If there is something that characterizes Apple, it is its habit of providing the iPhone with functions and features that are not openly advertised and that the user, with use, can gradually discover. To add a little more spice to this formula, with each update of the operating system, the house adds new and interesting functions. Many times this phone has been branded —especially among those who are staunch to Android, its great rival— of being a device that is too simple and with few possibilities, but do we really know how to get the most out of it? Here we review a series of tricks that multiply its usefulness and it is very possible that you do not know.
The back, one more button and customizable
For those who want to get involved in personalizing the device, the accessibility features offer many possibilities; some of them really useful. Apple incorporated in its iOS 14 update the function backtap, which consists of taking advantage of the mobile sensors to detect touches with the finger on the back of the phone. Thus, by giving two or three taps, you can execute the command that has been chosen in the settings. For example, we can indicate that, with a double press, a screenshot is taken and that, with a triple press, the device is blocked.
In addition to the features offered by the system (everything that can be controlled with your finger), Apple allows the use of the shortcuts, which are user-programmable functions and commands. With them, the possibilities are almost endless. If configured, you could turn on the heating or light with a few touches or send a WhatsApp message to a friend. To access them, just go to Settings > Accessibility > To touch > play back and configure the touches and the desired function.
“Hey Siri, send this photo to…”
The Siri voice assistant has sometimes been criticized for being clumsy and unhelpful, but the truth is that it is much more capable than you might imagine. a priori. A trick that few people know is to send what is on the screen to a contact. To do this, just say: “Hey Siri, send this to…”.
If what you have in front of you is a photo, Siri will send it to the indicated contact; if it is a web page, it will do the same with the hyperlink. But now comes the good part: if it is neither a photo nor a website, the system will send a screenshot of whatever is displayed on the screen at that moment, something that can be really convenient. The only toll to be paid is that iOS, the company’s operating system, will use its own messaging platform, Posts.
The best way to share photos? Make use of the clipboard
Many times, users complicate their lives by attaching a photo in a WhatsApp message, in an email or even on Twitter or Facebook. They open the app, look for the option to to attach and slide their finger along the reel until they find the snapshot. However, Apple has a good ace up its sleeve and that not everyone knows: copy the photo and paste it. To do this, simply locate the image on the device’s reel, in the gallery, select the share button (located in the lower left) and choose copy photo. Then, just open the mail application, WhatsApp or the social network of your choice and keep your finger pressed on the text field until the button appears. paste. After doing so, the photo will appear attached.
This possibility also works crosswise between certain apps: by keeping your finger pressed on a photo on Twitter or Facebook, the option to copy it will appear, so that you can then paste it wherever you want. As always, if the user regrets attaching that image, they can always shake the device to undo the process.
How to password protect photos
The Cupertino (California) company takes the privacy of its users as its flag and, in this sense, in addition to protecting the mobile phone with passwords, it allows you to hide the photos from prying eyes. The Californian giant does not offer the possibility to protect snapshots with a password, but that does not mean that there are no ways to achieve the same goal. Fran Besora, iOS expert and creator of the Apple Twitter community in Spanish, proposes an alternative: “Create a note with the photo in Grades and protect it by FaceID”. It would basically involve attaching the photo to a new note from the application itself or pasting it with the aforementioned trick.
Before you protect the note with the attached photo, you need to set a specific password for the photo. apps Grades. To do this, you have to go to settings > grades and insert the chosen key in the section of password. The user can activate the unlock option with facial recognition, FaceID, or of Touch ID (depends on the iPhone model). Once this is done, within the note that is to be encrypted, simply select the lock option — in the three points in the upper right corner — and enter the password that had been established in the settings.
Write no more: use the camera (or voice)
The iOS 15 update introduced an interesting feature that can save iPhone users a lot of time when writing texts (or, rather, when copying them). It is a scanner integrated into the text box. This function consists of using the iPhone’s powerful camera as an OCR scanner, so that you can point the device at the text (it does not matter if it is a photo or the computer screen) and the system will accurately recognize the content and will transform it into characters.
To take advantage of this function, simply double-click on the text box, so that the option scan text. Although it should be remembered that it is only applicable in those applications that show a space reserved for text entry. If what you want is to save typing time in longer essays, the best option is to click on the microphone located in the lower right to activate the audio transcription. The system will recognize some commands like ”comma”, ”dot” or ”new space” as well as “open question”, etc.
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