Saurabh 😎
iOS Tips & Tricks
Last updated for iOS 16
General
- Touch and hold the back button on a navigation bar to view the entire navigation history.
- Tap the status bar at the top of the screen to scroll to the top of the current page.
- Touch and hold the scroll bar to drag it to a new scroll position.
- In a list with selectable items (e.g. Mail, Messages, Notes), tap with 2 fingers to select an item, and then keep dragging with 2 fingers to select more items.
- Touch and hold items in Control Center to access more options.
- In the print dialog, pinch outward from the print preview at the bottom to create a PDF of the printed content.
- Double tap on a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) video to change its size.
- Touch and hold on the flashlight icon in Control Center to change the flashlight brightness level.
- Touch and hold on a time input wheel to bring up a number pad to enter an exact time.
- Tap and hold on a screenshot preview to directly bring up the share sheet.
Keyboard
- Touch and hold the Space bar to move the cursor. While still holding the Space bar, tap the keyboard area with another finger to create a text selection.
- Touch and hold the emoji icon to switch to a one-side keyboard for one-handed typing.
- Pinch in with three fingers to copy the selected text. Pinch in twice to cut.
- Pinch out with three fingers to paste.
- Tap with three fingers to bring up the text toolbar.
- Swift left and right with three fingers to undo and redo.
- Touch and hold the 123 key to automatically go back after selecting a character.
Swipe to a number after pressing the 123 key to automatically select a single number. - Double tap on text to select a word. Triple tap to select a sentence.
- To temporarily enable caps lock, use one finger to hold the shift key while using the other finger to type letters.
- Tap on the original text box to exit emoji keyboard search mode.
- Long press on a letter key to insert an accented variant.
Long press on the 0 key to insert a degrees symbol.
Home Screen
- If an app within a folder has a notification, long press on the folder to quickly open the app with the notification.
- Move multiple app icons simultaneously by tapping on the other icons to create a drag group.
Safari
- Touch and hold the new tab button to see recently closed tabs.
- In the tab viewer screen, swipe up to get a search control, and press down on the Cancel button to close all tabs matching the search text.
- In the tab viewer screen, long press on any tab to change how the tabs are arranged/sorted.
- Tap on a link with two fingers to open it in the background.
- To take a screenshot of the entire webpage, take a screenshot like normal and then switch to the Full Page tab at the top of the screenshot preview.
- Touch and hold the bookmarks button in the bottom bar to add the current webpage to the Reading List.
- Touch and hold the tabs button in the bottom bar (the double square icon) to switch between tab groups and access tab management actions.
Camera
- Touch and hold the shutter button to quickly start taking a video (without having to first switch to video mode).
- Drag the shutter button to the left to take a burst of images.
- Touch and hold on part of the picture preview to lock auto-focus.
- Enable
Settings > Camera > Mirror Front Camera
to have the front-facing camera preview the same orientation as the picture will be taken.
Clock
- Timers can be configured to stop playing the current audio source (YouTube, Spotify, etc.) when the timer expires.
- Touch and hold the Compose mail icon to view drafts.
- Touch and hold an email and select
More > Notify Me
to get notifications for that specific email thread. - Touch and hold on the Trash icon when viewing a message to archive the message instead of deleting it.
Messages
- When sending a message using iMessage, long press on the send button to add an animation.
- Swipe to the left in a conversation to see exact timestamps.
Notes
- Tap on the timestamp at the top of a note to toggle between Created At and Edited At.
- In a bulleted or numbered list, swipe left or right on a list element to indent or unindent.
Calculator
- Delete the last digit by swiping horizontally.
Apple Maps
- To zoom with one finger, double tap and keep pressing after the second tap, and then move the finger up and down to zoom in and out.
Siri
- Say "Learn to pronounce [name of contact]" to teach Siri to correctly pronounce a particular name.
- Say "Remind me about this" to create a reminder that is linked to whatever is currently on the screen.
- Say "[Name of contact] is my {husband,wife,boss}" to be able to refer to them by that moniker. Alternatively, assign the contact a nickname in the Contacts app to refer to them to Siri with that nickname.
- Say "Split a check [number] ways" to have Siri help split a bill and calculate tip.
- Ask "What flights are overhead?" to get flight numbers and altitudes of overhead planes.
App Store
- Turn off
Settings > App Store > In-App Ratings & Reviews
to stop getting nagged about app reviews.
Phone
- Tap the green dial button to re-dial the previous number.
- To end a call without making it look like you hung up, switch to Airplane Mode which will show the call as failed.
- Dial
*3001#12345#*
to access advanced cellular data diagnostic info. - Touch and hold
0
to input a+
to enter a country code. - Long press on the Mute button to put the call on hold.