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9 Hidden iOS Tricks That Every iPhone User Should Know

Discover 9 hidden iOS tricks that you probably never knew existed, but will make your life a lot easier and convenient.

By Dhruv Kapoor

Updated on 27-04-2022

Whats New Dawg

Everyone tries to launch things to the best of their capabilities, more specifically the technology, incorporating everything best they can. And so did Steve Jobs in 2002, when he introduced the iPhone and iPhone Operating System. At the initial release, the device and product showed some promising factors and successful expansion. Both Apple and iOS have evolved over time year after year, with each update introducing new functionality. Furthermore, Apple now gives some gimmicks like hidden iOS tricks in addition to high-end performing phones.

However, coming to earlier times, multitasking, notification, control center, and even the App Store were all added to the iPhone after its first version. All the updates and the fast rate of innovation can make keeping up with new features difficult. Therefore, users miss out on various features that can come in handy, which then come out as hidden iOS tricks. Henceforth, keeping that in mind, we've compiled a list of essential features you might have overlooked.

Also read, 10 settings to make your Android smartphone more secure.

1. Use a cursor to select the text.

Texting has become a significant part of everyone's life. However, it feels tiresome when you have to type long messages, and something goes wrong in that text. Also, what you are trying to type often gets autocorrected, and the context gets off track. Therefore, you can use the cursor to select the particular text you want to edit. However, it might sometimes result in highlighting an entire word or sentence. Furthermore, this is one of the hidden iOS tricks you all should know to ease your texting hassle. Here's how to do it; 

  • Hold your finger or thumb on the spacebar at the bottom of your screen.
  • The keyboard will be grayed out and turned into a touchpad until you raise your finger or thumb.
  • Voilà, simple text selection!

2. Make Text Snippets.

Getting with the millennial lingo and writing things in abbreviations and snippets is not so tough now with the iPhone. Therefore, next is one of the best-hidden iOS tricks that you all must know about. For that, select Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement from the drop-down menu. Then, to type a phrase and create its shortcut, click the Add (+) symbol at the top. You can add abbreviations for your text, such as "otw" for "I'm on my way home." After that, whenever you type "otw," "I'm on my way home" will appear.

3. Take a Screenshot of a Long Web Page.

When you take a screenshot with your iPhone, a thumbnail appears in the lower-left corner for a note. That note suggests making it full screen; thus, tap it if you want a big screenshot. Furthermore, if you take a screenshot in the Safari browser of a page larger than the screen, you can do a full-page screenshot. Look at the top of the screen for a tab labeled "Full page." A slider displays on the right when you tap it, displaying the entire page to capture.

4. Use the 'Burst Mode' on your camera.

We all know that the iPhone camera is powerful enough to compete with a standard prime lens. However, there is something that you may have overlooked or is one of the hidden iOS tricks that you don't know. And that is Burst Mode, a camera mode to shoot a sequence of rapid-fire photographs in one click. Thus, you can snap a series of action shots and catch quick panoramic images with your iPhone. All the pet parents and street artists must try the Burst Mode to get the finest photos of every event.

5. Activate a second 'button.'

Primarily, the iPhone's 'tap back' was an accessibility feature. Still, it is more beneficial for users looking for more input for their devices. To enable; 

  • Go to Settings > Accessibility >Touch.
  • When you choose 'Tap Back,' you'll be offered with a variety of options.

You may utilize this in various ways, such as starting a Spotlight search from anywhere on your device or capturing a fast screenshot. Furthermore, you have the additional double and triple tapping options, allowing you to assign numerous functions to it.

6. Use the camera to scan documents.

The iPhone can also be used as a document scanner to gather super-quality documents. Furthermore, you can extract text from photographs, and you can possibly digitize a whole page. However, you might not have noticed this hidden iOS trick as it was buried in the Notes App.

  • To scan documents, go to Notes, hit the camera icon, and select Scan Documents.
  • If you highlight your document, it should save automatically. Furthermore, you can use the camera button to scan manually. 

Although it won't do the job of a technically apt scanner, it's close enough and will suffice your requirements.

7. Activate your camera's flash for notifications.

The next one is one of the best-hidden iOS tricks to make your phone a little more fun. Furthermore, this camera trick is different from all the others. You can use an accessibility feature to have your iPhone flash blink or flicker when you receive a notification. Thus it will alert you more quickly with a visual indication that someone is calling or messaging you.

  • Go to Settings and then to Accessibility.
  • Audio/Visual section > 'LED Flash For Alerts'.

It is an excellent alternative if you have to keep your phone on silent or on vibration work.

8. Turn off your microphone for screen recordings.

Go to Settings > Control Center and add Screen Recording in the Included Controls (if not, tap the green plus button down below). Now, in your Control Center, a screen-recording button will appear. Furthermore, you will notice a microphone logo under-recording audio around the device. Therefore, long press on the icon to turn it off if you don't want any audio in your recording.

9. Silence the unknown callers.

Spam and robocalls are a trend these days, and it's super annoying. Therefore, you can use the following best-hidden iOS tricks to silence such fraud calls. For that, follow, Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers. If you enable this feature, any number that isn't in your contacts, Siri suggestions, or recently called list will go straight to voicemail. You'll get a silent notification when a call is hushed, and you can look up the number in your Recents list. 

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