iPhones were first released back in 2007, and since that time, there have been numerous improvements to that first device. In fact, consumers like yourself are using these phones in a much different way now than before, simply because the number of included features has changed dramatically over time.
Of course, now there are so many features that you can use, we can guarantee that you, and everyone else, are easily getting confused or simply not using them to their fullest potential. Since new iPhones can cost upwards of a thousand dollars, you may want to learn how to use as many features as you can, so you can really get the most bang for your buck!
Here are 13 iPhone tips and tricks you must know about and use all the time:
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The Flashlight
Did you know that your iPhone has a flashlight feature? It does, and it can be one of the most underutilized features of your phone! You can gain access to the flashlight feature through your phone’s iOS Control Center, which means that it is easy to turn on when darkness hits. While you can follow those same steps to turn it off, we recommend using the camera shortcut from your lock screen instead. After all, it is less buttons to push, especially if you are still in the dark.
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AirDrop Multi-Photos
How many times have you been out with friends, taking pictures, and having everyone ask you to send those pictures to them? It happens all the time, right? And you think that it is so time-consuming and that you will miss out on all the upcoming fun! Not anymore! Instead of sending every picture individually, you can use the iPhone’s AirDrop feature. With AirDrop, you can easily transfer photos between two iOS devices without a Wi-Fi connection. The only thing that you and your friends will need to do is enable the AirDrop feature on your iPhones. Once that is completed, all your friends contact pictures will show up on your screen and you can tap on the ones that you need to send the photos to.
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Use Siri to Identify Songs
When was the last time that you were rocking along to a song, only to wonder exactly what that song was? As you are listening to the song, all you need to do is say “Hey Siri, what song is this?” or “Hey Siri, what song is playing?” Siri will respond with “Hang on, let me listen”. It will only take a few seconds before Siri will come back with “I can name that Tune” and you will know exactly what song you are listening to!
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Go Back Fast
Anytime that you need to see the last screen you used, all you need to do is swipe to the right from the edge of your screen. This will automatically bring up your last window and it is way better than any back button!
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Lock Photo Focus and Exposure
Holding your iPhone steady for a photo can be quite difficult, which means that your focus and exposure can be quickly lost if you are not careful. However, if you tap and hold your screen until you see a yellow bar appear at the top, your focus and exposure will stay unchanged until you are finished.
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Set Custom Sounds
Every text message and phone call can sound the same on your iPhone, but you have the option to customize each one that you get, so you know who is calling and texting you at all times. All you need to do is go to your contacts, choose a contact, and click edit. From there you can choose the ringtone and text tone that you want for that contact. Simply repeat the process for anyone else that you want to have a designated ring and text tone for. This is an excellent iPhone tip for seniors, because they can choose to only answer the phone when they recognize the ring tone.
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Screen Recording with or without Sound
Your iPhone comes to you with a multitude of ready to use apps and one of the better iPhone tips apps is the screen recording within your control center. Most of the time you can find your control center by swiping up on your iPhone, but it can also be found within your settings. Once you are within your control center, you can push the screen recording button and it will record anything that is on your screen until you tell it to stop recording. If you need sound with your screen recording, you can easily push the microphone button within your control center at the same time and you will have sound in your recording.
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Weather Alarm
Apple has created many innovative apps over the years, but their weather alarm may be one of the best. Imagine utilizing one of the longtime favorite iPhone tips apps to learn about your day before you even crawl out of bed. All you need to do is install this app onto your iPhone and when the alarm goes off in the morning, it will tell you what the weather will be like that day, while also giving you your horoscope, the latest news, what’s on your calendar, and much more. How amazing is it that you can learn so much before you even reach on arm or leg out of bed?!! Your days will never be the same again!
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Charge Your Phone Faster
It takes time to charge cell phones, but if you take the time to place your iPhone into airplane mode, you will find that you can cut your charging time by at least half. This is one of my favorites of the many iPhone tips and tricks, because I am always looking at ways to get my phone back in my pocket faster and without interruptions during the charging process.
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Conquer Touch ID Recognition
Everyone seems to find that their fingerprint is denied at least once or twice when they are trying to access their cell phone, which is why this tip is going to be so useful to so many people! We recommend going to your Touch ID and Passcode under Settings and choosing add a fingerprint. This is one of the exceptional iPhone tips for seniors, as well as everyone else, because it will store more information about your finger patterns. This will ensure that the scan is much faster and accurate in the future, resulting in your never needing to wait for your phone to open after multiple tries.
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Respond to Phone Calls Via Text
There are always going to be those calls that you cannot answer right away and while the iPhone has three pre-written text option responses available, you can also customize your own responses. All that you need to do is go into your settings and then to phone before clicking on respond with text. In that area, you can choose which one of the pre-recorded ones that you want to use and then type in the one that you want. Then you can simply tap that response when your phone rings and you are too busy to answer it!
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Utilize the Auto-Fill Feature
Handy iPhone tips for seniors include an auto-fill feature that will allow everyone to fill in certain information automatically. While everyone can use this feature, seniors love it the most, because it saves them from having to type too many of the smaller letters and numbers on the keyboard, especially if they have trouble with their hands. All you need to do to set this up is to go into settings then safari and auto-fill. Put the proper information into the sections, click save, and then use them wherever you need them on the things that you do.
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Turn Music Off with Your Timer
Another of the favorite iPhone tips apps that is loved is the timer, because you can now use it to turn off your music automatically when the timer hits zero. This feature can be found within your clock app under the timer tab. Simply choose how long you want the timer on for and then click when timer ends and stop playing. Once you do that, you can start the timer and then begin playing music within the music app. As soon as your timer goes off, so will your music!
These thirteen iPhone tips and tricks will allow you to utilize so many more features on your phone than ever before! That means that you can do everything that you need and will never need to worry that you are missing out on anything now or in the future.
