If you have an iPad with little memory, either because of the capacity it brings as standard or because it is very full, don’t worry. In this article we are going to show you a series of tips and tricks with which you can optimize the space of your tablet to be able to continue storing photos, documents and other files without having to erase things to create space.
Goodbye to the least used apps
Storing applications that are not used just for “just in case” can be a big problem if you want to save space. Think that not having an app installed is not an impediment to use it when you need it, since you can search for it in the App Store and download it at that moment. Therefore, the best recommendation we can make in this regard is not to be fond of applications that are not used frequently.
If you go to Settings> App Store you can activate the option “Uninstall unused apps” , in such a way that the iPad reviews with a certain frequency which ones you use the least and it is the same that automatically deletes them. However, we recommend not having this option activated and that you be the one to review it manually.
Clear the cache of some applications
Unlike Android, on iOS and iPadOS it is not possible to delete the cache as such in applications. We do not know why Apple does not have this functionality implemented, but it is possible to erase it in a somewhat tedious but equally effective way. For this you must uninstall the app and reinstall it later. We recommend doing it from Settings> General> iPad Storage , going to the apps and pressing “Delete” .
Delete old messages and emails
Both the messages and emails you receive will take up space, although for practical purposes it is usually quite residual and in a few cases it is usually essential in the consumption of your memory. What yes that can suppose a considerable reduction of the space are those multimedia files that you receive in it, for what we advise to always erase them and if the file is important, to transfer them to some service of storage in the cloud.
iCloud to save space on iPad
We are not going to discover any secrets now, since iCloud has been there always (or almost always) and is a very important element to be able to squeeze the most of the memory of any device. If it works on an iPhone, why not on an iPad?
We understand that you know this tool, but if not, you should know that it is a native Apple service that serves as a synchronization method between your devices and that it also has its own cloud to store backup copies or save files manually. With each Apple ID, 5 GB are given away, which can be expanded with any of the rates it offers.
- 50 GB for 0.99 euros per month.
- 200 GB for 2.99 euros per month.
- 2 TB for 9.99 euros per month.
In order to change your rate for a higher one you must take your iPad and go to Settings> your name> Manage storage and click on “Change plan” . It is likely that you need to resort to this if you want to use this service as a saving method, as we will discuss below.
The first thing that iCloud does for saving space is in photos and videos . These are typically the most space-consuming items, so reducing their size can be vital to freeing up iPad memory. If you also have the photos on your iPhone synchronized, this will be even more noticeable. For this reason, we recommend going to Settings> Photos and activating the option “Photos in iCloud” and then “Optimize storage” . In this way you will be able to access your entire gallery without consuming space, since they will be stored in the cloud and only the latest and those that you go to manually will be downloaded to the iPad.
If you also want to save documents and files on your iPad through the Files app, from there you can go to iCloud. In this app there is a direct access to your cloud service and it can be shown as just another iPad folder, having full ease when modifying or moving files.
Lower the quality of the photos and videos you take
We understand that the iPad is not a device very given to photography, despite the fact that in recent models its cameras have been considerably improved. In any case, if you want the photos and videos you take with your tablet to occupy less, you can reduce their quality from Settings> Camera . Once you are there you can disable various parameters such as HDR or Live Photos.
Google Photos allows free infinite storage
We focus again on photos and videos because, as we have already mentioned, it is usually what generates most headaches when it comes to taking up space on the iPad. The Google Photos service, with its own app on iPadOS, allows the entire gallery to be synchronized and even completely free of charge if a certain storage option is chosen.
Once you have the application installed, also having a Google account, you will have the possibility to review your native photo gallery and add all your snapshots and videos to theirs. If you go to the settings and choose the option to save them in high quality , this will optimize the size of your photos as iCloud does and you can have infinite storage. If, on the other hand, you want to have the original quality, they will consume more space and you will have to resort to Google Drive rates, since they only offer 15 GB free.
Delete or move heavy documents
At this point we return to the subject of the Files application, since if you go to the folder “On my iPad” you may find downloaded files that take up too much space on your computer. The best option of all is to delete them, but it is possible that you come across something that is important and it is not convenient for you to delete and in this case it is in which it is convenient to transfer it to iCloud or any other cloud service that you have contracted and that is synchronized perfectly with this application.
Delete podcast that you have already listened to
If you usually listen to podcasts from your iPad, either in the Apple Podcast app or any other, you may be storing downloaded episodes in a useless way. If you have already listened to them, you can proceed to delete them and free up memory space. You can even go to Settings> Podcast and deactivate the automatic download option for new episodes if you only want the ones you manually select to download.
This is applicable to other streaming services such as Apple TV +, Netflix, Disney + or any other, since if you usually download episodes on your iPad it may be that they are taking up unnecessary space once you have already consumed them.