How to change Home Screen and Dock settings on an iPad

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 4 October 2026

Device

iPad

Shown on

iPadOS 26.5 (iPad A16)

App

Camera

Real screenshots

6 of 6 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

One short settings page decides how crowded the iPad Home Screen and Dock are. Nothing here deletes an app; every change can be undone with the same switch.

The screenshots show iPadOS 26.5 on an iPad (A16), held upright. In landscape the same rows sit in the same order.

Step by step

1. 

   Open Settings

   Tap the grey gear icon on the Home Screen. In the picture it is in the second row; it also sits in the Dock at the bottom.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Home Screen & App Library

   It is in the list on the left, below Camera.

   Done

3. 

   Use Large App Icons

   Switch it on for bigger icons. According to Apple, the names of the apps disappear in the large size.

   Done

4. 

   Choose where new apps go

   Add to Home Screen puts every new download on a Home Screen page. App Library Only keeps the Home Screen as it is; the app is then found in the App Library.

   Done

5. 

   Decide what the Dock shows

   Show App Library in Dock adds the App Library button at the right end of the Dock.

   Show Suggested and Recent Apps in Dock lets the iPad add apps it suggests and apps you used recently. Switch it off for a Dock that only holds the apps you put there.

   Done

6. 

   Decide about notification badges

   Show in App Library lets the red badges with numbers appear on apps inside the App Library too. It is off in the picture.

   Done

Good to know

To open the App Library without the Dock button, swipe left past your last Home Screen page.

To move an app from the App Library back to the Home Screen, touch and hold it in the App Library until the icons jiggle and it moves to the Home Screen.

Fewer pages bring the App Library closer: touch and hold the Home Screen wallpaper, tap the dots at the bottom and remove the tick below the pages you want to hide.

In short: Settings, Home Screen & App Library: icon size, new apps, Dock, badges.