Top 7 Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone Could Do

Jump Pages with the Back Button

Sometimes when you've entered a bunch of sub-menus on your iPhone, you'll need to use the back button on the top left corner to go back to a previous page. This can be a bit annoying sometimes if you're in too deep.

Fortunately, you can now see all the previous pages you've entered to make it easier to go back to a previous page or two. All you need to do is press and hold the back button on the top left, and a small menu will pop up with all the pages you can go back to. This also works in Safari!

Use Volume Buttons for Burst Photos and QuickTake Video

The good thing about the Camera app on the iPhone is that it's never been hard to use. It's quick and easy to snap a picture wherever you are. And now, it's even easier thanks to the volume keys.

By default, you can use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to take pictures in the Camera app. But, if you press and hold the Volume Down key when using the Camera app, you'll record a QuickTake video. This is also a default feature that you can start using right now.

Finally, you can also use the Volume Up button to take pictures using the Burst feature. Burst means you'll take a bunch of quick pictures in an instant. The longer you keep the Volume Up key press, the more pictures you'll take.

This feature, however, isn't turned on by default, so you'll have to do it yourself by following these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and select Camera.
3. Toggle Use Volume Up for Burst on.

Now you can try it for yourself. Go to the Camera app and press and hold the Volume Up button to take Burst pictures.

Keep Apps off of Your Home Screen and Tucked Away Neatly

Apple introduced an App Library in iOS 14. This is meant to help you sort through your apps to find them faster, and have the ones you need to most at the top.

Additionally, the App Library also helps when you want to hide some apps from the Home screen. Now you can finally have a minimalistic Home Screen without manually storing apps in folders.

Plus, you can also make it so your recently downloaded apps go straight to the App Library and not the Home Screen. It's simple and it keeps your neatly organized Home Screen free from unwanted apps.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Home Screen.
3. Under the Newly Downloaded Apps section, choose App Library Only.

Set Gmail and Chrome as Your Default Apps

As you'd expect, Mail and Safari are the default browser and mail apps on your iPhone from the start.

But Apple finally made it possible to change them in iOS 14. Now you can use Gmail and Google Chrome, or any other apps as your default mail and browser apps. Here's how to change them:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down to the Apps and tap on the Browser or Mail app you want.
3. Tap on Default Mail App or Default Browser App.
4. Change it to the app you want.

Always Make Eye Contact During a FaceTime Call

When making a FaceTime call, it's normal that you're looking at your screen without actually looking at the other person's eyes. Apple thought about this and introduced and new Eye Contact feature.

This feature was originally meant to be released with iOS 13, but it wasn't until iOS 14 that we actually got to see it in all its glory.

You can turn on the Eye Contact option in the FaceTime settings so it seems like you're making eye contact with the other person in a call. Or as Apple puts it, establish natural eye contact while on FaceTime.

By default, this feature should be turned on, but you can always make sure it's on, or turn it off by doing this:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down to FaceTime.
3. Scroll down again and make sure Eye Contact is turned on.

Add Two Buttons to Your iPhone

Believe it or not, you can actually add up to two additional buttons to your iPhone in a flash. This is because of a new Back Tap feature that Apple implemented.

You can literally tap twice or three times on the back of your iPhone and it will do something like take a screenshot, go to the Home Page, or open the Notification Center.

Here's how to enable it:

1. Go to the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and select Accessibility.
3. Tap on Touch.
4. Scroll all the way down and tap on Back Tap.
5. Choose what you want your Double and Triple Tap to do.

Just keep in mind that the back tap can be a bit too sensitive. So if you tap on the front of your iPhone a little too hard, you can actually trigger it.

Send Intercom Messages to Your Family

A new Intercom feature was introduced by the end of last year with the introduction of the HomePod mini.

This feature lets you send and receive voice messages on your HomePod, HomePod mini, iPhone, iPad, and even your car. You can also use this feature to send messages to someone in a specific room or reply to someone with a voice message as well.

To use this feature, you'll need to have at least one HomePod, and make sure you're HomePod has the latest software update available. Once your HomePod or HomePod mini are ready, do the following:

1. Go to the Home App.
2. Tap on the House icon on the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap on Home Settings.
4. Scroll down and select Intercom.
5. Change the settings to set it up how you want to use it.

After that, you can start using the Intercom feature at home, or even when you're on your way to work.