How To Remotely Control An iPad With Your iPhone

Before we proceed, it’s important that you manage your expectations with what this feature can accomplish. As of writing, with iPadOS 18 and iOS 18, some limitations to this feature and how interactive it can be, include not having the option to use it as a pointer or trackpad, not being able to switch to a different screen, and not being able to change the control panel settings. But if you’re curious, here’s how to enable it and what it can do.

1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
2. Select Accessibility.
3. Under Physical and Motor, tap Control Nearby Devices.
4. Select Control Nearby Device to start searching for your iPad.
5. Select your iPad from the list of devices.
   
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Once paired, there are five main ways you control your iPad: Home, App Switcher, Notification Center, Control Center, and Siri. In addition, there is a sixth button for more options, wherein you can also manage your Media (Play or Pause, Previous Track, Next Track, Volume Up, and Volume Down). Once you are done controlling your iPad with your iPhone, you can simply tap X button next to its device name. If you’ve met both conditions above, but your iPad doesn’t appear among the list of devices, check if your iPad is fully charged or within close proximity to your iPhone. In addition, you may want to update both your iPhone and iPad to the latest operating system to be safe.

If you find yourself reaching for your iPhone frequently to use this feature, there are some settings you can change to make it easier to navigate. To do this, you can customize the Control Center options, which you can easily view by swiping down from the upper-right corner of the screen. Additionally, you can also make it the default shortcut for when you triple-click your iPhone side button. Here’s how to do both.

1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
2. Select Control Center.
3. Under More Controls, tap Accessibility Shortcuts.
4. Return to the Settings app > Accessibility.
5. Under General, tap Accessibility Shortcut.
6. Under Triple-click the side button for, select Control Nearby Devices.

Afterward, all you have to do is triple-click the iPhone side button to start searching for devices, which includes your iPad. There also doesn’t need to be any approval required from your iPad to be able to do this. Aside from your iPad, you can also use the Control Nearby Devices feature to control other iPhones linked to the same Wi-Fi and iCloud account as well. That said, right off the bat, this feature is not yet an outright replacement for a Magic Mouse or Keyboard if you want to be able to fully interact with your iPad within a short distance. But, here is to hope that we’ll be treated to more seamless options in the future.