17 Handy Tricks Every iPhone Owner Should Know About iOS 11
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17 Handy Tricks Every iPhone Owner Should Know About iOS 11 |
Not even the millennials know these game-changers
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| Betsy Farrell |
So you've upgraded to Apple's latest operating system, iOS 11 (or maybe you splurged and are the proud owner of a new iPhone 8 or X), but how do you make the most of the new features? By reading this handy how-to guide, of course! Pair these tricks with a few tips for saving your battery life, and you'll never curse technology again.
1. How to get more storage space
Lindsey Murray
You can easily free up space on your phone by using the new "offload" apps feature, which automatically deletes unused items without destroying the data. That way, you can pick up where you left off if you decide to reinstall. To access, go to Settings > iTunes & Apps Stores and toggle on Offload Unused Apps.
2. How to add new filters to your photos
Lindsey Murray
Watch out, Instagram. Apple has a slew of new filters for enhancing and altering the colors of your photos including Vivid Warm, Dramatic Cool and Silvertone. OooOoo! Just tap the photo you want to work on, click edit in the top right corner and then click the three circles on the bottom of the screen for your filter options.
3. How do delete unwanted messages across devices
Before, iOS users faced a major privacy issue: When they deleted a message off one device, it didn't necessarily delete from other devices synced to the iCloud. This meant that if you deleted a private message from your phone, it could still show up on your iPad or Apple Watch. Now, if you've enabled iMessage on iCloud, when you delete content from one device, it will be wiped across all your devices. Take that, snoops.
4. How to zoom in on maps
Lindsey Murray
If you're a regular iPhone user, you're use to pinching to zoom in and out, but if you're using the maps features on iOS 11, there's another way to zoom. Double tap your finger and then keep it pressed down on the screen, moving it up and down to zoom in and out. PS: There are indoor maps now too, so you can navigate your way around big indoor locations like airports!
5. How to easily use one hand to type
Lindsey Murray
By holding down the globe icon to the left side of your iPhone keyboard, you open the option to change the orientation of your keyboard to left, normal or right. The latter two options pinch the keyboard to about three quarters of its original size to the left or right of the screen, making it much easier to type with your thumb.
6. How to edit your screenshots
Lindsey Murray
You may have noticed that when you screenshot a photo by pressing the home and power button, a little thumbnail appears in the left corner. If you tap it, an editing screen will open where you can crop, write over and annotate your image.
7. How to easily scan QR codes
Lindsey Murray
There have been apps that recognized QR codes in the past, but now your iPhone's camera is smart enough to perform the appropriate function on its own. Just open up your camera, focus on the QR image and a notification will pop up suggesting the action.
8. How to charge people money on iMessage
Lindsey Murray
This feature isn't quite ready yet, but once it is, Apple Pay will rival third party apps like Venmo and let you send transactions through iMessage. You'll be able to choose Apple Pay in the App drawer of iMessage and manually enter a payment amount to send. The feature is expected to be released later this fall.
9. How to swipe into Low Power Mode
To turn on Low Power Mode in the past, you needed to go into your Settings. Now with iOS 11, you can quickly turn it on by swiping up into you Control Center and tapping the low battery icon. If this icon isn't showing up for you, go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls and add Lower Power Mode to your cue.
10. How to scan documents
Lindsey Murray
Not to worry if you need to quickly digitize a paper document in a pinch. The Notes app on iOS 11 also acts as a scanner. Once you open a new note, click the plus sign at the bottom of the screen and choose Scan Documents. Your camera will then take a snap of the paper and automatically add it to your notes.
11. How to turn on Do Not Disturb while driving
Here's another safety tool we are totally on board with: In an attempt to stop phone usage behind the wheel, iOS 11 has a new "Do Not Disturb While Driving" feature that automatically turns on when you iPhone detects the acceleration of vehicle. The feature silences all incoming messages, phone calls and notifications. To turn it off, you'll need to tap the option that says "I'm Not Driving" to regain access to your phone.
12. How to auto-answer calls
Lindsey Murray
If you're always fumbling to answer your calls before they go to voicemail, you might benefit from turning on the auto-answer feature. If you go into Settings > General > Accessibility > Call Audio Routing and choose Auto-Answer Calls you can set your phone to pick up automatically after a certain amount of time.
13. How to access Emergency SOS faster
The safety feature is already activated on your iPhone, but you can adjust your settings so that in the event of an emergency, pressing the power button rapidly five times will automatically call emergency services. Warning: Activating this feature will sound a loud siren and call within three seconds, so only use if it is a true emergency.
14. How to access new Live Photo features
Marci Robin
In case you need more than an instant to snap a photo, the Live Photo feature gives you a few options. Loop repeatedly plays the live photo on repeat; Bounce picks the best start and end point then plays the Live Photo forward and in reverse (like a Boomerang); and Long Exposure blends all of the frames of the Live Photo together. You can access all three by swiping up on a Live Photo.
15. How to share your Wi-Fi Password
Ever been in the situation where you can't connect to the Wi-Fi at a friend's house because the password is just too complicated? iOS11 has the solution. If another iOS device user tries to join the same Wi-Fi network you are on, you'll get a pop up asking if you want to share the password with this device — no need to manually type the long string of jumbled numbers and letters.
16. How to snap a photo while filming
You can easily tap the white button on the lower left-hand corner of the screen to take a pic while recording.
17. How to "shake" and undo
Sent an e-mail to the trash by mistake? Shake the iPhone and tap Undo. This also works with typing. Need to redo something you deleted? Shake again and tap Redo.