It seems as though everyone has an iPhone today. One can make phone calls and send text messages on them; take photos and share them all over the internet and get driving directions to boot! Many young children can find their favorite shows on the internet and participate in Facetime calls. And one can even have a conversation with an artificial voice named Siri, who can easily become your virtual life assistant.
So, let’s get into some of these cool iPhone tips!
Siri
First find Siri on your iPhone – if you have an iPhone 4S or later, then you have Siri. Below are three basic ways you can and if they don’t work for you, visit your phone’s user manual.
- If you use the face ID function to access the contents of your phone, press and hold the side button. A spinning, glowing blue ball will appear, and you can begin speaking.
- If your iPhone has a home button, press and hold it. Your spinning, glowing blue ball will appear, and you can begin speaking.
- If you are wearing ear pods, press and hold either the home or call button. Again, use your device’s user manual if this does not work for you.
The beauty of this function is the fact that you can ask Siri to remind you of appointments or that it is time to take medication. If you are driving, Siri can help you get where you’re going with directions on the best way to get there. If you have a random thought or questions to ask, you can talk with and/or ask Siri at any time at all.
Health App
All iPhones running on IOS 8 or later, come pre-installed withe the Health App. This is a great app that helps you track your daily steps, keep all your inputted medical information available in case of any emergencies and even monitors your heart rate!
Notes
Are you thinking of starting a blog, joining a different social media platform like Tik Tok? Maybe you’re thinking of writing a book? Use this free app to take notes. You can draw or share your notes. You will also have the use of a variety of pens, markers, etc. This app can be locked and be synchronized to other Apple devices using the iCloud service, however you will need to have iOS 16 or later installed on your device; OS 16 or later on your iPad, or OS 13 Ventura or later on your Mac in order to view any locked notes on a different device.
Bonus: Dictation
Though not available on all iPhones, you can check if yours has this app by going to “Settings”; select “General” then “Keyboard.” If you see “Enable Dictation”, turn it on.
This is perfect for converting speech to text and will make typing a breeze!
Unfortunately, there are other settings that are automatically set on your phones by Apple that you may want to change. Let’s examine one very important one.
Tracking
How many times have you been scrolling on your phone, clicked on an ad for whatever reason, only to be bombarded with an endless stream of similar ads? There’s a way you can minimize your information being tracked. Follow these steps:
- Go to Settings.
- Click on “Tracking.” if the “Allow Apps to Request to Track” button is green, turn it off.
- Go back to Settings and scroll until you see “Privacy & Security” then click on it.
- Search for “Nearby Interaction.” If you see that this has been turned on, go back to the previous screen and search for “Journaling Suggestions” and click on it.
- If the “Discoverable by Others” button is turned on, turn it off.
Volume Buttons
Your volume buttons serve as an extra set of hands. Here are a few ways how:
- Contacting Emergency Services: To contact emergency services quickly, hold down the side lock button and either one of the volume buttons or all three until you see “Emergency Call” slide. Swipe right to be connected.
- Photos and Videos: Here’s a trick if you need an extra hand to take photos or videos, this trick will work with traditional photo and panorama modes as well as portrait when using the rear camera. If you’re using the front camera, it will work with both portrait and traditional photo modes.
Begin by opening your Camera app. Press one of the volume buttons to take a photo or begin shooting a panorama. End the panorama with just a tap of the button whenever you like.
Tip: If you accidentally deleted a photo, no worries! If it has been less than 30 days since the photo was deleted, it can be recovered. Here’s how:
- Open the Photo app and tap on “Albums” at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Recently Deleted” then tap “Select,” in the top right corner of your screen.
- Click on the photographs you would like to recover, or choose “Recover All,” to recover all deleted photographs.
Measure
Apple’s Measure app is free on iPhones using first generation SE or later and iPhone 6s or later and. There are two ways in which it can be used.
- Measurement Taking: You can easily measure single dimensional objects using Apple’s Measure app. Click here for complete instructions that feature photos.
- Check to see if an object is level. The “Level” function can be found under “Measure.” It allows you to use your iPhone to approximate whether an object is level, straight or flat. To use, open “Measure.” Then tap on “Level” and hold against the object you want to check like a picture frame hanging on a wall.
Don’t be afraid to explore these and all the features available for free on your iPhone and make it your new best friend. You might surprise yourself by embracing this new and bold technology and learn how it can add convenience and joy to your daily routine!
