Just get a new iPhone? Here are 12 tips and tricks to master it - Digital Trends

1 year ago 119

The holidays are here, and you whitethorn person conscionable gotten a new iPhone (or iPad) for Christmas. If so, fortunate you! That’s a good portion of tech that you present own, and it volition decidedly past you for a bully portion — at slightest 5 years, if the latest trends continue.

But if this is your archetypal iPhone oregon iPad, and you’ve ne'er utilized 1 before, oregon possibly you’re switching from Android, fret not! It whitethorn beryllium a small overwhelming figuring everything out, but present are immoderate tips and tricks to get the astir retired of your shiny caller iPhone.

1. Set up your Apple ID

Apple ID banner successful the Settings app connected an iPhone 14 Pro

When you instrumentality that iPhone oregon iPad retired of the container and crook it on, 1 of the archetypal things that volition popular up is to create oregon log successful to your Apple ID. While it’s not an existent requirement, you truly won’t get overmuch usage retired of your iPhone oregon iPad without one.

An Apple ID fundamentally serves arsenic your cardinal to everything Apple, including services similar iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, Find My iPhone, Apple Music, apps and games, and truthful overmuch more. So if you don’t already person an Apple ID, it’s highly recommended to make one. Also, marque definite you support a grounds of your Apple ID credentials, arsenic it tin beryllium tricky to get backmost into your account if you get locked retired from excessively galore failed login attempts.

2. Turn connected Find My iPhone

Three iPhones showing steps to erase an iPad utilizing the Find My app.

Again, an Apple ID is captious due to the fact that it’s required to usage Find My iPhone. This is simply a information diagnostic that lets you way wherever your iPhone oregon iPad is successful lawsuit it’s mislaid oregon stolen. Better yet, you tin remotely hitch the instrumentality and adjacent permission a connection connected the instrumentality for whoever is successful possession of it to interaction you to instrumentality it.n

When you acceptable up an Apple ID, turning connected Find My iPhone should beryllium a portion of the setup process. But you tin besides manually crook it connected if you privation to acceptable it up later. Either way, don’t hide to acceptable up Find My iPhone! Better harmless than sorry.

3. Fill retired your Medical ID

All Health Data successful the Apple Health app.

No 1 wants to beryllium successful an exigency situation, but beingness throws curveballs sometimes, and worldly happens. That’s wherefore it is ace important to marque definite that you capable retired your Medical ID connected your iPhone.

With Medical ID, archetypal responders volition beryllium capable to find retired utile accusation regarding your wellness erstwhile you’re successful a aesculapian emergency. This includes aesculapian conditions, humor types, allergies, whether you’re an organ donor oregon not, and more. It’s besides wherever you tin database exigency contacts.

To bash this, spell to Settings > Health > Medical ID. Alternatively, you tin bash this from the Health app arsenic well.

4. Always backmost up your iPhone

Three iPhones showing settings for iCloud Backups.

Once you get the basics acceptable up that I mentioned above, the adjacent measurement is to marque definite you ever back up your phone. I cannot accent this capable — BACK IT UP. Whether it’s manually oregon automatically — oregon adjacent some — ALWAYS marque definite to backmost up your data. You ne'er cognize what whitethorn happen, and again, it’s amended to beryllium harmless than sorry. Your iPhone volition accumulate a batch of information and precious memories implicit time, and judge me, you bash not privation to suffer immoderate of that.

There are a fewer ways to back up your iPhone oregon iPad: manually with a machine (both Mac oregon PC work), oregon with automatic iCloud backups. I personally person been utilizing iCloud backups for a fewer years due to the fact that it’s automatic, and I don’t request to interest astir it; it’s however I reconstruct my information erstwhile upgrading iPhones each year. But you bash request to marque definite you person capable iCloud abstraction to bash so. If you bash a manual backup with your computer, I’d besides urge encrypting the backup, which besides means different much delicate data, similar Health accusation and passwords, are included.

5. Personalize your Control Center

Brightness slider connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

One of the much utile features of iOS is Control Center. It’s a sheet of commonly and often utilized settings and app shortcuts — specified arsenic Wi-Fi and cellular, brightness, volume, rotation lock, flashlight, camera, Low Power Mode, and more. The Control Center tin beryllium accessed from anywhere, adjacent erstwhile you’re successful different apps, though there’s a mounting to conscionable marque it accessible lone connected the location screen.

I often usage the Control Center dozens of times passim the day. It’s incredibly useful to have, and you tin tweak it to your liking with assorted controls. To bash this, conscionable spell to Settings > Control Center. Want to adhd a shortcut for Shazam? Maybe a fastener to rapidly commencement a stopwatch? Apple’s customization tools fto you bash that.

6. Prevent autocorrect from twisting your words

Autocorrect tin beryllium bully if you’re successful a hurry, but much often than not, it tends to messiness up your words and twist them into thing wholly different. The substance replacement diagnostic is large erstwhile you cognize you privation to benignant a definite connection that autocorrect ever changes to “ducking” instead.

To adhd each the substance replacements your bosom desires, spell to Settings > General > Keyboards > Text Replacement.

7. Get haptic feedback arsenic you type

I often person my iPhone 14 Pro connected soundless each time due to the fact that I’d alternatively not disturb my one-year-old, particularly during naps. I besides conscionable don’t similar proceeding ringtones going disconnected each the time. But having my iPhone connected soundless means nary much audible feedback erstwhile typing, which I besides don’t like.

iOS 16 precocious added the quality for the on-screen keyboard to person haptic feedback. This means you get a small tactile effect each clip you pat a quality connected the keyboard, which is thing that Android devices person been capable to bash for a agelong time. So adjacent if you person your iPhone connected silent, you’ll inactive cognize that the on-screen keyboard is really working.

To crook connected the haptic keyboard feedback, spell to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback.

The Dynamic Island connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Do you ever conscionable support scrolling connected your favourite societal media app, similar Instagram? And past you realized you scrolled down excessively much, and it’s a symptom to get backmost to the apical to refresh? Thankfully, there’s a shortcut that gets you backmost to the apical successful a flash.

Just pat the apical of the screen, astir the presumption barroom country connected your iPhone. It acts similar the location cardinal connected a keyboard, and volition instantly instrumentality you backmost to the apical of immoderate app you’re in. That’s each determination is to this tip, and it’s 1 you’ll beryllium gladsome to person nether your loop — spot me.

9. Switch betwixt LTE and 5G erstwhile necessary

Even though the newest iPhones are susceptible of 5G cellular data, the reliability of 5G is acold from perfect. I person T-Mobile, and sometimes the 5G is iffy, adjacent if my instrumentality shows aggregate bars. That’s erstwhile I conscionable crook 5G disconnected and spell backmost to bully aged 4G/LTE, which is overmuch much dependable.

To bash this, spell to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data. From there, you tin take 5G On oregon 5G Auto, oregon LTE. The quality betwixt 5G On and 5G Auto is that the connected enactment uses 5G whenever possible, adjacent if it reduces artillery life. 5G Auto lone uses 5G erstwhile it volition not person a important interaction connected the artillery life.

Another enactment I would look into is Data Mode. You tin let much information connected 5G erstwhile it’s enabled, modular settings for automatic updates and inheritance tasks, but limits the prime of video and FaceTime, oregon debased information mode, which pauses automatic updates and inheritance tasks.

Again, you whitethorn privation to conscionable beryllium connected 5G each the clip due to the fact that it’s shiny and new, but that’s besides the occupation — it’s not ever dependable. These cellular settings fto you set the cellular connectivity to immoderate works champion close now.

10. AirDrop each the things

One of my favourite features connected the iPhone is AirDrop. If you besides person an iPad oregon Mac, past AirDrop is the fastest mode to stock files betwixt each of your Apple devices — similar photos and videos, documents, and more. It’s a large diagnostic for those who are heavy vested successful the Apple ecosystem of hardware.

To usage this feature, conscionable prime AirDrop from the stock expanse whenever you’re sharing an item. You’ll besides privation to marque definite that your AirDrop settings are acceptable correctly. You tin set this by going to Settings > General > AirDrop.

In iOS 16.2, Apple introduced a caller regulation to AirDrop receiving. You whitethorn person heard of radical utilizing AirDrop to nonstop unsolicited photos to strangers who had AirDrop acceptable to “Everyone.” Now, portion there’s inactive an “everyone” option, it’s lone for 10 minutes — erstwhile that 10 minutes is up, it volition revert to “Contacts Only.”

I’ve had my AirDrop settings connected Contacts Only beauteous overmuch ever since it was introduced, and it lets maine easy nonstop photos from my iPhone to my iMac oregon iPad. It’s a necessity successful my regular workflow, and 1 I could ne'er springiness up!

11. Find thing accelerated with Spotlight Search

The notch astatine the apical of the iPhone 14 Plus's screen.

Are you looking for thing successful particular? Whether that’s an app oregon crippled that you conscionable downloaded from the App Store, a elemental net search, an email oregon text, oregon adjacent a calendar event, a hunt is conscionable a swipe away.

On the location screen, you tin either pat the Search container astatine the bottom, betwixt the past enactment of apps and the dock, oregon conscionable swipe down. You’ll bring up Spotlight Search, and you tin benignant successful thing to bring up results from Siri-suggested apps, settings, Mail, Photos, Messages, and more. You tin besides set wherever results travel from by going to Settings > Siri & Search.

12. Search for keywords connected webpages successful Safari

iPhone 14 Pro showing Safari with Find On Page feature

Ever find yourself connected a website, but you’re lone looking for circumstantial keywords, and there’s conscionable a batch of substance connected the page? Safari has a hidden “find connected this page” diagnostic that is decidedly handy.

To usage it, archetypal spell to a leafage that you privation to hunt on. Then pat the code barroom again and benignant successful immoderate keywords you privation to search. Once results commencement to populate, scroll down to fell the keyboard and spell to the bottommost wherever it says “On This Page.” If the keyword is found, you’ll spot the fig of matches found, and past prime Find (keyword) to rapidly leap to the results, which are highlighted successful yellow.

Getting the astir retired of your caller iPhone

iPhone 14 Pro with Widgy and Siri Suggested apps widget connected a location screen

The iPhone is 1 of the best smartphones you tin get connected the marketplace today, truthful if you conscionable got 1 arsenic a gift, congrats! It’s a large gift, and decidedly 1 that volition past a agelong time, fixed Apple’s way grounds with bundle updates and support.

iOS is beauteous elemental and casual to use, but determination are a batch of hidden features that whitethorn not beryllium truthful obvious, particularly if you’re an iPhone newbie. These are immoderate of the champion small secrets of the iPhone and iOS, truthful hopefully, these tricks assistance you retired with getting the astir from your iPhone.