Think you know your iPhone inside and out? Think again.
That shiny little rectangle hides more secrets than a teenager’s diary. From time-saving tips to magical photo editing tricks, there’s a world of untapped potential waiting to be discovered in this nifty little device.
So put on your explorer hat and journey with us into the hidden depths of your iPhone. ‘How did I not know this before?’ We’re about to show you the features that will make you think. Consider this your treasure map to unlock the full power of your trusty sidekick.
Camera and photo tips
Long press the shutter button to shoot video
Want to make a quick video? Just long press the shutter button in the camera app. The video ends when you release the button. This is a much faster way to shoot out-of-the-box video than actually changing the shooting mode.
You can search for almost anything in Photos
Photos may be smarter than you think. You can use almost any term you want in the search bar. Cat? Beach? Sunset? Certainly. Apple’s image analysis engine tags images added to your library as if you’d spent hours cataloging them. This also includes where the image was taken; This is especially useful when viewing photos from a specific vacation.
Convert Live Photo to GIF
GIFs are fine, but a GIF of your actual friends or family? This is next level. You can convert any Live Photo, the small video that standardly accompanies iPhone photos, to be shared on WhatsApp or your preferred messaging app. But it’s easiest with a third-party app like Giphy; so install this from App Store. Go to Photos, scroll down to find the Live Photos category. Find the one you want, tap the Live button in the top left corner, and select Loop. Tap the Share button and select the Giphy icon below. Now hit Share GIF on Giphy and then select Save GIF.
You can literally drag and drop photos
The iPhone’s drag and drop feature is surprisingly powerful. In Photos, long-press a photo and drag it until a photo appears floating above the app. You can now exit that app with another finger while keeping the photo on your home screen. Now you can, for example, open your email app, start composing a message, and drop the image into that email. It may sound a little complicated because you have to keep your thumb or finger on that image the whole time. But it’s surprisingly easy.
Siri tricks
Siri can find people
You can ask Siri to find a contact. Apple’s example is simply “Where’s Gordon?” is what you ask. And if you know someone named Gordon, that will work. But this isn’t a privacy and tracking nightmare. There are some caveats involved. This person must have shared their location with you using the Find My app. You may know it can find your phone or MacBook, but it can also find people. Find My App has a dedicated People tab that lets you (and they) share location with contacts.
The “Hey” command is optional these days
Tired of saying “Hey, Siri”? You can at least reduce this a bit. Go to your iPhone’s Settings menu and select Siri & Search. At the top you will see the “Listen” entry. One option here allows the assistant to just listen for “Siri” and “hey Siri.” Why waste that extra syllable?
Siri can read articles for you
Want to read an article but your hands are full? Siri can sort this. Open this article’s web page in Safari and tap the small “aA” button to the left of the web address bar. Select Show Reader, which formats a web page in an easily readable format. Then, when you press the “aA” button again, select the Listen Page option from the menu that opens. A synthesized voice will then read the story in the same character/accent as your iPhone’s Siri. No Show Reader option? This means it can’t be formatted in a readable layout, but it worked for most of the news sites we tried.
Travel and Maps
See the sights of London in 3D
Apple Maps introduced 3D mapping for major cities like London in 2013. Go to a built-in area on the map, put two fingers on the screen and move them up; so you can make Apple Maps enter 3D mode. As you zoom in, you’ll start to see individually rendered buildings and even 3D trees. Works best with bookmarks modeled individually. The London Eye is particularly impressive. Take a look at this.
Download maps for offline navigation
Prepare for the holidays by downloading a large amount of Apple Maps for offline access. In the Maps app, tap the account shortcut at the bottom right of the screen. Select Offline Maps and then Download New Map. You will see a search bar or you can select your current location. Have you chosen your location? You will then see a map window with a box that you can expand to adjust the area. The more maps, the more memory it requires.
Get walking and running directions with augmented reality
This is so cool. Apple Maps lets you get AR directions on your phone; This means you can point your phone around you as if you were going to take a photo and see the instructions on the screen. All you have to do is start the pedestrian navigation session as normal, then tap the button that looks like a 3D square block. This will prompt you to lift your iPhone to scan for nearby buildings so the phone can detect exactly where you are.
Maps lets you easily share your ETA
Here’s a slightly boring but sensible one. Regardless of the method, remember that you can “share your ETA” with friends and family while navigating. You’ll see this shortcut when you create a route or press the little “up arrow” to view route options while navigating. It asks you to select a contact or contacts from your contacts book. Anyone with an iPhone will be able to see your progress via a link, while Android users will be sent an ETA via text and updated if this ETA changes.
Translate languages without internet
Here’s a big holiday data saver. You can download entire languages to your iPhone for offline translation. For example, it works to convert English into spoken French in the Apple Translate app. And this comes in handy when you have to point your phone camera at a restaurant menu to figure out what something is. This is genius. Apple warns that the translation may not be as good as when accessed online, but it looks pretty solid to us.
day by day
Convert your phone to grayscale
Do you find that your phone distracts you too often? Us too. One method to counter this, especially if video is your go-to, is to turn on Grayscale mode. While it has other applications, this can really make social media content seem less redundant. To try this, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. The top option is grayscale, while the bottom ones are for people with different forms of color blindness.
The calculator gets much smarter when you turn your phone
Here’s something quick. Did you know that when you turn your phone sideways in the calculator application, you see much more advanced options? In upright mode, the Calculator is pretty basic, but it turns into a scientific calculator capable of doing some pretty complex equation calculations on its side.
Move multiple apps simultaneously
Instead of moving individual apps to a different location, you can move a group of apps together using this trick. First you need to press and hold an app and move it slightly until all your apps start shaking. Holding the app in your hand, start tapping on other apps you want to move with it; These will be brought together. Remember, if your chosen apps are scattered around, you can switch to different screens using your free hand. Once you find a new place for them, leave the apps and tap OK.
Calls and messaging
Use any emoji as message reaction
When a handful of reactions in Messages don’t do the trick, just press and drag an emoji of your choice to paste it into the blue bubble. Now you can send fire emojis when your friends suggest going out for drinks after work. Alternatively, you can press and hold a message and select “add tag” from the drop-down menu below it. But the first route is more fun and will impress your friends too.
You can use selective silent mode
If you want someone to reach you even when Silent or Focus modes are on, that’s no problem. Just tap the Emergency Bypass switch in the Ringtone section of your phone’s contact list. This is a good way to avoid having to switch between silent and non-silent modes as often.
Using the keyboard as a cursor
If you’re writing a message or typing a web address, this is one of the best tips you’ll find. Long press the space bar on the virtual keyboard until all key letters disappear. You can now treat the screen like a trackpad until you take your thumb or finger off the screen again. This is the fastest way to correct typos or replace words in long paragraphs, and it feels much more precise than tapping on a touchscreen.
Text replacements can save typing time
This is the biggest time (and thumb) saver for large texters and iPhone emailers. Text replacement allows you to write entire phrases in short form; so you only have to type a string of characters instead of a string of words. For example, “Bodo” could enter: “Come on, today is garbage disposal day and this week is definitely your turn.” Or something more practical. You set the letter strings and what they actually “type” in Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Obviously, you don’t want these to be actual words, but you can cancel the text replacement gesture by tapping the pop-up emoticon when it appears.
Make a digital version of your own voice
One of the creepiest and most interesting additional iPhone features is Personal Audio. It allows anyone to create a Siri-like digital version of their own voice. The idea is to enable people who have difficulty communicating to continue using their own voices to talk to friends and family. But anyone can try. To create this voice profile, you need to recite 150 epic phrases into your phone, and you can find it in Settings > Accessibility > Personal Voice. You then triple-tap the power button to open a window where you can type Personal Voice phrases to be read aloud. It doesn’t determine a person’s intonation or speaking rhythm, but you can definitely tell based on their voice.