17 hidden iPhone options everybody ought to know
12 min read
You’ve paid (and are almost definitely nonetheless paying) masses in your iPhone, so it’s wise to get in all probability probably the most you presumably can out of it, correct? Fortunately, there’s masses to be gotten out of your Apple gadget and the ever-expanding iOS, with a seemingly numerous guidelines of recommendations, hacks and hidden iPhone choices that help remember to get your money’s value and make your life a little bit of easier throughout the course of.
Right here’s a list of our favorite little recognized iPhone choices, which we love and use on each day foundation.
When you’re seeking rather more useful recommendations that may help you get in all probability probably the most out of your iPhone, why not attempt our data to the simplest iPhone gear. To find the proper case for safeguarding your iPhone, be taught our guides on the simplest iPhone 13 situations, iPhone 13 Professional situations, and that iPhone 13 Professional Max situations.
17 Hidden iPhone choices everyone must know
1. Customise your iOS Management Heart
One iPhone hack that makes my life easier frequently is being able to customize Management Heart. By together with your favorite and most used widgets to Management Heart, you presumably can entry them with solely a straightforward swipe down, even when your iPhone is locked. That is large useful everytime you need a attribute correct then and there. Personally, I uncover Music Recognition in all probability probably the most useful — no additional fumbling spherical home show display folders, desperately in search of the Shazam app sooner than the observe ends.
To customise Management Heart apps, go to Settings, then Management Heart. Scroll to the Extra Controls half and add any controls that’ll be useful at a second’s uncover.
2. Use Again Faucet for extra iPhone controls
With Again Faucet enabled, you presumably can assign a diffusion of varied capabilities to every a double and a triple finger faucet on the once more of your phone, sort of like gestures on a trackpad. I exploit Double Faucet for my Torch and Triple Faucet for my Digicam — these are every extraordinarily useful after I’m working my iPhone 13 Professional Max at odd angles and may’t attain the lock show display icons or the Management Heart pull down.
There’s a diffusion of varied time-saving and accessibility capabilities you presumably can assign, and also you’ll even combine the attribute with Shortcuts for rather more customization. You’ll uncover Again Faucet contained in the Accessibility menu in your iPhone nonetheless you presumably can attempt our data on the way in which to permit once more faucet on iPhone for step-by-step suggestion.
3. Unlock the interactive iOS local weather map
@tomsguide
♬ originalljud – S U P E R M O D E L S
Whereas all iPhone 13 fashions are waterproofed to the IP68 regular, it’s nonetheless no fulfilling to get caught out throughout the rain. Handily, the iOS Climate app has you coated with an easy-to-read interactive local weather map so that you presumably can merely see the day ahead’s local weather and on no account get caught transient as soon as extra.
With a scrolling 12-hour forecast for anyplace on the planet, that features temperate, precipitation and air top quality overlays, and your complete locations pinned, the app’s local weather map practically turns you proper right into a local weather reporter, and is hard to stop using once you’ve started. To get started merely click on on the map icon throughout the bottom-left nook of the show display throughout the Climate app. See our the way in which to entry interactive maps throughout the Apple Climate app data for extra data.
4. Share regardless of is in your show display using Siri
With iOS 15 comes superior sharing expertise using Siri. As a substitute of sharing the quaint methodology by pressing the share button, it’s essential to use Siri to share regardless of is in your show display with a contact. It’s not a life-changing attribute, nonetheless seems to be helpful once you wish to share one factor shortly and/or don’t have your arms free to take motion. An image or image could possibly be shared, as can a observe you’re listening to on Spotify. If Siri can’t share your show display, as an example with the Climate app, it’ll take a screenshot and ship that as an alternative.
To share your show display with a contact, merely say “Hey Siri, share this with…” whomever you’d choose to see it.
5. Entry the iPhone’s hidden trackpad
Even people with the smallest arms can uncover the compact keyboards of phone screens a little bit of hassle-prone, and scanning by means of huge chunks of textual content material to hunt out the exact spot it’s essential to change was a fiddly exercise. To help with this, your iPhone features a hidden trackpad, which might be utilized to scan merely and precisely all through your show display.
Simply press and preserve the realm bar in your iPhone’s space key to point out the keyboard proper right into a trackpad. See our the way in which to permit the hidden trackpad on iPhone or iPad data for additional.
6. Flip your iPhone’s digital digital camera proper right into a doc scanner
It was that scanning a doc to point out bodily pages proper right into a digital file required a faithful scanner or all-in-one printer. And definitely, for good carbon copies, that’s nonetheless the case. However what within the occasion you merely should shortly flip that line out of your textbook proper right into a quote in your notes app? Unsurprisingly, iOS has a neat decision, and your iPhone’s digital digital camera generally is a useful machine to remodel bodily textual content material into digital.
To get started, open an app it’s essential to scan textual content material into — this might presumably be Notes, Messages, or one other app that allows you to enter textual content material. Within the text-entry area, faucet and preserve for a couple of seconds then launch your finger. You must now see a scanner icon and “Scan Textual content” appear. For additional, see our step-by-step data on the way in which to scan textual content material in your iPhone.
7. Drag and drop recordsdata and pictures between apps
@tomsguide
♬ American Boy however Shibuya is there too – goalsounds
Considerably-known attribute which will stop a ton of time is the ability to tug and drop between iPhone apps. With the drag and drop attribute, you presumably can shortly and easily import an image or video out of your pictures or a webpage, or maybe a PDF out of your recordsdata, and drop it into an app like Notes or Messages. This hidden attribute is often a little bit troublesome the first time spherical.
Right here’s the gist. You faucet and preserve on the file it’s essential to switch, then switch it in direction of the best or bottom of the present. Then whereas persevering with to hold that file with one finger you swipe up from the the underside of the show display with one different finger and open the app it’s essential to drag your file into. See our data on the way in which to pull recordsdata between apps on the iPhone for extra data.
8. Enter hidden codes to unlock little recognized iPhone choices
When you’ve ever typed in a code to hunt out your IMEI or phone amount when selling your phone, you should have an inkling of what this one’s about. What you could not know, though, is that along with codes to hunt out these numbers, there are moreover codes to tell your iPhone to do an entire fluctuate of points, from hiding your amount, to diverting calls and even launching a self-discipline examine mode to see data about your cell connection. Merely open your Cellphone app, head to the Keypad and dial in considered one of many codes, which you possibly can discover in our full data to iPhone hidden codes.
9. Unleash the power of your iPhone’s calculator app
@tomsguide
♬ American Boy however Shibuya is there too – goalsounds
Like me, you may’ve thought the native Calculator app was a little bit of main at first, significantly when compared with these massive calculators you utilized in math class at school. Nicely, presumably it’s greatest to provide it one different probability: the usual Calculator app actually has plenty of ideas up its sleeve, along with being turned into a scientific calculator everytime you use the app in panorama mode. You possibly can even delete a digit by swiping throughout the Calculator app; merely swipe each left or correct on the prime of present.
Learn additional in our the way in which to swipe to delete in iPhone Calculator app.
10. Search anytime, anyplace using Highlight
Highlight search is a tool I’ve used on every Apple product I’ve ever owned, ever since I bought my first iMac after saving up money as a teenager. Positive, it’s not essential attribute on my iPhone, and positively not the reason I buy Apple merchandise, nonetheless it does save an entire lot of time once you wish to get to 1 factor fast. To take that one step extra, with iOS 15 now you may entry Highlight straight out of your lock show display, which implies you presumably can search immediately with out having to attend for Face ID to stop having a catastrophe.
To entry Highlight whereas locked, merely swipe down from anyplace nonetheless the prime correct of your show display (as this will open Management Heart).
11. Allow Face ID everytime you’re carrying a masks
Face ID makes your life easy nonetheless up until now it has been unattainable to utilize with a masks. iOS 15.4 changes that. A toggle throughout the Face ID & Passcode a part of Settings now permits you to designate that you simply simply want to make use of the attribute everytime you’re carrying a masks. When you activate the change to utilize Face ID with a masks on for the first time, you could should rescan your face. The good news is that it seems you presumably can flip the attribute on and off with out having to rescan your face each time.
For additional see our data on the way in which to make use of Face ID with a masks in iOS 15.4.
12. Use your flash for notifications
Ever get jealous of Android clients with their neat LED notification lights? What you possibly can not know is that the iPhone has a little-known accessibility attribute which offers clients a notification delicate, too. The iPhone’s LED flash could possibly be set to flash for alerts, equivalent to messages and completely different notifications. That is additional of a visual accessibility machine than a customization attribute, as you’ll solely really uncover it at midnight or in case your phone is on a flooring coping with screen-down. However it’s nonetheless pretty useful, significantly within the occasion you miss notifications masses when on silent.
Open the Settings app then scroll proper right down to and faucet “Accessibility.” Scroll proper right down to and faucet “Audio/Visible.” Scroll to the underside and faucet the toggle by “LED Flash for Alerts” to point out the attribute on. See our data on the way in which to flip in your iPhone’s LED flash alerts for extra data.
13. Forged Harry Potter spells using Siri
On prime of being a robust pocket-sized laptop computer and digital digital camera, your iPhone moreover doubles up as a magic wand. That’s correct. Now you can use Siri to strong spells from Harry Potter and permit capabilities with out having to place a finger in your show display.
To strong a spell, wake Siri up by saying “Hey Siri,” adopted by one amongst three spells. “Hey Siri, Lumos” will flip in your iPhone’s Torch, whereas “Hey Siri, Nox” will flip it off as soon as extra. You could even ship up apps using Accio, so “Hey Siri, Accio Spotify” will open Spotify. Extra spells could possibly be custom-made using Shortcuts.
See our data on the way in which to strong Harry Potter spells in your iPhone by Siri for all the selections you’ve acquired.
14. Learn how to make use of the zooming Maps slider
@tomsguide
♬ American Boy however Shibuya is there too – goalsounds
Whereas we’re all conscious of the ever-present two-finger pinch zooming function all through touchscreen models, a straightforward however comparatively obscure attribute of iOS is one-finger zooming on Apple Maps and Google Maps. This beneficial trick permits utilizing every Apple Maps and Google Maps one-handed and one-fingered, which comes into its private when navigating a model new place with full arms.
In map view, straightforward double faucet on the show display and the map will zoom in precisely. To administration the zoom stage, double faucet the show display nonetheless maintain your digit held down on the second faucet. Now you can zoom in and out. Learn additional in our data on the way in which to zoom with one hand in Apple Maps.
15. Conceal delicate or undesirable apps using the App Library
As a substitute of in search of a spot or folder for any Apps you don’t use — in any other case you don’t want people to see — it’s easier to solely switch them out of sight totally with this little-known trick. Now you can take away an app out of your personal dwelling show display with out deleting it totally, using the App Library.
To get started press and preserve the app it’s essential to cowl. After a couple of seconds, a menu ought to look with plenty of selections. From this selections menu, select “Take away App.” Doing this will ship up a second menu, press “Take away from Dwelling Display.” For additional see our useful data on the way in which to cowl apps on iPhone.
16. Activate background sounds to ease stress
If you’re in need of a little bit little bit of relaxation, it’s essential to use the Background Noise attribute to pump soothing ambient noise by means of your AirPods, along with rainfall, streams, oceans, and white noise. I can personally vouch for the way in which useful this attribute is when working, and it regularly helps me decrease out distractions and take care of my work. What’s additional, in distinction to inserting on an ASMR or ambient noise observe on Spotify or Apple Music, this attribute will not be streaming one thing, so it actually works even with out an internet connection.
Simply open Settings after which faucet Accessibility. Subsequent select Audio/Visible from the Accessibility menu. From the Audio/Visible menu click on on Backgrounds Sounds. Activate Background Sounds using the slider on the prime of the show display. See the way in which to activate background sounds in iOS 15 for extra data.
17. Rearrange plenty of apps straight
When you’ve ever achieved a full-scale rearrange of your iPhone’s Dwelling Display, you’ll perceive how tedious it could be to maneuver each app one after the opposite — so don’t. Probably the greatest little-known choices of the iPhone is you possibly can drag and switch plenty of apps abruptly. This lets you clear up your Dwelling Display in a fraction of the time.
To get started, Faucet and preserve on an app in your Dwelling Display and switch your digit barely until your entire app icons start “wiggling.” Protecting your digit held down, use one different digit to select completely different apps that you simply simply have to switch, and they also’ll all be grouped collectively. Together with your digit nonetheless held down, use one different digit to swipe to a spot on the Dwelling Display it’s essential to switch your apps to. Then, launch your digit and they also’ll all be moved.
Try our the way in which to handle iPhone apps data for extra data.
For additional ideas on getting in all probability probably the most out of your iPhone and iOS, attempt our guidelines of iOS 15 choices and the best iPhone choices to make your life easier.
