Useful iPhone Tips You Might Not Know

There seem to be an endless number of iPhone tips and tricks to share, and that's because Apple's smartphones are so feature rich that it's impossible to keep up with everything they're capable of. We've rounded up some useful tips and hacks in our latest video, so check them out to see if there's something you didn't know about.

  • Swipe to Numbers with Keyboard - If you press and hold on the number key and then swipe up to type the number that you want, when you release a finger, it will go back to the main keyboard so there's no need to tap twice to get a number character.
  • Create Perfect Shapes in Notes - If you draw a shape in Notes or anywhere else the Markup interface is available, it will morph into a perfect shape. So if you need a visual aid like a circle, draw a wonky version and the ‌iPhone‌ or iPad will fix it right up.
  • Check your iPhone Warranty - Open up the Settings app, tap "General," choose "About," and then tap on the "Warranty" entry to see your warranty information for your device.
  • Use Your Apple Watch as a Viewfinder - The Camera Remote app on the Apple Watch activates the front or rear camera of your ‌iPhone‌ so you can use your Apple Watch as a handy viewfinder. If you take your watch off and wrap it around your ‌iPhone‌, you can use the rear camera while also seeing yourself, which is useful for vlogging.
  • Combine Images with a Shortcut - You can use an app to combine images, but it's easier to use a simple shortcut. Open Shortcuts and tap "+" to add a new one. Type in "Photos" and choose "Select ‌Photos‌" for the first action. For the second, search for "Combine" and select "Combine Images." Change the details to say "Combine ‌Photos‌" and "In a Grid." After that, search for "Save" and choose "Save to Photo Album." You can make it fancier with extra steps, but this is all you need to select a series of photos and have them arranged in a grid formation, with the final result saved to the ‌Photos‌ app. There are also third-party shortcuts that you can use.
  • Auto Schedule Low Power Mode - You can create a quick shortcut for turning on Low Power Mode when the battery dips to a specific level. In the Shortcuts app, create a new Automation, and start out by choosing "Battery Level." From there, select your desired percent. For the next action, search for and choose "Low Power Mode." Deselect "Ask Before Running," and the next time your ‌iPhone‌ battery drops to the target level, Low Power Mode will activate automatically.
  • Find Out What Song is Playing - If you want to know what music is playing you can ask Siri, but if you want to know what song is in a video on your ‌iPhone‌ or what song your device is playing, there's a Shazam Music Recognition option that you can add to Control Center.
  • AirDrop to Any Device - If you use Snapdrop.net, you can "AirDrop" a file from one device to another, even non-Apple devices. This isn't Apple's AirDrop, but it's basically the same thing and it allows for super quick data transfers even if you have a PC or Android phone. It's as simple as opening up the website on both devices and drag and drop the file.

Have a favorite lesser-known ‌iPhone‌ trick that we didn't list here? Let us know in the comments.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
samsung crease less foldable display ces 2026%402x

Foldable iPhone's Crease-Free Display Tech Spotted at CES 2026

Tuesday January 6, 2026 3:04 am PST by
CES 2026 has just provided a first glimpse of the folding display technology that Apple is expected to use in its upcoming foldable iPhone. At the event, Samsung Display briefly showcased its new crease-less foldable OLED panel beside a Galaxy Z Fold 7, and according to SamMobile, which saw the test booth before it was abruptly removed, the new panel "has no crease at all" in comparison. The ...
AirPods Pro 3 Year of the Horse Feature

Apple Launches Year of the Horse AirPods Pro 3 for Lunar New Year

Monday January 5, 2026 11:28 am PST by
Apple has designed a limited edition version of the AirPods Pro 3 to celebrate Lunar New Year, and customers in select countries can purchase them starting today. The Year of the Horse Special Edition AirPods Pro 3 feature a unique horse emoji character that's otherwise unavailable. Customers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore are able to buy the AirPods, and they'll be...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
64 months ago
Bizarre implication from Dan that it's okay to have friends who use Android?!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
08380728 Avatar
64 months ago
How about list things that are idiotic that need to be improved like:
Settings/Phone My Numbertap and hold won’t copy it, and or just tap then the field of numbers is erased and nothing can be copied, totally DUMB...on Android phones, tap the field and standard copy, cut tab appears.

How about messages, tap contact name at top more icons drop down, tap info, the phone number is not visible anywhere, thats the INFO I always need, have to then tap another info icon to finally see the contacts phone number, again super dumb.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
64 months ago

How about list things that are idiotic that need to be improved like:
Settings/Phone My Numbertap and hold won’t copy it, and or just tap then the field of numbers is erased and nothing can be copied, totally DUMB...on Android phones, tap the field and standard copy, cut tab appears.

How about messages, tap contact name at top more icons drop down, tap info, the phone number is not visible anywhere, thats the INFO I always need, have to then tap another info icon to finally see the contacts phone number, again super dumb.
The thread is about posting useful phone tips that work, not complaining about things that aren't a feature or don't work the way you expect.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
08380728 Avatar
64 months ago
Swipe to Numbers with Keyboard:
That’s not useful in the slightest, it actually takes longer after holding and swiping up.

What would be more useful is a tip on making the numbers stay visible after typing a space. Many times we need a enter blocks of numbers with spaces between them but hitting space bar always shows the letters again and this is annoying having to tao tao to get the numbers back. Android phone‘s keyboard dont do this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
64 months ago
Good article and video, MR.

I set low power mode to automatically turn on when charging.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blowback Avatar
64 months ago

Is that one about making shapes in Notes only with the Apple Pencil? Doesn’t seem to work for me.
When you draw , even with your finger, 'hold' for a sec and the circle or square etc. will form as desired .
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)