpad for precise editing, and a two-step Dock swipe for app switching. Give the new gestures a week and the old habits will fade. For more iPad tips, see how to take HDR screenshots on iPhone and iPad, how to automatically identify songs playing nearby on iPhone, and how to bring back the alarm stop button in iOS 26.
