Tech-savvy people have discovered the little-known features on an iPhone that many never knew existed – including a hidden degree symbol in the keyboard and a ‘secret’ setting to adjust the brightness of your torch.
Here, FEMAIL has rounded up the handy shortcuts on the touch screen that will enable you to get the most out of your smartphone.
Whether it’s to type the ‘degree’ symbol without spelling out the entire word or setting a timer at your fingertips, these tricks are sure to make your life easier.
Just hold down the ‘0’ (zero) in your keyboard for a second before a pop-up appears, showing an option for the ° character
Keep ‘0’ pressed until a degree symbol appears
The next time you want to talk about the temperature in a text message, there’s a faster way to type out the degree Celsius symbol in your keyboard.
Just hold down the ‘0’ (zero) in your keyboard for a second before a pop-up appears, showing an option for the ° character.
Adjust the brightness of torch
To adjust the brightness of the torch, simply swipe your screen up from the bottom (older iPhone devices) or from the top right (iPhone X or newer models) to view the Control Center, then tap and hold the flashlight icon.
A pop-up will appear, and you will be able to slide the bar up or down to adjust the brightness of the torch to your preference.
Tap and hold the flashlight icon. A pop-up will appear, and you will be able to slide the bar up or down to adjust the brightness of the torch to your preference
After holding the full stop button for a second, a pop-up should appear on your keyboard giving you the option to add the three dots
Hold down the full stop to get three dots
Another shortcut includes holding down ‘.’ (full stop) on the keyboard to get ‘…’ (three dots) when typing a text message.
After holding the button for a second, a pop-up should appear on your keyboard giving you the option to add the three dots.
Set a timer at your fingertips
To set a timer, simply swipe your screen up from the bottom (older iPhone devices) or from the top right (iPhone X or newer models) to view the Control Center.
Hold the timer icon until a new menu appears.
Then slide the bar up or down to adjust the exact time you want to set, which ranges between one minute to two hours.
Swipe to delete last digit in calculator
There is a way to hit ‘backspace’ on your calculator if you make a mistake. Stock image
Instead of erasing all the numbers and starting over again, your iPhone actually has a secret backspace feature that allows you to delete the last digit.
All you have to do is simply swipe your finger across the numbers and the last entered digit will be deleted.
Sign documents on the go
For anyone who needs to sign a document, you can simply do it straight from your phone without having to download and scan.
Just preview the attachment via email, tap the toolbox icon in the top right corner and then tap the signature button in the ‘markup preview’, located bottom corner.
Sign the document with your finger on the screen and then tap ‘Done’. You can move the signature wherever you want on the document, and you can add text, highlights or even draw on it.
Built-in tape measure
The Measure app uses augmented reality to act as a tape measure or ruler, as pictured
You can measure things in real life using your iPhone. The Measure app uses augmented reality to act as a tape measure or ruler to measure everyday objects.
Once you access the app, it will ask you to move your phone around the object so it can analyse the area.
Line the white dot up with a corner on the item you want to measure. Press the white button with the sign in the middle of it and trace the edge of the line you want to measure.
Use the space bar on the keyboard to move the cursor while typing
When you make a typo while texting, sometimes it’s impossible to tap on the right spot to place the typing cursor with your finger.
Instead of dragging the cursor over the text, you can use the keyboard by sliding your finger left and right on the space bar as a track pad to edit.
Set a timer to automatically stop playing music while you fall asleep
If you like to listen to something before bedtime, you can set a timer on your iPhone to automatically stop playing music or podcast while you fall asleep.
The feature can be found in the Clock app under ‘Timer’. So simply set a timer, press on ‘When Timer Ends’, scroll to the bottom of the options, and select ‘Stop Playing’.
If you like to listen to something before bedtime, you can set a timer on your iPhone to automatically stop playing music or podcast while you fall asleep (as illustrated above)
Fix autocorrect texts
If there’s a common word or phrase you use but your iPhone keeps autocorrecting, just add it to the Dictionary.
Go to Settings, General, Keyboard and then ‘Text Replacement’. Next, tap the plus sign in the top right corner and enter in the word you want saved.
If there’s a common word or phrase you use but your iPhone keeps autocorrecting, just go to Settings, General, Keyboard and then ‘Text Replacement’ (left). Meanwhile, if you’re ever in trouble, you can set your iPhone so it can send an emergency call (right)
Send emergency calls
If you’re ever in trouble, you can set your iPhone so it can send an emergency call.
Simply go to Settings, scroll down to ‘Emergency SOS’, enable ‘Auto Call’ and ‘Call with Side Button’.
To make an emergency call, all you’d have to do is press the side button five times – so pressing and holding the side button along with the volume buttons will continue to work while this is on.
Turn documents on your phone into PDF
You can scan your documents at home just by using an iPhone.
First, iPhone users will need to go to the ‘Notes’ application and click on the notepad in the bottom right corner.
After opening up a new page, hit the little camera button and it will give you the option to scan a document.
Lay out the pages you would like to scan, then take a photo of each and save them as a PDF file.