Even though Apple’s iPhone costs more than most other smartphones, it’s still #1 in the US, with more than 50% of the installed user base in the country, according to recently released data by Counterpoint Research, via Financial Times.
Additionally, analysts at Counterpoint have said that this is Apple’s highest share of active smartphone users since the original iPhone in 2007.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple also has the highest brand loyalty of all the major smartphone makers, with 9 out of 10 US iPhone users saying they plan to buy an iPhone as their next device. as reported by 9to5Mac last year.
Even if you are one of the many happy iPhone owners, chances are you are not using your beloved device to its fullest.
To help you save time, and in some cases, money, the following are 10 little-known “must-have” hacks, shortcuts, and tricks.
Edit, cancel sending messages
One of the best additions to iOS 16 allows you to modify a message you just sent or retract it entirely. We’ve all had that “uh-oh” moment.
To test this, open Messages and type your message as you normally would. Tap to send it. Now long press on that sent message and you will see options like Edit and Undo Send in the menu that appears. Tap on whatever you want to use at the time.
There’s a catch: the person you’re sending it to must also have iOS 16, or else they’ll still see the message.
Enable haptic keyboard
Apple added “haptic feedback” to its keyboard, as part of the iOS 16 operating system update.
This is that slight vibration you feel under your fingertips when you type a message, write an email, or write something in the Notes app. It feels great and confirms that each virtual key is pressed.
To enable it, go to Settings > Sound & haptics > Keyboard feedback. Now activate the Haptic option.
No more typos!:Here’s how to easily edit and unsend text messages on your iPhone.
Get that text back:What Really Happens When You Unsend a Text Message on Your iPhone
iPhone secret button
Naturally, you know the iPhone buttons on the sides of the device, or the circular home button on older models, but there’s one more.
It’s on the back, where the logo is, but you won’t see it with the naked eye.
Aptly named “Back Tap,” this feature allows you to instantly activate just about anything you want on your phone, such as turning on the flashlight (when you’re walking to your car in a dark parking lot, for example), launching the camera, taking a snapshot of screen, mute iPhone, or launch any app (such as a shortcut to open TikTok).
To enable Back Tap and select what action takes place, go to Settings > Accessibility > Tap > Back Tap. Here you can choose what a double tap and triple tap does!
Shake to remove
Are you typing on your iPhone and want to undo what you just typed? Just shake the damn thing.
Yes, enabled by default, you can quickly fix bugs by shaking your iPhone from side to side, and you’ll see a message to confirm that you want to undo your action. It’s faster and easier than pressing and holding backspace until all the text is deleted.
If you don’t like this “Shake to Undo” feature, you can turn it off by going to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Shake to Undo.
Screenshot of a full web page
You probably know that you can take a screenshot of something on your iPhone by pressing the Power button on the side along with the Volume Up button.
You’ll hear the familiar “camera shutter” sound effect, see a white flash on the screen, and a thumbnail of the image will float to the bottom left.
But what if you want to capture a long article or a detailed recipe and it doesn’t fit on your iPhone screen?
To save an entire page in Safari, simply open the web link, take a screenshot (per the instructions above), and at the top of the screen you’ll see an option to save the screen or save the entire page. Select the Full Page option, followed by Done and Save PDF to Files.
Later, open Files to read it.
Correct Siri’s pronunciation
Apple’s voice-controlled personal assistant can be great at giving you information like weather, directions, and sports scores, but sometimes Siri just doesn’t say it right. This is especially true for some names and places, perhaps with origins in other languages, that can be difficult for Siri to pronounce.
If Siri says something wrong, like pronouncing your friend Mica’s name as “me-kah” instead of “mike-ah,” just say “That’s not how it’s pronounced (Mica)” and then say the mispronounced word.
Turn any book into an audiobook
Now this is useful. A feature called Speak Screen can read aloud any text on the screen at its disposal.
Although it is primarily designed for people with vision impairments, anyone can take advantage of this feature if they want to turn an ebook into an audiobook. Now you can listen while you’re in the car, closing your eyes on a plane, or walking down the street.
To turn it on, go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Speak Screen.
Then, in any app you have open, swipe down from the top of the iPhone screen with two fingers to listen to the content on the screen, such as an ebook, email, article, or notes.
You can modify the voice, including gender and language, speed of speech, and more.
Create custom vibrations, ringtones
How good would it be to know who’s calling, just by the way the iPhone buzzes in your pocket? You may.
In the Contacts app, select the person you want and tap Edit. Select Ringtone and you will see a Vibrate option.
Hit that and you’ll see several options, like Heartbeat, Rapid, and Staccato, including a Create New Vibration tool to customize your own buzz.
In this way, you can have a different ringtone for your partner, children or friends, and know who is calling without having to look at your phone.
Similarly, you can create custom ringtones for different people.
Use the hidden trackpad
Let’s say you’re composing a message, email, or note, and you need to change something you wrote before you send or save it. With your iPhone, simply long press on the keyboard and the cursor will automatically turn into a mouse-like trackpad.
Now keep your finger or thumb on the screen and drag the cursor to reach the part of the text you want to modify and release it.
Or to highlight text, just press a little harder while continuing to swipe. Then release to bring the keyboard back.
calculator shortcut
If you are using the calculator but make a mistake by typing in the wrong number, you do not need to clear the screen and start over.
Instead, just swipe left or right across the numbers to delete the last digit. You can keep doing this to remove the last digit.
On a related note, simply turn the iPhone sideways, when in the Calculator app, to access the built-in scientific calculator.
Source: news.google.com