What kinds of Apps are there?

Apps that come preloaded on to an iPad are ones that are most used, especially for beginners. These apps can be categorized into a few different groups:

  1. Communication Apps
  2. Productivity Apps
  3. Utilities Apps

You may find apps in some of these categories that are of interest to you, or you may also find them not so useful. Either way is okay because the great thing about apps is that you can pick and choose what apps you like to use based on your needs. We encourage you to try them first to see if it works for your daily needs.


Communication Apps

Communication apps allow you to stay connected with friends and family using their iPad. It uses various tools such as text messages, emails, and video chat and these apps help with instant communication using the internet. This means that even if your son, daughter or friend are located far away, you can still stay connected with them.

Below are 3 communication apps that come preloaded on an iPad:

Green square with white speech bubble in the center

Messages App: allows you to send and receive text messages using your iPad.

Blue square with white envelope icon in the center

Mail: the Mail app is where you can read and send emails using your email account. No matter who your email provider is (Google, Rogers, Yahoo, and more) you can access the account from the Mail app.

Green square with white video recorder icon in the center

FaceTime: a video chat app used to have virtual face to face conversations. You can have a FaceTime call with anyone around the world as long as they have an Apple device and access to the Internet.


Productivity Apps

iPads are great at providing us with tools to be productive by keeping track of tasks, lists, and even appointments. By using these apps, you can keep all of your notes in one place so you can stay organized and don’t have to worry about misplacing the information you have written down using pen and paper. Before productivity apps existed, we might have had to turn to multiple ways to keep track of tasks but with these apps, the much-needed features are all available on your iPad.

Below are 3 productivity apps that come preloaded on an iPad:

Notes icon with white background

Notes: create and share lists such as a grocery list or keep note of something important. Notes are always saved on the app so you can go back and look at them if you need to.

Calendar icon with white background

Calendar: add and keep track of calendar events such as appointments, special events and holidays. The calendar app also lets you share these events and appointments with others by creating a shared calendar.

Apple Reminders app icon

Reminders: create to do lists and reminders for specific tasks that need to be completed.


Utilities Apps

Some apps that come preloaded on to an iPad are designed for everyday use. Whether you want to browse the internet, find a family member’s contact information, or take a quick photo, there is an app for that!

Below are 3 utilities apps that come preloaded on an iPad:

Apple Safari app icon

Safari: an internet browser app created by Apple where you can explore and access websites.

Apple Contacts app icon

Contacts: digital address book that allows you to input your contacts’ name, phone number, and email to be stored on an iPad.

Camera icon with grey background

Camera: an app that uses the built-in camera to take high quality of photos that save right to the iPad.


Helpful Hints

  • If you have other Apple (iOS) devices such as a MacBook or an iPhone, you can use your Apple ID to log-in to all devices. Since it is the same log-in across your devices, your apps will automatically sync! This means you can access the same material on any of your devices! So, if my iPhone and iPad is synced, I can take a photo using my iPhone and access it on my iPad!