This guide will show you how to switch between each of the Apps that you have open on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
This tutorial has a bit of a ‘choose your own adventure’ aspect to it, since the process is a little bit different across the various iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch models and devices. Mostly it relates to the Home button – the physical button at the bottom of the iPhone or iPad. So to get started, choose your device:
An iPhone with a Home button (all iPhones before the iPhone X)
An iPhone without a Home button (iPhone X, iPhone 11/12, iPhone SE 2nd Gen)
An iPad with a Home button (most)
An iPad without a Home button (the 2020 iPad Air and some iPad Pro models)
Switch Between iPhone Apps With a Home Button
Double-tap the Home button to bring up the App Switcher. From here you can swipe from side to side to see all of your open Apps, and tapping one brings it to the forefront. It’s that easy! (once you know how)
Switch Between iPhone Apps Without a Home Button
A while ago Apple decided to do away with the Home button. Now, the following iOS and iPadOS devices don’t have one: the iPhone X and newer, most iPad Pro models and the 2020 iPad Air. So to switch between open Apps on one of these devices you’ll need to use “gestures“.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (the little bar), hold your finger on the screen for a second and the App switcher will appear. Now just swipe left or right to scroll through your open Apps and then tap the one you want to bring it to the forefront. Ta-da!
Switch Between iPad Apps With a Home Button
Switching between open Apps on an iPad with a Home button is accomplished the same way as switching between them with an iPhone with a Home button – it just looks a bit different. Double-tap the Home button to bring up the App Switcher, and then select the App you want to use. If you have a lot of open Apps, you can swipe from side-to-side to scroll through them all. That’s it!
Switch Between iPad Apps Without a Home Button
Without a home button, you have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold your finger for a split second until the App Switcher appears. Then you can sideways swipe to scroll between all of the open Apps on your iPad and when you find the one you want to open, just tap it.
