Even
if you are a regular iPhone user, there is a chance that you may have missed out on
a lot of the amazing features of your device. The iPhone is a powerful device
that is filled with extremely fun and convenient features. These are designed
to enhance the usability of the iPhone and make it a faster, easier and highly
effective smartphone.To help you in learning about these useful features, here
is a list of top 10 iPhone hacks every user should know about.
1. Sync
iMessage with your Mac
Apple’s iMessage is a versatile app used
to communicate with family, friends and colleagues acrossvarious Apple devices.
If you spend most of your time working on your Mac, then it might be sensible
to sync your phone’s iMessage with your Mac device. Just sign in to your Mac’s ‘Messages’ app
using the same Apple ID that you use on your iPhone, and your conversations
will sync across both devices. If you are unable to use iMessage on Mac then find more information here.
2. Prevent
audio messages from expiring
If you are a regular iMessage user,
you mayhave observed that all audio messages disappear after 2 minutes.
Although a small pop-up does appearbelow the audio message to keep the message,
if you ignore it, the audio message will be gone forever. If you wantto prevent
your iPhone from automatically deleting your audio messages, go to Settings,
select Messages, scroll down, choose Audio Messages and tap Expire. Here you
will find two options, After 2 Minutes and Never. Select Never, and it’s done!
3. Select
and edit text
To enhance the accessibility of its
keyboard, iPhone has added some simple features where users can select and edit
text. For example, you can select a word by tapping twice with one finger or
select a line by tapping three timeswith one finger and select a paragraph by
tapping four times with one finger. Once you select the text, you will also see
the available editing options. Using these options, you can cut, copy, paste,
replace or format the selected text.
4. Measure
spaces in real-time
All iPhones come with a built-in ‘Measure’
app, which uses Augmented Reality to measure distances. As this is an extremely
accurate app, you no longer need a measuring tape to measure different spaces
or objects. To measure something, open the Measure app, position your iPhone’s
camera to face a flat surface, tap the “+” icon to start measuring and move
your iPhone across the surface to move the on-screen measure. Once you reach
the end of the surface tap “+” icon again to view the measured distance.
5. Set
a sleep timer for music
If you like to fall asleep while
listening to music or podcasts, you can make use of the iPhone’s feature that switches
off audio after a certain time. To enable a sleep timer for music and podcasts,
go to the Clock app, tap Timer, select When Timer Ends, scroll down and select
Stop Playing. This will turn off music when the timer expires.
6. Get
LED flash notifications
If you prefer to receive visual alerts
for all notifications instead of audio alerts, then there is a feature that
will alert you using your iPhone’s LED light. When enabled, your phone’s LED
light will flash every time you receive a message or a notification. To turn on
this feature, go to settings, select General, choose Accessibility, tap
Audio/Visual and toggle on “LED Flash for Alerts”.
7. Quickly
launch a website
There are numerous secrets hidden in
your iPhone’s keyboard. For example, if you are in a hurry to open a website,
then here is a shortcut for you. First, type a website’s address into Safari
and then tap and hold down the period icon that is at the bottom of your
iPhone’s keyboard. This will suggest a list of multiple URL endings. You will
find different options of standard suffixes such as .com or .net and other
uncommon suffixes such as .edu, .org and .ie. To quickly finish entering the
web address, just choose the suffix you want and press the “go” button.
8. Lock
your camera’s focus and exposure
Many times while taking pictures users
lose the adjusted focus and exposure level due to not being able to hold the
phone steadily. However, with a single tap on the screen, you can fix your
iPhone’s camera focus and exposure. To fix it, hold your finger on the screen
until the “AF/AE Locked” dialogue box appears on top of your screen. Once you
fix this, the camera will not lose its focus or exposure settings, even if you
twist or turn your phone.
9. Stop
apps from asking for feedback
User reviews and feedback are
important for app developers to improve the functionality of their apps.
However, being continuously interrupted by popups to rate an app or leave a
feedback can be annoying for many users. If no longer wish to be interrupted for
app feedback and reviews then simply go to Settings, select App Store and
toggle off ‘In-App Ratings & Reviews’. This will prevent apps from
interrupting you for feedback and ratings.
10. Set
a Timer faster
If you frequently use your iPhone’s Timer, there is a quickeralternative for opening the Clock and setting up the Timer. To quickly set up your iPhone’s Timer, swipe down on your screen to access the Control Centre. Here you will find a Timer icon. Rather than tapping the Timer, tap and hold it till a box appears to set the timer. Just swipe your finger up to adjust the Timer as per your preference. As soon as you adjust the time, tap Start and it’s done. Alternatively, if you make use of Siri, you can simply say ‘Hey Siri, set a timer for XX minutes’, and Siri will start the timer for you.
● Conclusion
Over the years, Apple has put a lot of
effort into increasingthe versatility of its iOS. As Apple continues to
introduce new features to enhance the performance of its devices, you should
keep your eyes out for new features to stay updated with your phone’s latest
hacks and tricks.
Author bio
This article is written by Laura Butler. Laura is co-owner at Outreach Lab, who specializes in providing content writing and SEO services to businesses around the world. Having worked in multiple start-ups over the years, she has experience in building businesses from the ground up.
