Today, iPhones have become more popular than many Android flagships in India. They have a long-lasting lifespan, and Apple also offers software support for five to seven years for almost every model. If you’ve been a previous iPhone user, you might be familiar with most of the iOS features. However, there’s still a lot to be explored and you might have missed knowing about a few hidden features.
On the other hand, if you’ve switched from Android and unboxed your first-ever iPhone, it’s easier to become overwhelmed. Most of the lesser-known features are buried deep and are accidentally stumbled upon by users. These often help you in your daily routine, maximise your smartphone’s potential, and make your usage efficient.
iPhone 15 tips and tricks to look out for
If you’re using an older iPhone like the iPhone 15 or the latest-generation iPhone 16 loaded with Apple Intelligence, there are plenty of tips and tricks apart from the popular ones. We won’t be gatekeeping those in this article. Read on to know everything.
1. Ask Siri to read
If you don’t have the time to read your morning news or perhaps an interesting but lengthy article, Siri can do the job for you by just saying ‘Read this’ or ‘Listen to this’. You should make sure that the webpage is open when you ask the voice assistant to perform this task. This way you can go on with your routine by just listening to the text-based story on the web instead of reading it.
2. Find photos easily
The Photos app on iOS has received a huge upgrade in recent times. Specifically, the search icon at the bottom of the app is now more powerful than ever. If you have images that contain text, you can just input a keyword from it and you will be amazed to see the accurate results. The tool also recognises people, pets, and places. Narrowing down your search will also throw better results. This function saves quite a lot of time instead of having to scroll through all the memories.
3. App icon quick action menu
Long pressing the app icons on the home screen will display access to quick actions. This will take you straight to what you want to perform in the app directly from the home screen. For example: with Google Pay and Google Keep, you can scan a QR code and make a new note respectively. This trick saves the time of opening the app and then navigating to perform the task.
4. Built-in trackpad
Your iPhone has a built-in trackpad. When you long-press the spacebar and feel haptic feedback, the keyboard goes blank. This is when the trackpad gets activated. This hack allows you to move the cursor precisely when you are going through a lengthy text. It also enables you to make necessary edits easily compared to the traditional method of moving the cursor to a specific part of the text.
5. Turn portraits into normal photos
Most of us would love to have a blurred background when clicking portraits. However, if you photograph somebody in portrait mode and then find the background is much better, you can deblur it. You need to edit the picture in the Photos app where you will get the option to adjust the aperture slider. Usually, an aperture value i.e. f/4.0 above is recommended for getting a deblurred shot. A higher number works best if you want sharper details. And if you don’t want to make those edits, there’s now an option to turn off the portrait mode.
Furthermore, the iPhone 15 series and newer are capable of turning a normal photo into portrait mode. The feature records depth information to apply a background blur and does not work with every photo.
6. Quick video shooting
You can record videos without switching the default photo mode on the iPhone 11 and newer models by just holding the shutter button. If you don’t want to keep it holding for too long, you can just slide it to the far-right corner of the screen. The camera will continue to record the footage. However, the icing on the cake is that you can also capture a still photo while the phone is capturing a video. This way you can capture fleeting moments in both video and photo formats without having to switch the modes.
7. Switch apps quickly
If you’re using multiple apps on your phone, the standard way to switch between them is by scrolling from the bottom, which will open the app switcher. There’s a much lesser-known hack to save time during multitasking. At the bottom edge of the screen, you can swipe left or right from either side. This easily takes you from one app to another.
8. Spotlight search
The next time you want to do basic mathematical calculations, avoid using the calculator app. Just open the spotlight search that is above the home screen dock. Type the math problem and you will get the result. Spotlight search can also show the latest currency conversion results and timings for different locations.
9. Control with voice commands
While Siri is already powerful, your iPhone also comes with a Voice Commands feature that can be activated by going to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Hit the toggle to enable. With this, you can give a host of commands like opening up the apps and even navigating on your device
10. Back Tap
This has become a known feature on iPhones. But it still deserves a worthy mention. Back Tap is an accessibility feature that lets you perform certain tasks just by tapping on the back panel of your device with your index finger (remember index finger only!). There are two options – double tap and triple tap. Head to Settings > Accessibility > Physical and Motor > Back Tap. With a back tap, you can take screenshots, launch an app, open a control centre, and more.
So, these tips and tricks showcase the hidden potential of your iPhone. You will enjoy them and take your usage experience to a whole new level.