These days, iPhones can do a lot – and we mean a lot. From photography and video publishing to games and artificial intelligence, just be forgotten that they can also, you know, make phone calls and send SMS.
With all these features, it is not surprising that a lot of intelligent capabilities slip through the meshes of the net. Whether you are an Apple veteran or an iOS beginner, we bet that there are dozens of interesting iPhone features that you did not know. Here we have gathered some of the best iPhone settings that you probably don't use.
Namedrop: easily share contacts
Namedrop, which allows you to touch two iPhones together to exchange contacts, is an excellent example of Apple's transparent and intelligent integration between hardware and software, and it is something that few other phone manufacturers could remove.
Simply bring the upper ends of two iPhones executing iOS 17 or later from each other and hold them there until you see a bubble-shaped animation show on their screens. Once this happens, Namedrop will be shared between the two users like Magic, and you can then choose the fields you want to share before exchanging your contact details or press reception only to get their information without sending yours.
And here is a bonus: the functionality also works when sending Apple Cash to another iPhone user.
Press rear: Add a button to the back of your iPhone
Some iPhone features are so natural that you are wondering why you don't know them before, and Back Tap certainly qualifies. With a double or triple press the back of your phone, you can open your camera application, activate the flashlight, switching applications and more.
To start, open the Settings app on your iPhone and head to Accessibility > Touch > Press. Select either Tapping Or Triple tapThen choose an option in the large list. You can perform system functions, activate accessibility controls and even launch a shortcut, which is an intelligent way to start a powerful workflow with minimal effort.
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Visual search: use the camera to find out more about nature
How many times have you seen an animal or a plant and you have found yourself scratching your head on what it was? With your iPhone, you don't have to wonder what you've seen – just use Visual Look Up.
Simply take a photo of the animal or plant in question, open the image in the Photos application, then sweep up. You will see an option to search for a plant or search for an animal, which will show probable correspondences and similar images.
If you have an iPhone with camera control, you can use the Visual Intelligence feature to press Apple Intelligence or Chatgpt to obtain similar assistance. Press and keep the camera control for a few seconds until a new camera window bursts on your screen. Point your camera on the object in question, and an animal or plant name will appear at the top. (If he says “maybe”, press the name to see some options of what it might be. If the Chatppt is more certain, he will show the name of what he thinks he is, and you can support for information.)
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Song recognition: Identify the music you hear
Shazam is a fantastic way to discover a new song or identify these earworm songs whose names you don't remember, but with your iPhone, you don't have to open the Shazam application itself every time. You can put a practical shazam button directly in the control center for quick access to the square.
Open the control center by sliding in the upper corner to the right of your iPhone. From there, press the + in the upper left corner, type Add a checkType “recognize music” in the search bar, then press the result. The next time you hear a song, you cannot identify, open the control center and press the Shazam button, and it will identify the song in seconds.
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Timer control: Start a countdown in no time
There is another practical hidden feature that can be found in the control center which allows you to quickly configure a timer without hunting the clock application.
You probably know that you can go to the Timer section in the clock application by pressing the dedicated control center button, but you may not know that there is an even shorter shortcut. Press and keep the timer button in the control center and a cursor will appear on your screen. Move your finger up or down of the cursor to increase or decrease the duration by one minute increments and type to start.
Pocket lamp: Adjust the width of your beam
Everyone knows that your iPhone can provide a useful flashlight to guide you in the dark. But did you know that you can adjust the width and distance of its beam in a few taps?
To do this, press to light the flashlight of your phone (or ask Siri), and the icon will appear in the dynamic island. It is not only a reminder that it is on – do it and you can adjust the light beam by moving to the left (to make the beam narrower and more intense) or on the right (to make it wider and more diffuse). You can also move your finger from top to bottom to increase or decrease the strength of light as usual.
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Measure: Use the hidden virtual rule of the iPhone
Most of us do not transport band measures with us, but there are times when we need it. Don't worry – your iPhone has a hidden measurement application that can help you.
To find it, press the search area on the home screen of your iPhone and type “measure” to find the measurement application. Open it and it will activate the rear camera with two options: measurement and level. To measure something, aim for your phone on one side of the object you want to measure, press the more (+) symbol, then move your camera to the other edge and press the symbol again. The length of the object will appear on your screen. You can calculate several lengths by pressing + after taking the first measure.
On iPhone 12 pro or subsequent with a Lidar sensor, you can move your phone near the subject and the line will turn into a rule that displays incremental units of length. PRO phones can also assess the height of a person who appears in the appliances of the application measurement.
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Widgets are not only for the home screen – you can also add a few to your lock screen to display the data at a glance.
To add widgets to your lock screen, press and hold the screen to Personalize The button appears. Press it, then press the lock screen. Under time, you will see an empty rectangle with a labeled box Add widgets below. Just press all the widgets on the list and will be added to this box.
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Applications monitoring: prevent applications from following your activity
When you open an application for the first time, you can see a contextual window asking if you want to let the application follow you on other applications and websites. If you are tired of typing on several occasions “ask the application not to follow”, there is a simple solution that will reject once for all follow -up attempts.
Open the Settings application and access Confidentiality and security > Follow upSo deactivate the rocking next to Allow applications to ask to follow. When you do this, you will not get any more prompts on follow -up – what this rocking indicates to iOS to automatically reject all attempts to monitor applications on your behalf, so that you can protect your privacy without all boring contextual windows.
Default applications: Open the links in the applications you want
For years, Apple devices have been strongly locked, and this is even extended to control your default applications for emails, web navigation, etc. This is no longer the case, however, so if you want to change your default applications, it is now easier than ever.
To start customizing your applications choices, open the Settings application and access Applications > Default applications. You will see several options, from email and messaging to navigation and web translation. Just press one, then choose an application from the resulting list. Your options will be limited to the applications installed on your iPhone, so make sure you have downloaded your applications of choice before starting.
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Text replacement: Give your thumbs up a break
Tired of hitting all the time? Use text replacement. This automatically fills words and sentences when you enter a shortcut. For example, you can create a text replacement shortcut that enters your e-mail address each time you type @@ or to automatically capitalize BBQ when you type BBQ ..
This function can be activated in Settings> General> Keyboard> Text replacement. There, press + to add a new input. The shortcut box contains the word or the condensed sentence that you want to use, while the sentence box is for the full version which will be inserted by your phone.
Alternately, if there is a word or a sentence that you don't do it You want to be corrected, create a new text replacement input and type it in the same field, but keep the Shortcut Empty box.
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