(By Katherine
Boehret, Wall Street Journal)
Own an iPhone or iPad? Chances are there
are some functions you're still not aware of. WSJ's Katherine Boehret has drawn
up a list of 10 to help you get the most out of your devices. It's with you every moment of every day. It
reminds you of little things that you sometimes forget, like calling friends on
their birthdays and picking up the dry cleaning. It sleeps by your side,
resting when you rest and working when you work. It even talks back once in a
while. But how well do you really know your iPhone? After months of watching friends and family
use their iPhones and iPads, I realized most of them were missing out on a lot
of features. I'll walk you through 10 things you might not know your iPhone and
iPad can do. Aficionados may know most of these, but typical users likely
won't.
1. Directly
Access Apps
If you're like
most people, you have your iPhone set to show some pop-up notifications. They
might show up on the home screen when you get a Facebook notification, or a
text message, for instance, and even when the phone is locked and the screen is
asleep. To open these messages, you don't have to first swipe to unlock your
phone and then open the app. As long as your device isn't protected by a
four-digit security code, swipe from left to right on the notification to open
the app in which the message appeared. If you do use a code, you'll be prompted
to enter it after swiping the notification.
2. Tap to Scroll
Up
Give your pointer
finger a rest from scrolling up, up, up to get back to the top of a page. Tap
once on the status bar—where the time and battery life are displayed—at the top
edge of the iPhone or iPad screen and you'll jump up to the top. This works for
websites, email, Contacts and many other apps. 3. Keyboard Shortcuts
Tapping on a
glass keyboard has its downsides, but a few shortcuts could ease the
experience. Tap and hold the "Compose new message" button in Mail to
automatically bring up all your saved email drafts. And rather than switching
to the number keyboard and then switching back to the letter keyboard, tap and
hold the "123" key, then drag it to a number to select it. When you
lift your finger from the number, the letter keyboard will appear again.
When entering an
email address, hold down the period key to see other address endings. Add
emoticons to your keyboard by choosing: Settings, General, Keyboard,
International Keyboards, Add New Keyboard, Emoji. When entering a Web address
in the browser, hold down the .com key to see alternate URL endings, like .org
and .edu.
You can split the
iPad's on-screen keyboard in two so you can grasp the iPad with two hands and
type with your thumbs. This is on by default, though you might not know it. (To
check, go to Settings, General, Keyboard and Split Keyboard.) To see the split
keyboard anytime you're using the regular keyboard, spread your two thumbs from
the center of the keyboard out. Or just tap and hold the keyboard icon (bottom
right corner) and select Split. An Undock option also appears and this lets you
move the keyboard up or down.
4. Speed from App
to App
The iPhone and
iPad have many apps running in the background. There are shortcuts for jumping
around apps without going to the home screen. Double tap the Home button (a
physical button below the screen) to see a pop-up tray of apps and swipe to the
left to scroll through them. Select one to jump to it. On the iPad, do this is
by placing four fingers on the screen and swiping all of them up at once. This
and other multitask gestures are on by default on the iPad 2 and newest iPad.
But you have to turn them on with the first-generation iPad by going to
Settings, General, Multitask Gestures.
5. Take
Screenshots
Ever see
something on your iPhone or iPad screen and wish you could save that image, but
can't figure out how? Press the Home button and the On/Off button (top right
edge) simultaneously to take a screenshot of whatever you see on the device.
You'll hear the same sound as when you take a picture with the Camera app. You
can find all of your screenshots stored in Camera Roll, along with your photos,
and share them via email or social networks as you do regular photos. Splitting the iPad's on-screen keyboard in
two lets you grasp the iPad with two hands and type with your thumbs. This is
on by default- though you may not know it.
6. Swipe to
Search
Another way to
quickly find apps on an iPhone or iPad is to swipe left-to-right from the home
screen. This reveals a search box in which you can type the name of any app to
jump right to it. This search also finds contacts, emails, calendar items and
texts, as well as other things.
7. Read Websites
More Easily
Stop struggling
to read overcrowded Web pages on the iPhone's small screen. Instead, tap the
Reader button, found in the URL bar at the top of a Web page, and you'll see a
much clearer, predominantly text version of the page. Even better: This view
hides advertisements. It doesn't work with all websites. This also works on the
iPad.
8. A Smarter
Camera (iPhone)
If you've ever
wished your iPhone camera had a physical shutter button, look no further. The
phone's volume up (+) button doubles as a shutter button whenever the Camera
app is opened. This hard button feels sturdier all around, plus it makes it a
cinch to take self-portraits or to tell strangers how to take a photo of you
and your friends.
And speaking of
handing your phone to strangers, don't forget about the lock-screen shortcut
for opening the Camera: Slide up the camera icon (found at the bottom right of
the home screen) to open Camera without unlocking the phone. You can do this
with anyone's phone, regardless of whether or not you know their password
because it only opens the Camera app, locking you out of all other apps—and
other photos and videos—on the phone. Just the photos or videos you take at
that moment will be visible to you.
9. Digital
Picture Frame (iPad)
Put your iPad to
work as a digital picture frame for a photo slide show. Tap the Picture Frame
icon, which appears to the right of the slide-to-unlock bar on the lock screen.
If you own an iPad case, flip it into
its stand-up position, place the iPad on a table, press the Picture Frame icon
and walk away. Guests in your home will have to unlock the iPad to access other
apps. Photos can be pulled from all
photos or specific albums, events or images of certain faces. Make these and
other slide-show adjustments in Settings, Picture Frame.10. Mute or Screen Lock (iPad)
The same button
on the right edge of your iPad that locks the screen in portrait or landscape
mode can double as a mute button. This comes in handy if you find yourself
frequently muting the iPad. Change this button's default lock function by going
into Settings, General, Use side switch to: Lock Rotation or Mute. By default, this
button is on Lock Rotation. Another quick way to mute is by pulling up the
multitask bar by double tapping Home (or using a four-finger swipe up), then
swiping left-to-right to see a mute, as well as sliders for volume and screen
brightness.
No comments:
Post a Comment