4 iPhone tips you wish you had known long ago

The iPhone is packed with features that most users don’t know about, but are very useful. We show you four iPhone tips that will make your digital life a little better.

4 iPhone tips you wish you had known sooner

Did you know that you can take a screenshot with a special magnifying glass effect? That there is a trick to move a whole bunch of apps at once? That your iPhone doubles as a scanner, and that there’s a new way to type? Discover how to do this in this week’s iPhone tips.

1. Take a screenshot with magnifying glass effect

We all share screenshots. Sometimes you want to emphasize something from that – for example a text. A lot of people just mark that with a line, but there’s a much better (and more aesthetic) way: the magnifying glass effect. This is how you add it to your screenshot.

1. Take a screenshot;
2. Tap the thumbnail that appears at the bottom;
3. Tap the pen icon on top;
4. Tap the plus button at the bottom right;
5. Press ‘Magnifying Glass’;
6. Drag the magnifying glass to the right place and press ‘Done’.

You can also make the magnifying glass smaller or larger by pulling the blue sphere out or in. You can also zoom in extra or zoom out more, for this you move the green sphere.

To emphasize the part that you place under the magnifying glass even more, you can make everything that falls outside it (partially) invisible. To do this, follow the five steps above. Then tap the plus button at the bottom right and choose ‘Opaque’. Slide the control at the bottom to the right.

2. Move multiple apps at once

Cleaning up the apps on your home screen isn’t a fun job – but with this trick it will be. Moving apps doesn’t have to be that time-consuming at all. There’s a way to move a huge slew of apps with one swipe. That’s how you do that:

1. Long-press an app and move your finger slightly so that the app starts to wiggle;
2. While holding the app, tap with one of your other fingers on the apps you want to move as well;
3. Drag the group of apps to where you want them.

3. Scan a document

You probably use the Notes app to write down your fantasies and shopping lists, but the app is also there to scan a document. This way you can be sure that you don’t lose your important documents.

How to scan a document via Notes:

1. Open a note in Notes;
2. Tap the camera icon at the bottom;
3. Select ‘Scan documents’;
4. Press the record button.

If necessary, use the controls to adjust the scan and choose ‘Keep scan’ and ‘Save’ to archive the document in Notes.

4. Type faster with QuickPath

Did you know that you don’t have to take your finger off the screen to type? And typing is often even faster. The feature is called QuickPath and has been around since iOS 15. You swipe the screen from letter to letter to make words. And even if you’re not too precise when swiping, this way of typing works very efficiently.

The QuickPath swipe keyboard is especially ideal if you only have one hand free to hold and type your iPhone. The feature is on by default, but if you ever accidentally turned it off, enable QuickPath like this:

1. Open the Settings app;
2. Choose ‘General>Keyboard’;
3. Make sure the ‘Swipe to type’ option is turned on.

More tips and tricks for iPhone and iPad

These were this week’s iPhone tips. Last week, 3 well-hidden features in popular and well-known apps were discussed. Also nice for the iPhone owner: an article about Top Widgets. With this you can add all kinds of fun and useful widgets to your iPhone.