I love my 12-inch Surface Pro, as well as my Surface Go 2, but it’s clear that Windows 11 isn’t exactly ideal when using these devices purely as tablets. Unlike Windows 10, which featured its own bespoke Tablet Mode, Windows 11 simply adjusts certain user interface elements automatically when it detects that no keyboard is attached. This works well enough, but it’s far from a truly tablet-esque experience if you ask me.

That being said, there are several out-of-box settings in Windows 11 that you can adjust to make a Surface tablet (or any 2-in-1 PC) look and feel much more like, say, an iPad or an Android slab. It’s not a perfect solution, to be sure, but it does make enough of a difference to streamline touch interactions and make for a smoother touch screen-centric experience.

Here are three simple-yet-effective software adjustments I made to my Surface to make it function more like an iPad, ranging from adjusting the user interface to altering the behavior of application windows themselves.

Adjust display scaling

Make touch targets tappable

Based on your PC make and model, as well as your screen size and resolution, the default user interface scaling on Windows 11 may vary. By increasing your scaling, you can make the various interface elements of the operating system larger across the board, which helps emulate the tablet-like experience of using an iPad with larger touch targets and the like.

To increase display scaling on your PC, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings application.
2. Navigate to System > Display > Scale & layout.
3. From here, select your preferred scaling from the drop-down menu under Scale.

In my case, I opted for a 250 percent scaling on my system, which makes everything from the Start Menu to the Settings app itself larger and easier to tap with a finger. If you’re a fan of information density, then this won’t be an ideal setup for you, but it does make a lot of sense when using a 2-in-1 PC in its tablet or tent mode postures.

Optimize the taskbar

For a more Dock-like experience

Windows 11 makes it easy to configure the taskbar such that it looks, feels, and behaves more like the dock found on iPadOS or macOS. Specifically, you can center-align application icons, you can ensure that icon labels are disabled, and you can toggle on a setting that optimizes the user interface element for tablet usage.

To center-align your taskbar, follow these steps:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Navigate to Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Taskbar icon alignment.
3. Select Center from the drop-down menu.

To disable app labels, follow these steps:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Navigate to Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors.
3. Select Always from the drop-down menu for Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels.

To optimize your taskbar for touch interactions, follow these steps:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Navigate to Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors.
3. Toggle on Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet.

Enable maximization mode

It’s no Tablet Mode, but it’ll do

As of Windows 11’s September 2026 preview update KB5124010, it’s now natively possible to toggle on a feature that forces application windows to open in their maximized state by default. This is particularly useful on PCs with smaller screens, but it also serves as a way to make the interface more tablet-like on any and any computer running the operating system.

To force applications to always open maximized, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings application.
2. Navigate to Accessibility > Visual effects.
3. Toggle on the Open apps maximized entry.

No, it’s not a substitute for a true Tablet Mode à la Windows 10, but Open apps maximized is the next best thing available out of the box for Windows 11 users. When enabled, the system feels that slight bit more tablet-like, as opposed to having program windows float around in a more desktop-eque setup.