If you want to get better at using your iPhone, there are several pro tips that you should know. Whether you have the latest iPhone 15 models or an older device, these iPhone tips should teach you a few things that you might have missed.
Holding down the shutter button: If you love the iPhone for its camera, you should know there’s an easier way to start recording. Just hold down the shutter button, and it will automatically switch to a video recording.
Siri is a wizard: We all know that Siri has its problems, but the personal assistant also has a few perks. One of the iPhone pro tips I’m a big fan of is saying “Siri, Lumos” and “Siri, nox” for turning the flashlight on or off.
Hard reset your iPhone: If your iPhone becomes unresponsive, you should hard reset it. With an iPhone X or newer, quickly press and release volume up, then volume down, and long press the side button until your iPhone completely shuts off.
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Image source: José Adorno for BGROne-handed keyboard: With iPhone Plus and iPhone Pro Max models, it can be hard to type a message without using both hands. Thankfully, Apple has added a nice reachability feature to your iPhone. Press and hold the emoji icon on your keyboard, then choose if you want the keyboard to shift to the right or the left side of the screen.
Shaking messages: If you are typing and misspell a word or just want to erase it, instead of tapping the backspace button, just shake your iPhone to delete what you’ve typed. If you shake the phone again, the iPhone will re-add what you deleted.
123 button shortcut: This iPhone pro tip is already known by avid BGR readers, but we’ll share it again in case you missed it the first time. By holding down the 123 button with one finger, you can use another to type any number or symbol you might need before letting the button go. Once you do that, you’re back to the main keyboard.
Image source: José Adorno for BGRAutomatic Focus Modes: If you want to become an iPhone pro user, you should take this tip seriously. Use Apple’s Focus Mode feature. This isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s one that not enough people take advantage of to break up their phone usage throughout the day and ensure their phone isn’t bothering them at work or while they’re sleeping.
Background sounds: Although I’d rather use an iPhone app like Portal, some users like to focus or relax with Apple’s background sounds. If you enjoy white noise, open Control Center, then tap and hold the ear icon to choose between the different background sounds.
Create stickers easily: Whether you use iMessage, WhatsApp, or Telegram, Apple has an easy feature to turn any photo into an awesome sticker. With iOS 17 or later installed, go to Messages, tap the + icon, then Stickers, tap the + icon again, and then select a photo. The full tutorial is here.
Wrap up
These are ten iPhone pro tips you should be using almost daily. If there’s a feature you can’t live without and think not many people know about it, message me at jose@bgr.com so I can update this story and help more readers.
