7 hidden iPhone hacks you never knew about
It can be really frustrating when it seems to take forever to write a text message, not to mention finding there’s no available space for that quick snap you want to take. Luckily, there are lots of little tricks and tips to make things that littler bit quicker.
Few things are worse than watching your phone charge at a glacial pace – especially when you’re short for time. For a faster way to top up, turn on Airplane Mode. Doing so will temporarily pause your phone’s background noise (such as random notifications and GPS roaming), which tend to drain the battery as it charges. While the extra juice won’t be much, a little can go a long way.
2. Set a timer for your music
Long gone are the days when you nodded off to your favourite snoozing tunes, only to wake up at 3am with the music still blaring. Believe it or not, your phone’s timer can turn off the music whenever you want. Go to Clock > Timer > When Timer Ends, tap the ‘Stop Playing’ option, and select the amount of time you want the music to play. Your phone will automatically turn off the tunes (on both Apple Music and Spotify) when the timer runs out.
3. Take a hands-free photo
You don’t need two empty hands to snap a photo on your phone. Just plug in a pair of compatible headphones and hit the volume button, and your iPhone will capture the moment.
4. Shave seconds off your typing time
If you still shift back and forth between keyboards to type numbers and symbols, you’re wasting your time. All you need to do is hold your finger down on the ‘123’ button, drag it over the number or symbol you want, and then let go. Voilà! No screen-switching necessary.
5. Make the screen smaller
If you’re a one-hand texter, you probably know the struggle of stretching your thumb across the phone’s wide screen. Try moving the keyboard closer to your left or right palm by holding on the Globe icon and selecting one of the keyboards that are positioned to either side. You can also get to this by going Settings > General > Keyboard > One-Handed Keyboard. Or, tap (not press) on the home button twice to shift the entire top of the iPhone screen down. Both tricks will make the entire screen much more accessible for the average-sized hand.
6. Press one button to make a call
Written by Brooke Nelson. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.