Useful for checking something quickly in email or online, for instance.

Not all apps do this, annoyingly, but try to slide up from the bottom edge of the screen to get the Dock, and then try dragging one of your apps from there, and if it hovers with a long rectangular shape, it'll work. There is one small workaround: The Slideover tool means you can always drag an app up onto the Zoom window, and it will hover as a window on top of Zoom.

Zoom, however, is a full-screen situation, which means you can't easily open up anything else while Zooming.

Zoom doesn't do split screen on iPad, but there is Slideover Both have advantages, and it depends on the situation. Tapping the Gallery View button on the left, or Active Speaker when Gallery is on, can switch between everyone being in a giant Hollywood Squares or Brady Bunch grid, or just showing who's talking. It's easy to forget where people are, especially those who aren't talking. I've been in 60-person Zooms, and four-person ones. Little pop-up banners get annoying in a chat. Unless you're doing a group chat at home, that is. AirPods are excellent and small, or you could use any small set of earbuds (AirPods have great microphones and can be worn in just one ear if you want to listen more casually).īut really, any headphones can help. But still, environmental noise can creep in, meaning, kids, pets, loud shows, whatever else is happening in your crazy house (mine's pretty noisy sometimes). IPads generally have pretty good microphones, and the new iPad Pro's microphones are stellar. Eliminate your environment with headphones Or, take a screenshot of something (press the volume and power button, or the home button and power button) to save a shot and make it your new virtual wallpaper, and don't even worry about what your room looks like. Tap in the settings area to launch virtual backgrounds, then you can pull a photo from your library. Zoom's virtual backgrounds don't always work on laptops, but they're great on iPads.

Make sure things in your room are put away or at least look OK where you're focused (move the iPad to frame the shot better, it's easier than cleaning up). Don't have a bright window or lights behind you, or you'll be overexposed. CNET's Brian Cooley has some great tips for self-shot video and web chats.

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