25 TIPS & TRICKS
HACKS TO MAKE YOUR iPHONE WORK HARDER & SMOOTHER
1. SPEEDING UP YOUR IPHONE
If you’ve had your iPhone for a number of years, the chances are that it’s started to slow down. That’s because components can wear out and your devices fill up with files, apps, and forgotten photographs that you no longer need. What’s more, software updates for iOS are designed to take advantage of the latest iPhones and their processors, but there are ways to speed up an older device. Turn off your device to clear its memory, delete unwanted apps and files, and turn off background app refresh to avoid wasting processing power. It’s wise to upgrade to the latest versions of iOS, but you should avoid beta testing on older devices.
2. TELL PEOPLE YOU’LL CALL THEM BACK
One of the most well-known features on iOS is the ability to send an iMessage to your loved ones or colleagues when you can’t take their call. But did you know, you can set a custom message on your iPhone to avoid the usual “Sorry, I can’t talk right now”? Head to Settings, Phone, and Respond With Text, and replace one of the existing messages with your own.
3. MAKE YOUR OWN RINGTONE
Remember in a time gone by when you’d pay $4.99 for an MP3 ringtone that lasted ten seconds? The good news is that technology has come on a long way since then, and Apple has made it possible for users to create their own ringtones. Head to GarageBand on your Mac, cut down a track to 30 seconds or less, save it as m4a, import it into Apple Music, and you’re done. If you use GarageBand on iOS, hit Share, Ringtone, and assign it to a contact.
4. MAKE YOUR BATTERY LAST LONGER
Modern iPhones have impressive battery lives, but it’s still good to know how to extend them. Head to Settings > Battery, and you’ll find details about which apps used the most battery, with some tips and pointers on how to reduce battery drain and extend your juice.
5. HAVE SIRI READ OUT TEXT MESSAGES
Did you know that Siri can read out your texts for you? Head to Settings > General > Accessibility and toggle the option ‘Speak Selection. Then, long-press messages and a Speak option will appear - it’s great for when you’re trying to recite a message on the go.
6. MAKE SIRI YOUR ACTUAL ASSISTANT
Since iOS 12, users have been able to group together common tasks and trigger them via Siri. Download Shortcuts from the App Store, and create your own set of tasks. For instance, turn on Apple Music, text my husband that I’m on my way home, and unlock the front door.
7. GIVE SIRI A NEW VOICEBOX
Siri has a bunch of accents to choose from, with new options added regularly. Head to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri Voice and from there, you can choose options like American, Australian, British, Irish, or South African and choose between a Male or a Female voice.
8. TURN A WEBSITE INTO A BOOK
Ideal for studying, you can turn web pages into PDF documents that are added to your
Books app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Tap Share, and then scroll to Copy to Books - then, the web page will automatically be downloaded and added to your iOS bookshelf.
9. FIND WORDS ON A PAGE
Studying? Researching? Need to find a particular word or phrase on a web page or document? Tap the search bar and type in your desired phrase - there’ll be an On This Page dropdown and you’ll see the number of times your word or phrase is featured in the content.
10. IDENTIFY A SONG ON TV OR IN A BAR
Since Apple acquired Shazam several years ago, users no longer need to download the standalone app to find out what song’s playing in the background. Simply ask Siri what song is playing and she’ll tell you - and give you the option to add it to your Apple Music library.
11. TURN OFF YOUR MUSIC WHEN YOU SLEEP
Do you enjoy listening to music or a podcast as you drift off to sleep? You’re not alone. The good news is that you can ask your iPhone to stop playing music after a certain time - just set a Timer, choose how long you want your timer to last for, and before you complete, press ‘When Timer Ends’. You can then scroll down to the bottom and select ‘Stop Playing’.
12. NEVER FORGET YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE
As part of iOS 15, users in the United States will be able to add their driver’s license into
the Wallet app and use the digital license for everything. The TSA says it’s on board and will be the first to participate in this program. Other additions include car keys and hotel passes
13. KNOW WHEN TO DISEMBARK FROM THE SUBWAY
When iOS 15 drops this fall, users taking public transport, whether that be a bus, an Uber, or a subway, can pin their favorite lines and get notification on their Apple Watch and iPhone when it’s time to disembark when approaching the destination. Just head to Apple Maps.
14. AVOID GETTING FINED ON THE ROAD
Apple has added new driving directions to iOS 15 that improve road details, and you’ll now find bike lane information, taxi lanes, and more. This will allow you to more safely travel with the aid of GPS and avoid any unwanted road fines for driving in the wrong lane or speed.
15. GET FREE STORAGE WHEN TRANSFERRING
One of the biggest bugbears when transferring from one iPhone to another is moving over your data - you need to make a backup of your iPhone and wait for iCloud to do its business. It’s even more frustrating when you don’t pay for iCloud storage. A new feature has been added to iOS, called Temporary iCloud storage, that allows you to use iCloud to transfer to a new device even if you don’t have enough free space in iCloud. It’s an unlimited amount too.
16. REORDER YOUR HOME SCREENS
Our home screens are super important to us and many organize their apps based on when they’re used, like for work, workouts, family, entertainment, and banking. The App Library feature now lets you easily reorder Home Screens, a simple feature that will save you time.
17. ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO HELP YOU GET YOUR APPLE ID BACK
As part of iOS 15, Apple has introduced a new feature that’s designed to help you get back into your Apple ID account should you lose access. If you get locked out of your Apple ID due to forgetting the password or even being hacked, you can specify trusted contacts who can supply you a code to instantly get access back to your locked-out account. Super useful!
18. HELP LOVED ONES ACCESS YOUR PHONE WHEN YOU DIE
Apple’s new Digital Legacy program is designed to allow family members or loved ones to access your data after you die. You can select a limited number of contacts, such as your children or partner, and enroll them into the program so that they can access your personal details - like your banking apps, insurance documents, and emails when you pass away.
19. SHARE YOUR HEALTH DATA
For the first time in iOS history, Apple now allows users inside of the Health app to easily share data with others such as your
family or health practitioner. The idea is to show off health trends - like your heart rate or exercise activity - so loved ones can help you get the support you need. This data is encrypted and designed to only be shared with a select few.
20. GET RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN TRAVELING
Apple has made big changes to Apple Maps in recent years, and a new one is super useful for those who love to travel. New editorial-curated guides are now available for a number of popular cities and places to visit when traveling so you don’t miss out on the hotspots.
21. STOP BRANDS FROM TRACKING YOUR EMAILS
In iOS 15, Apple has introduced a new pixel tracking blocker, which will ensure that brands and individuals can’t see when and where you opened their correspondence. What’s more, it’ll obfuscate the IP address so that senders cannot track your email reading. This will be enabled by default but only offered to those who pay for iCloud storage under iCloud+.
22. LOOK AROUND IN CITIES
Google Maps has long been considered superior to Apple Maps, but the Cupertino company has made some serious changes to compete. A new augmented reality offering is now available in select cities on iOS - you can turn it on in London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Diego, with more cities and locations set to be added later in 2021.
23. TELL FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES YOU’RE BUSY
Remember how convenient MSN Messenger was before we became always connected? We could display a status like busy, and users would know we weren’t available to talk. Now, when your phone is in Do Not Disturb mode, your friends and contacts will see in iMessage you’re busy. They can still contact you, but it might reduce those unwanted messages.
24. CREATE A TRACKPAD ON YOUR IPHONE
There’s nothing worse than typing out a huge message on your iPhone, only to spot an error at the start of it. Instead of deleting the message and starting again, hold down on your keyboard, and you can then move your cursor to wherever you want on on the screen, so you can delete or amend your message. This works on Safari, Notes, and other apps too.
25. STOP ROBOCALLS IN THEIR TRACKS
If you’re tired of spam calls, head to Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers, and that way, any number that’s not in your contact list, Siri suggestions, or recently called list will be directed to voicemail. You’ll still be able to see the call and call them back as it’ll be delivered as a notification, but it won’t disturb you when you’re working and want to get the job done. iOS is rich and ever-evolving with exciting new features and quality of life improvements released every few months. iOS 15 is just around the corner and further afield, we’ll see even more refinements that make the world’s most popular operating system even better.