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 photo editing magic tricks, there’s a whole world of untapped potential waiting to be discovered in that sleek little device.
So put on your explorer and journey with us into the hidden depths of your iPhone. We’re about to show you features that will make you wonder, “How come I didn’t know this before?” Consider this your treasure map to unlock the full power of your trusty sidekick.
Camera and photo tips
Long press the shutter button to take a video
Want to make a quick video? You can simply long press the shutter button in the camera app. Once you release the button that’s it, the video ends. It’s a much faster way to record an off-the-hip video than actually changing the recording mode.
In Photos you can search for almost anything
Photos might be a lot smarter than you thought. You can use almost any term you want in the search bar. Cat? Beach? Sunset? Certainly. Apple’s image analysis engine tags your photos as they are added to your library, as if you spent hours cataloging them yourself. This also extends to where the photo was taken, which is especially useful for tracking down photos from a particular vacation.
Turn a Live Photo into a GIF
GIFs are fine and all, but a GIF of your real friends or family? That’s the next level. You can share any Live Photo, the small video that comes standard with iPhone photos, on WhatsApp or your messaging app of choice. But it’s easiest with a third-party app like Giphy, so install that from the App Store. Go to Photos, scroll down to find the Live Photos category. Find the one you’re looking for, tap the Live button in the top left corner and select Loop. Tap the share button and select the Giphy icon below. Now in Giphy, press Share GIF 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 it appears to float above the app. With another finger you can now swipe out of that app, while still holding the photo above your home screen. For example, you can now open your email app, compose a message and simply drop the image into that email. It may sound awkward because you have to keep your thumb or finger on that image all the time. But it’s surprisingly simple.
Siri tricks
Siri can find people
You can ask Siri to find a person. Apple’s example is simply asking, “Where’s Gordon?” And that will work, if you know someone named Gordon. However, this is not a privacy and stalking nightmare. There are some caveats involved. That person must have shared their location with you through the Find My app. You may know it for finding your phone or MacBook, but it can also find people. There’s a special People tab in the Find My app, which allows you (and them) to share your location with contacts.
The “hey” command is optional these days
Are you getting tired of saying, “Hey, Siri”? You can at least shorten this a little. Go to your iPhone’s Settings menu and select Siri & Search. At the very top you will see a ‘Listen to’ item. One of the options here allows the assistant to listen to both “Siri” and “hey Siri.” Why waste that extra syllable?
Siri can read articles for you
Do you want to read an article, but your hands are full? Siri can take care of that. Open that article’s web page in Safari and tap the little “aA” button to the left of the web address bar. Select Show Reader, which formats a web page in an easy-to-read format. Then select Listen to Page from the menu that appears when you press the “aA” button again. A synthesized voice then reads the story, with the same character/accent as your iPhone’s Siri. No Show Reader option? This means it can’t be formatted into a readable layout, but most news sites we tried worked.
Travel and maps
See the sights of London in 3D
Apple Maps introduced 3D maps for major cities like London in 2013. Go to a built-up area on the map, place two thumbs on the screen and move them up and Apple Maps will enter 3D mode. Zoom in and you’ll see individually rendered buildings and even 3D trees. It works best with landmarks, which are modeled individually. The London Eye is especially impressive. To look at.
Download maps for offline navigation
Prepare for vacation by downloading a good chunk 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. Selected your spot? You’ll then see a map window, with a box you can expand to set the area. The more cards, the more memory required.
Receive augmented reality walking and running instructions
This one is very cool. Apple Maps lets you get AR directions on your phone, meaning you can point your phone at your surroundings as if you were about to take a photo and see directions on the screen. All you have to do is start a navigation session on foot in the normal way and then tap the button that looks like a square 3D block. This will ask you to lift your iPhone to scan nearby buildings so the phone can determine exactly where you are.
Maps makes it easy to share your expected arrival time
Here’s a slightly boring but sensible one. Don’t forget that you can “share your ETA” with friends and family as you navigate, in any way you choose. When you create a route, or press the little up arrow to show route options while navigating, you’ll see this shortcut. You will be asked to choose a person or persons from your contact book. Anyone with an iPhone can see your progress via a link, while Android users receive an ETA via text message and are updated if that ETA changes.
Translate languages without internet
Here’s a big data saver during the holidays. You can download entire languages for offline translation on your iPhone. It works to speak English into the Apple Translate app to convert it into spoken French, for example. And it works for those times when you just have to point your phone’s camera at a restaurant menu to figure out what something is. It’s brilliant. Apple warns that the translation may not be as good as online access, but to us it seems pretty solid.
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Turn your phone to grayscale
Do you find yourself distracted by your phone far too often? We also. One method to combat this, especially if video is your vice, is to enable grayscale mode. While it has other uses, it can make social media content look less appealing. To try it, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. The top option is grayscale, while the lower option is for people with various forms of color blindness.
The calculator becomes much smarter when you rotate your phone
Here’s a quickie. Did you know that when you turn your phone sideways in the calculator app, much more advanced options appear? In upright mode, Calculator is as simple as can be, but it turns into a scientific calculator capable of quite complicated calculations of equations.
Move multiple apps at once
Instead of moving individual apps to another location, this trick lets you move a group of them together. First you have to press and hold an app and move it a bit until all your apps start shaking. Hold the app, tap the other apps you want to move with it, and they’ll be bundled together. Don’t forget that you can use your free hand to swipe across screens if your chosen apps are spread out. Once you’ve found a new place for them, simply release the apps and tap Done.
Calls and messages
Use an emoji as a message response
If the handful of responses to Messages simply aren’t enough, simply press and hold an emoji of your choice and drag it onto a blue bubble. Now you can send your friends the fire emoji when they suggest grabbing a drink after work. You can also press and hold on a message and select ‘add sticker’ from the pop-up menu below. But the first route is more fun – and will also impress your friends.
You can use a selective silent mode
If you want to reach someone even if you have silent or focus mode enabled, that’s no problem. You just need to toggle the emergency override switch in the person’s contact list on your phone, in the Ringtone section. It’s a good way to avoid having to switch between silent and non-silent modes so frequently.
Use the keyboard as a cursor
If you’re writing a message or typing a web address, this is one of the best tips you can 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 lift your thumb or finger from the screen again. This is the fastest way to correct typos or change words in longer paragraphs, and feels much more accurate than just tapping the touchscreen.
Text replacements can save typing time
This is the ultimate time (and thumb) saver for the big messagers and iPhone emailers out there. Text replacement lets you write entire sentences 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, it’s trash day and it’s definitely your turn this week.” Or something more practical. You set the letter strings and what they actually ‘write’ in Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Obviously you don’t want these to be actual words, although you can cancel the text replacement gesture by tapping the phrase popup as it appears.
Create a digital version of your own voice
One of the creepiest and most interesting additional iPhone features is Personal Voice. This allows anyone to create a Siri-like digital version of their voice. The idea is to allow people who have difficulty communicating to use their own voice to talk to friends and family. But anyone can try. You’ll need to read a whopping 150 sentences into the phone to build this voice profile, and it can be found in Settings > Accessibility > Personal Voice. 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 cadence, but you can certainly tell that it is based on their voice.