Tips and Tricks
Retina HD Display Top
Reachability
Reachability makes it easy to reach items at the top of the screen without having to use your other hand. Just double-touch the Home button without pressing it, and the whole screen shifts down closer to your thumb. Once you select what you want, the screen slides back up to the top.
See everything larger
View more of your content with Standard view, or enlarge your content with Display Zoom. Adjust the view in Settings Display & Brightness View.
Navigate with a swipe
Swipe from left to right across the screen to go backward, or swipe from right to left to go forward. This also works in many apps, including Safari, Mail, and Messages.
Do more in landscape view on iPhone 6 Plus
Apps such as Calendar, Clock, Stocks, and Messages take advantage of the larger display to show more of your content when in landscape.
CameraTop
Camera in Control Center
Access your camera quickly by swiping up from any screen — including the Lock screen — and tapping the camera button.
Shoot smoother video
Enable “Record Video at 60 FPS” in Settings Photos & Camera to shoot twice as many frames per second.
Select your slo-mo speed
Select your slo-mo speed by tapping on fps icon on the camera screen. Then choose between 240 fps and 120 fps in Camera for an added slo-mo effect in your videos.
Burst mode
Now you can capture multiple shots of the action with your FaceTime HD Camera. Burst mode continuously snaps 10 photos per second, and iPhone analyzes the photos in real time to suggest the best of the bunch.
Timer mode
Tap the timer icon at the top of the screen to set a 3- or 10-second timer. To activate timer mode and burst mode, press the camera button, then release when ready.
Adjust exposure
Touch anywhere on the screen and slide up or down to capture the right amount of light for your photo.
Snap photos using the volume buttons
Press the Volume Up or Volume Down button to easily take a photo. You can also take photos using the volume buttons on your Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic.
PhotosTop
Straighten and crop
Automatically straighten horizons and provide the ideal crop for all your pictures. Just tap Edit, then the crop icon.
Adjust light and color
To give your photos a more finished look, use the smart sliders to find just the right lighting, make colors pop, and even enhance blue skies.
Mapped pictures
View the locations of your pictures on a map by tapping the location heading under Years, Collections, or Moments.
Smart suggestion search
Tap the search icon, and you’ll get options to search by date, time the photo was taken, location, or album name. One more tap gives you access to photos taken nearby, favorite photos, or photos taken on the same date last year.
Smart Albums
Smart Albums automatically collect your panorama, burst, and hidden photos as well as slo-mo, time-lapse, and HD videos. And the Recently Deleted album stores deleted photos for 30 days in case you change your mind.
Hide photos
Touch and hold a photo to hide it from Moments, Collections, and Years. You can view all hidden photos by visiting your Hidden photos album.
QuickTypeTop
Enable emoji characters
Go to Settings General Keyboard Keyboards Add New Keyboard and select Emoji. Now when you type, just tap the smiley face button or touch and hold the globe button and select Emoji, then choose whatever fits the mood.
Keyboard settings
Go to Settings General Keyboard to activate features like Auto‑Capitalization, Auto‑Correction, and more.
Predictive text
iPhone can provide you with helpful word suggestions. Touch and hold the smiley face or globe button, then tap Predictive to toggle on or off.
Shortcut phrases
Type common phrases with fewer letters by using shortcut phrases. Type “omw” and watch the text transform to “On my way!” To add your own shortcuts, go to Settings General Keyboard Shortcuts.
Health Top
Medical ID
Create an emergency card that’s accessible from your Lock screen. To add or edit your information, go to the Health app and tap Medical ID on the bottom right. Access your card from the Lock screen by tapping Emergency and then selecting Medical ID on the bottom left.
Customize your Dashboard
Go to Health, tap Health Data, and select a Health category. Then choose a Health item and tap Show on Dashboard. You can add to and rearrange your Dashboard by touching and holding any Health item.
SiriTop
Hey Siri
Want to talk to Siri hands-free? If your iPhone is plugged in, just say “Hey Siri.” To enable this feature, go to Settings General Siri.
Identify a song
Siri knows the name of the song that’s playing around you. Just ask “What song is playing?” and it will tell you the title and artist.
Tell Siri who’s who
Tell Siri about your relationships, such as “Natalia is my wife” or “Rick is my dad.” Then you can say “Text my wife” or “Call Dad” and Siri knows who you mean.
Set your locations
Enter your home and work addresses in Contacts. That way, Siri can remind you to do things when you leave or arrive at either place.
Change pronunciations
If Siri mispronounces a name, simply say “That’s not how you pronounce that.” Siri will ask you for the correct pronunciation, then say the name back to you three different ways so you can choose the one you like.
SpotlightTop
Spotlight search
To open Spotlight search, swipe down from anywhere on the Home screen. Then type in what you’re looking for, and Spotlight will search your device, the web, Maps, the App Store, and more.
Weather
Extended forecast
View all your locations by pinching to see a collapsed view. Swipe up in a location for an extended forecast and more details.
Calendar
Top
Be on time
Enter and select the address in the Location field of a new event, then choose Travel Time to be alerted at just the right time to depart by car or foot.
MailTop
Insert a photo or video
When you’re composing an email, touch and hold in the message to open the options menu. Tap the arrow and select “Insert Photo or Video.” Then choose a photo or video to attach from your Camera Roll, albums, or shared albums.
Format text in Mail and Notes
Double-tap any word to bring up the options menu, tap the arrow, and select to bold, italicize, or underline your text.
Look at another message
Swipe down on the title bar of a message you’re writing. When you’re ready to return to your message, tap its title at the bottom of the screen.
MapsTop
See up close with Flyover
In Standard view, tap cities with a 3D badge to explore them from the air with a stunning Flyover tour.
Share a pin
In Maps, drop a pin on a location you want to share. Then tap the pin and select Share to show your location via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Twitter, or Facebook.
Tilt and rotate your view
As you’re looking at a map, use two fingers to tilt or rotate the view. Maps keeps the names of the streets and places where they belong. So everything’s easy to read, and you won’t get lost.
SafariTop
Manage open Safari pages
Drag and drop to rearrange your tabs. To close tabs, tap the X or just swipe them off the screen.
Create web clips
Quickly visit your favorite websites by creating web clips for them on your Home screen. Visit the site and tap the Share button. Then select Add to Home Screen.
Get the desktop version
If you want to see the full desktop version of a site instead of the mobile version, tap the search field, pull down the display of your favorites, then tap Request Desktop Site.
Define a word
In apps like Safari and Mail, press and hold a word to bring up the options menu, then tap Define.
Single sign-in
Sign in once in Settings, and you can tweet or update your Facebook status directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, and Maps. Or ask Siri to do it for you.
Favorites
Favorite contacts shortcut
From any screen, press the Home button twice for multitasking — and now to see your favorite people. At the top, you’ll see the faces of people you’ve recently talked to and — if you swipe to the right — your favorite contacts as well. Just tap one to call, text, or start a FaceTime call.
Settings Top
Do Not Disturb
In Settings, turn on Do Not Disturb to silence sounds from incoming calls and notifications. You can allow calls from your favorites, specific contacts, or contact groups. Enable Do Not Disturb manually or schedule a recurring time.
AirPlay and AirPrintTop
Broadcast live with AirPlay
When connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can use AirPlay Mirroring to share exactly what’s on your iPhone with your HDTV connected to an Apple TV. Just access Control Center by swiping up, tap AirPlay, and select your TV.
Print wirelessly from iPhone
AirPrint makes it easy to print email and web pages from your iPhone to your AirPrint-enabled printer. To print an email, tap the Reply button and select Print. To print a web page, tap the Share button and select Print. You can also print photos, documents, and more.
AccessibilityTop
Have text read back to you
Go to Settings General Accessibility Speech and turn on Speak Screen. Then go to an app and swipe down from the top with two fingers or tell Siri to “Speak screen.” All the content of the page will be read back to you.
Control font size
Adjust fonts to your preferred reading size in all apps that support Dynamic Type. Simply turn on Larger Type in Settings General Accessibility. Then choose your desired font size.
Get flashing alerts
Your iPhone can give you a visual alert for incoming calls and texts. Just go to Settings General Accessibility and turn on LED Flash for Alerts.
Let your iPhone do the typing
Dictation lets you talk where you would type. Tap the microphone button on the bottom row of the keyboard, say what you want to write, and your iPhone converts your words into text.
View closed captions
To turn on the captions in closed-caption movies and TV shows, go to Settings General Accessibility. You can even customize captions by size, font, type, and color.
Limit access to a single app
Guided Access lets you temporarily limit your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to a single app and control which app features are available. You can even set time limits — a great option for children. You’ll find Guided Access in Settings General Accessibility along with instructions on how to use it.
View more accessibility tips and tricks
CompassTop
Access a level or an inclinometer by swiping left in Compass.
Find My iPhoneTop
If you’ve lost your iPhone, Find My iPhone can help you locate it. Go to Settings iCloud and turn on the Find My iPhone feature. Turn on Send Last Location to send the last known location of your iPhone to Apple when the battery drains to a critical level.
Keep learning with the Tips app included in iOS 8.