iPhone tips
Apple loves to talk about how easy its products are to use, and the
iPhone exemplifies that philosophy more, perhaps, than any
other. But just because a device has a low barrier to entry and is
accessible to beginners, that doesn't mean there isn't complexity under
the skin.
This article is about taking the next steps with your iPhone and
discovering all the things it can do that you didn't know about. From
advanced security to battery management and custom notifications,
these are our 33 tips for iPhone users.
Computing devices tend to slow down over time, as components wear
out, storage and memory fill up with old files and forgotten apps, and
new software is increasingly designed for newer and faster processors.
You can put off the inevitable by following some simple best practices,
including
From time to time you should power off your device completely.
This clears out the memory.
You should also get into the habit of deleting apps and files you
don't use (photos are a common issue for storage) and archive
the latter in cloud and/or local backup.
It's also worth going through the settings and checking which
apps refresh in the background, thereby using up precious
processing power.
Update iOS on your device.
Note that updating iOS has historically been a mixed blessing in regard
to speeding up your iPhone, but with iOS 12 this has changed.
iOS 12 is particularly focused on performance. Apple claimed it would
make older devices faster and in our tests it certainly appears to have
done so.
If you've got iOS 13 on your iPhone (at time of writing it's available as a
public beta; it will launch official in September 2019), you can turn on a
system-wide Dark Mode very easily. This gives all the pre-installed apps
- and any third-party apps that have built in compatibility - a black or
dark-grey background that's more relaxing to read in the evening.
To turn on Dark Mode, open the Settings app and tap Display &
Brightness. At the top of the next screen you'll see Light and Dark
options side by side - tap the one you want to use. You can also set
Dark Mode to come on automatically at certain times, such as from dusk
until dawn.
If you haven't yet got hold of iOS 13, there are still some workarounds.
You can try Invert Colours mode, Low Light mode, or Night Shift; each of
these offers some of the benefits of Dark Mode. Read more in our
dedicated article You can unlock your iPhone with your fingerprint
or face, depending on which model you have, but your iPhone is
only secure if nobody can guess your passcode. If it's 1234 you're
asking for trouble.
iOS now prompts users to create a six-digit passcode instead of
the four-digit passcode (here's how to turn a six-digit passcode
back to four digits), but there is a more sophisticated way to make
your iOS device more secure: using an alphanumeric passcode.
This means that you can use both letters and numbers in your
password, giving you an almost unlimited number of possible
passwords, as opposed to the roughly 1,000,000 possible six-digit
passcodes, which could be hacked with the right equipment.
It's fairly easy to change your passcode to an alphanumeric one:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap 'Touch ID and Passcode' (or 'Face ID and Passcode' on X-
series iPhones), then Change Passcode.
3. When prompted to enter a new passcode, tap 'Passcode
Options' and select 'Custom Alphanumeric Code'.
4. Now enter your new passcode. Make sure it's one you can
remember.
Here's how to choose a good password.
There's also a new way of securing your iPhone in iOS 12.
This security change means nobody will be able to plug a device
into your iPhone in an attempt to hack into it. It kicks an hour after
your iPhone was locked (unless you deselect the setting).
1. You’ll find the setting in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode.
2. Scroll down to Allow Access When Locked section and you’ll see
USB Accessories.
3. Make sure that it’s deselected if you don’t want devices to have
access.
Sometimes it's not the right time for a phone call; and while you could
just let calls you don't want to take go to voicemail, sometimes you want
to explain why you're not picking up. iOS let you quickly respond to a call
with a text message.
Depending on which version of iOS you're running, you either swipe
upward on the phone icon that appears next to the unlock slider and
choose Respond With Text, or tap the button labelled Message above
the Slide To Answer slider.
By default, you'll get three pre-written options ("Sorry, I can't talk right
now", "I'm on my way" and "Can I call you later?"), along with a button
that lets you enter text there and then.
However, you can customise the prepared messages:
Go to Settings > Phone > Respond With Text.
You can't have more than three responses, however: if you want to add
a new one, you'll have to sacrifice one of the current options. Tap the
one you're willing to lose and type in the new response.
