Three awesome features to try out on your iPhone now

In 2020, Apple officially surpassed over one billion users of its iPhone across the globe. While, compared to Android users, this number is still considered relatively small, there can be no doubt that Apple has forever made its mark on the way we use our mobile devices. 

Since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, users have been impressed with the number of features the phone has to offer. From the introduction of FaceTime, to its GPS capabilities, to its synchronisation with Apple music and apps, the device helped to reimagine the way we live, to the point where it may be hard to remember what life was like before Apple was on the scene.

Are you an avid iPhone user who thinks you’ve seen everything this phone has to offer? Well, this post might just introduce you to three pretty cool tricks you hadn’t discovered before that can help make your user experience with the iPhone range even better.

Hack One: Guided Access

This tip is a great one to memorise if you’ve got kids that need entertaining with your iPhone. Guided Access works by limiting your device to a single app and lets you control which features are available. So, for example, if you want to allow your child to watch a movie on your phone, Guided Access will freeze the screen on the one app you want them to focus on – ensuring they can’t click off the movie and scroll through your apps and messages without you noticing. 

To set up Guided Access:

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility, and toggle on Guided Access.
2. Tap Passcode Settings, then tap Set Guided Access Passcode.
3. Enter a passcode, then re-enter it. From here, you can also turn on Face ID or Touch ID as a way to end a Guided Access session.

To start a Guided Access session, on an iPhone X or later, triple-click the side button. On an iPhone 8 or earlier, triple-click the Home button.

You’ll then be given a list of options you can turn off with Guided Access. These include, your volume buttons, your keyboard, the touch screen, and how your device screen responds to motion. 

To turn the setting off you can either set a time limit, or triple-click the Side or Home button, enter your Guided Access passcode, then tap End.

Hack Two: Emergency SOS Alarm

This is a feature we obviously hope you’ll never have to use but it is important to be aware of its presence just in case. Perhaps you’ve maybe even found this feature accidently if you’ve been messing with the buttons on your iPhone!

With Emergency SOS, you can quickly and easily call for help, as your iPhone automatically calls the local emergency number. When you activate the service, a loud alarm will sound, so if you want to make sure yours works, you might be better trialling it when you’re somewhere private.

To make the call, rapidly press the power on button five times, at which point a countdown will begin to automatically call the emergency services. If you want this to happen as quickly as possible, drag the Emergency SOS slider to start the call immediately. 

To view your emergency SOS settings on your iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Emergency SOS

Here, you’ll be able to see how to add an emergency contact, turn off auto call, and, if you have an iPhone 8 or later, change the way you make this call from the rapid pressing of the side button to holding it down instead.

Hack Three: Saving website pages as PDF files

Have you ever seen a really good recipe online, or the perfect set of instructions about a hobby you’re trying out, and want to save the webpage for later? Well, now Apple has come up with a simple way to keep all your important files together from the internet together in one place.

All you have to do is find the webpage you’re after on Safari and take a screenshot. Once the screenshot pops up in the bottom left hand corner, tap on it to bring up editing options and click on ‘full page’, near the top right corner. Now you should have a screenshot of the full article. 

Once you’ve selected ‘full page’, tap ‘Done’ and ‘Save PDF to Files’. Next, open up your ‘Files’ application and look at your recent saved article. Here, the entire article will be saved – ready for you to access easily the next time you want to bake those same cookies with that recipe, or knit that jumper with the same pattern as last time. 

Did you discover new iPhone features from this post? Let us know in the comments section, and if you have any questions or other technology queries tweet @techtroublesho1.