Six iOS 8 Tips Every iPhone User Should Know

With all of the new iOS updates recently there are many new tips and tricks that every iOS user should know. There are many hidden features that the average iOS user probably doesn’t know about. You can become a master of iOS by reading the most important iOS tricks that range from boosting productivity to awesome interface changes.

1. Diverse Emojis

With the new iOS update came a range of several new emoji options. Apple has taken some heat over the years for only providing light skinned emojis. This issue has been resolved with the iOS 8.3 update. Now, many emojis have diversity options. In order to implement these emojis, hold your finger down on the face, hand, or figure with visible skin and you will get a choice of five new colors. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work on smiles or cat emojis. In addition, Apple has added overt 300 new emojis aside from diversity. There are also new items such as the Apple Watch, iMac, and even same-sex family emojis.

2. iCloud Photo Library

You can keep all of your iPhone photos in iCloud in order to save space on your iPhone. To do this, go to Settings>iCloud>Photos and then turn on iCloud Photo Library. This is different than Photo Stream which syncs photos (not videos) across all of your iOS devices for 30 days or for up to 1000 photos. The Apple iCloud Photo Library syncs everything and also allows you to sync with MacOS. If you turn on iCloud Photo Library, your photo stream will essentially disappear. It is still technically there it just isn’t made visible in the Photos app. Once iCloud has been turned on you can access the uploaded photos on your iOS device by going into the Photos app and tapping the Photos tab at the bottom.

3. Filter Spam Messages

Often times we get a lot of spam messages in our iMessage or even through our SMS texts. iOS recently added a new feature that will help fix this issue. To implement this just go under Setting> Messages> and there is something called Filter Unknown Senders. Simply turn this on and in the messages app you will get buttons at the top for “Contacts & SMS” (which is for everyone who is in your contacts) and “Unknown Senders.” This way you will still receive the messages, but they will be on a separate list. The unknown messages also won’t get an alert when arriving.

4. Apple Pay

With iOS 8.1, Apple implemented Apple Pay (through Near Field Communication technology) for iPhone 6/6 Plus. The iPhone 5/5S does not have NFC, so The Apple Watch will provide Apple Pay for iPhone 5/5S users.

To use this feature on the iPhone 6/6 Plus go into the Pass Book app and tap the +Sign in the upper right corner, click Set Up Apple Pay and choose the card that is already on file with iTunes (or create a new card to put on file.)While you are shopping, look for a terminal with the universal tap-and-pay symbol or one that says Apple Pay. Then, hold your iPhone next to it and enter your pin or use Touch ID to enter your fingerprint. After you confirm your transaction, the purchase is completed!

5. Scan Credit Cards in Safari

If you don’t want to use Apple Pay as mentioned above, iOS has a really cool feature where you can scan your credit card with the Camera App in Safari. This is if you don’t want to type your credit card number in when making an online purchase. If you are using Safari and run into a credit card field, you can take a picture of the card to scan the number. This will automatically add to the credit card field. Simple and a great time saver!

6. Time-Lapse Video

The time-lapse video feature may be one of the most interesting features on the new iOS. The opposite of Slow-Mo, Time-Lapse gives you the ability to take a really long video and compress it into just a few seconds. To start this, open the camera app just like you would if you were taking a photo. Then select the Time-Lapse shooting mode by swiping your finger right until Time-Lapse is selected. You can also tap on the screen to set the focus and exposure point for the relevant part of the environment you want to shoot. When you are ready to start shooting your video, press the red button in the app to start the recording process. When you are finished recording, simply press the red button again.