7 Time-Saving iPhone Features You Should Try | Here’s How They Work

Make Phone Calls and Copy Text from Images

Apple added Live Text to iOS 15. This feature makes your iPhone and other Apple devices smart enough to basically "read" pictures and understand where there's text or a phone number.

So, instead of writing down a phone number or writing the text, you can easily take a picture and copy it on your iPhone instead. This will save you a ton of time and will make calling restaurants or people much easier.

You can try it right now. Take a picture of something that has text and double-tap the text on your picture. You'll have the option to copy it and paste it somewhere else.

Quick Ways to Access Your Camera

Sometimes, having your camera open at the right moment is the difference between a great picture and a missed opportunity. Fortunately, you don't have to go look for the Camera app with your iPhone every time you want a picture.

You probably already know that you can access your camera from the Lock Screen. All you need to do is swipe to the left, and the camera will open. You can also use the camera shortcut on the bottom right corner of the screen. 

But now, with iOS 15, you can also access it from the Notification Center. All you need to do is swipe down to access the Notification Center, then swipe left, and you'll instantly open the camera. It's much faster than locking your iPhone to access it. 

Use Spotlight as a Calculator

The Calculator app is really easy to access since you can have it in the Control Center of your iPhone. With that said, there's a quicker way to make simple calculations with the iPhone's Spotlight.

All you need to do is swipe down from your Home Screen to access Spotlight. Once you're there, you can use the keyboard to enter a calculation.

For instance, you can enter "45 x 65." Spotlight will give you the result immediately. It's quick, easy, and you don't have to open an app to know the result.

Simplify Your Life With Back Tap

Ever since iOS 13, Apple has added a new feature called Back Tap. The name is pretty self-explanatory at this point, but it lets you tap the back of your iPhone two or three times, and your iPhone will do an action like open the Control Center or take a screenshot. 

Here's how to enable it:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Accessibility.
3. Select Touch.
4. Scroll to the bottom and tap Back Tap.
5. Select Double Tap or Triple Tap.
6. Choose the action you want your iPhone to make.
7. When you're done, exit the Settings.

Now double or triple tap the back of your iPhone, and your iPhone will do the action. But, there are a couple of things to note. First, if you have a thick case, you'll need to tap really hard for it to work. Also, you can only use this feature on iPhones that support Face ID. 

Drag and Drop Pictures Between Apps

This is, by far, one of the coolest iOS 15 features that Apple didn't even focus on. Before, if you wanted to share a picture, you'd need to go to the Photos app, choose the picture, and select share. Or you could also share it from another app like Messages, but that takes a lot of time. 

Now you can drag and drop pictures between different apps. All you need to do is open the two apps you want to use. For instance, you can open Messages and Photos. Then in Photos, long-press the picture you want to share. Make sure to move your finger a little bit until the picture becomes a smaller picture hovering on the screen. 

Next, swipe from the bottom of your iPhone to switch to the app where you want to share the picture. Now that you're in the other app, release your finger, and the picture will be added to the message. 

You can do this with other items like PDF files, but you need to make sure the app where you want to drop it supports it. 

Long-Press to Make Quick Actions

Ever since 3D Touch, Apple has added many quick actions when you press and hold any app. Even now, with 3D Touch is gone (RIP), there are still many places where you can use this feature.

For instance, if you long-press an app on the Home Screen, you'll get a bunch of actions instead of having to open and set it up in the app.

And now, with iOS 15, you can do some quick actions in the Notification Center as well. You can reply to messages, delete emails, and even mark tasks as complete depending on the app. All you need to do is press and hold any notification from the Notification Center.

The sky is the limit here, and the things you can do will also depend on the developers behind each app. But there are already a bunch of apps —both first- and third-party—that feature a lot of quick actions in the Notification Center.

Quick Actions in the Control Center

The Control Center also has a bunch of extra action when you press and hold each option.

For instance, pressing and holding the time will let you choose the amount of time you want the time for. Long-pressing the brightness control will let you turn on Dark Mode, Night Shift, and True Tone.

There are many options here, but you'll find the ones you need the most once you start playing with them.