28 October 2014

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus tips and tricks

The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus arrived with a splash and a huge initial sales success, but since they are such a huge upgrade over the smaller, 4-inch iPhone 5s, there is a ton of new features and little things that you can do to tweak the iOS 8 experience on Apple's latest and greatest devices.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks

Starting with neat features like Reachability that allow you to reach every corner of even the larger phone easily, to the new Family sharing options that give you the opportunity to share apps between 6 people in the family, and finishing up with the plentiful new camera settings, there is a lot of new things that you can do with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

We have tried to cover every aspect of those changes and right below you'll find our tips and tricks for getting the most out of the new iPhones in every aspect. And after graduating this concise course in iPhone functions, you can safely say you've become a more advanced user, right?

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iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Switch between Standard and Zoomed view


The default option for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is the ‘Standard’ view, but if you prefer larger icons or have poor vision, use this tip. Go into Settings -> Display & Brightness -> View, and select the new ‘Zoomed’ view for larger icons that are easier to see.

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iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Download and install third-party keyboards like SwiftKey


Apple has finally opened up to alternative keyboards in iPonohe 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and you can download SwiftKey, Swype, Fleksy, and many other options. Do not forget to turn them on in Settings -> General -> Keyboards -> Keyboards -> Add New Keyboard… Also, remember to enable ‘swype’ gesture typing by granting keyboards full rights.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Fast track charging on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus


The 1A/5W charger included in the box of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus makes re-charging the phones slower than it could be. There is a small trick that can help you with this - grab a 2.1A/12W iPad charger for a much faster charge-up (the difference can be felt better on the 6 Plus, but the iPhone 6 also charges slightly quicker).

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Use Reachability for one-hand access to that elusive, far-away back button in the top left corner


Double tap on the home key to have the current app slide down within easy reach (the feature is called Reachability).

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Edit pictures after you capture them


The new Photos app takes over the role of iPhoto with a host of very cool editing options: you can lighten up an underexposed, dark image after you have shot it easily (and this adapts the whole image so it does not turn out hugely washed out in most parts). Plus, you get to do all sorts of non-destructive edits: adjust shadows, highlights, skin tones, rotate images, and others.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Use your iPhone 6 as a personal mobile hotspot


Enable the hotspot feature by going into Settings -> Cellular -> Cellular Data Network, and there, in the Personal Hotspot tab you just type in any Username. Go back into Settings, and you’d now see the Personal Hotspot option. Tap on it and swing the toggle to turn it on! You’re all set.

iPhone 6 Plus landscape mode


Just turn the iPhone 6 Plus in landscape to get a neat, iPad-like two-panel interface in some apps.
Use spotlight search to get instant information about things like artists and places of interest: Notice that the feature seems to be available only in select markets.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Track your activity better with the new sensor: barometer


It tracks changes in altitude, which allows it to record how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Take a screenshot on iPhone 6


Just press the power/lock key on the right side while holding the home key, and you’ll hear a click. Screenshots are saved into the camera roll.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Share your location


You can send your current location or continuously share your whereabouts via Messages -> Details (in a thread).

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Turn off cellular data if you need to


You can use this tip to avoid overage charges or expensive roaming fees (and you know how apps love to auto-update when you are using expensive data on roaming). Go into Settings -> Cellular -> switch the Cellular data toggle.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Approve (or don’t) kids requests for app and in-app purchases


No more unexpected bills with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - set up family sharing and add your kids (even those under 13 can have an Apple ID now), so that you can review their app purchase requests.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Record awesome slow motion in 240fps


Just open the camera and swipe left to the Slo-Mo option. You can pick between 120fps (less pronounced slo-mo effect) and 240fps (even slower, cinematic, replay-like slow motion).

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Shoot videos in 60 frames per second


This option is not that easy to access and you cannot enable it straight from the camera. Trick - You need to go into Settings -> scroll down to Photos & Camera -> toggle Record Video at 60 FPS.

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iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Use the timer in camera for a burst of images


Finally, group jump photos will turn out right from the first attempt! The iSight camera captures a dozen of photos after the timer count down is over.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Use the manual exposure control in iOS 8 to come up with better photos


Probably the coolest new camera features in iOS 8 is the ability to manually control exposure via the camera app. You need to tap on the object or person you want to focus on and then tap again near it and while holding your finger glued to the screen, slide it up or down to adjust exposure.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Quickly send a voice message to other iOS users


You can do this via the Messages app by just holding down the mic button while speaking. Notice that contacts that do not use an iOS device will have the option greyed out - you cannot use this feature for such contacts.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Quickly send a picture or a video to other iOS users


Just hold down the camera key in the messages app, and record a quick video or snap a picture to send it right away. Again, the feature only works when you are sending this media to other iOS users.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Recover recently deleted pictures on iPhone 6


Go into Photos -> Albums -> Recently Deleted, there you can find all recently purged apps.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Battery-hog watch


Find out which apps are creating a drag on your battery by going to Settings/General/Usage/Battery Usage. It shows the majors users in the past 24 hours.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Swipe right to go back a page in Safari


This neat shortcut gesture is now even easier to perform on the slightly curved toward the edge screen of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - DIY swipe


Have it your way by choosing what happens when you swipe left or right in email. Go to Settings/Mail, Contacts, Calendars/Swipe Options. For now, flagging and mark-as-read are the options.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Snap images using the volume down key


Want better quality selfies? Just point the main camera towards your face, and shoot with the volume down button.

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iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Change folder name


Did you know that you could even use symbols as names for your folders? Even if you don’t, the automatic name that iOS gives to folder is not always right and you can just open the folder and tap on its name to change the name.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Shoots bursts of selfies with the front camera


Just hold down the shutter key, and fire away with the front camera for tons of selfies capturing all the variations of your posing.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Apple Pay


Use your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to pay at places like Starbucks, McDonalds, and others with Apple Pay.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Emergency medical info on iPhone 6


Fill in your basic personal health information in Medical ID for use in case of emergencies.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Store any kind of file in iCloud Drive


You can now have all of your photos backed up to iCloud, so you never lose any of them, if you destroy your iPhone, or if it gets stolen.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Quickly respond to a notification


Take action on texts, email, calendar invitations, reminders, and even messages from apps right from their notiļ¬cation banners without leaving the app you're in.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Quickly manage your mail


Simply swipe to archive mails that you don’t need, and use the new gestures to better handle email.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - “Hey, Siri, what song is this?”


Ask Siri to tell you which song is playing right now, a feature powered by Shazam.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Buy recognized songs you have recognized straight from Siri


You also get the option to purchase the phone that was just recognized.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Get reply notifications


Receive notifications for new replies to an important email thread.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - More info about messages


In Messages, drag message bubbles to the side to see exactly when they were sent.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Share apps you've bought on your iPhone with others in the family (for free!)


Set up family sharing for up to six people in your family, without sharing accounts.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Take selfies with a timer


There’s now a timer available when you’re shooting with the front camera, so you can get prepared for that perfect selfie.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Install one of Apple’s awesome suite of free applications


Apple has released its iWork applications for mobile: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote as a free download for new iOS device owners.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Disable Motion effects on iPhone 6


The parallax effect looks nice on iPhones for a 3D-esque feel, but some people complain it makes them nauseous. If you’re one of those, you can simply disable it by going into Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Reduce Motion -> On.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Always-on voice commands


Just say ‘Hey, Siri’ while your phone is charging (without even touching it) to speak to the virtual assistant without having to activate it in any other, special way.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Adjust text size to your preference


Go into Settings -> Display & Brightness -> Text Size to fine tune the size of text all across the system.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Use the built-in headset to snap images


Did you know that you could use the in-box iPhone headphones to capture an image with the iPhone camera? Just plug them in, fire up the camera app, and shoot with the volume down button.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Quick search


Remember the ball-and-chain searches of the old Safari, when you typed in a website address, waited, then typed a search term into that site? Now you can do both simultaneously. Typing "Amazon," then a space, and "soy candle" into Safari now produces results for soy candles at Amazon.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Recent contacts


The operating system automatically displays recent contacts on the multitasking screen. If it annoys, visit Mail, Contacts, Calendars in Settings, then change Show In App Switcher to off.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Security


After updating, check your security settings. Enable "Do Not Track" and warnings about fraudulent sites under Safari's "Privacy and Security" settings.

The update asks if you want to enable location services. If you did, go to Settings/Privacy and, app by app, decide which ones should see your location. Weather gets a yes. BigOven gets a no.

You can choose which third-party apps can access Health, HomeKit, Camera and Motion Activity data.

How can you ensure the safety of your iPhone and data on it? A strong passcode and activating Find My iPhone helps. But go to Settings/Passcode, then activate Erase Data and all your data will vanish after 10 failed attempts to enter a security code. Not new, but worth knowing.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Faster website loading


Safari now autoloads the first search result, creating what appears to be a faster browser. If data use is a concern, turn off the preloads by going to Settings/Safari/Preload Top Hit.

iPhone 6 tips and tricks - Auto suggestions


Some will love the new Apple keyboard (and alternate keyboards) and its pop-up auto suggestions that speed typing, at least theoretically. If, in reality, it does not, make it disappear by pressing and holding the bar while dragging it toward the keyboard. Make it reappear by dragging the tiny auto-suggestion bar upward.

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