Lest we forget it for even a second, our iPads and iPhones are pretty darn impressive computers! You’ve probably heard the claim that an iPhone has more computing power that the computers that flew the moon rockets. But that’s a serious understatement. Not only is an iPad thousands of times more powerful than Apollo computers, it has literally a million times more memory than a 1960s basement-sized mainframe computer!
With so much power at their disposal, Apple software engineers can sneak in dozens of tricks and handy shortcuts that most users never even know about. That’s why I’m excited to share with you some of my favorite hidden iPad and iPhone tricks. So whether you are a recent or long-time Apple user, follow along because I think you might find something useful.
Photo tricks
Now that iPhone and iPad cameras are so good, lots of folks are using them as their main point-and-shoot cameras, grabbing everything from pretty sunsets, family gatherings and even breaking news events they just happen to see. So most of us end up with a mixture of all kinds of photos stored on phones and tablets. But has this ever happened to you? You are showing a friend or co-worker some photos you want to share, flipping through the fishing trip or game pictures when suddenly, there's an embarrassing "whoops" moment as a particularly personal photo pops up. Now there's a solution for that.
1. Hide photos
With iOS 8, you can select which photos you want hidden. They will be filed away in the "hidden folder" that's invisible in Collections, Moments and Years. But you can still see your hidden photos in Albums. Simply long-press a photo and select the option to hide.
2. Self-destructing photos
Want to share a photo that you don't want to come back to haunt you? You can send photos to other iMessage users that will self-destruct after a certain period of time. When sending an iMessage, hold down the camera icon, which brings up the camera app, and any pictures or video sent from here will self destruct two minutes after delivery.
3. Undelete photos
We've all felt it at one time or another: photo delete regret. That photo that seemed perfectly worthless is suddenly in demand again. Now there's a way to get it back. You can resurrect it from the grave by heading over to the "recently deleted" album, where deleted photos are stored for 30 days before they’re wiped away forever.
Bonus: Feeling overwhelmed by all your iOS photos? See this handy way to organize your photos into folders with just a few swipes.
Location tricks
When "location services" are enabled on your iPad or iPhone, your gadget uses GPS satellite signals, cellphone towers and near-by Wi-Fi hotspots to calculate your approximate location. To enable location, got to Settings>Privacy>Location Services.
Just the other day I was meeting a friend for lunch when I drove past a new restaurant that just opened. With a quick call to my friend, our lunch date switched to the new place. And with this handy iOS trick, my friend knew exactly where I was without having to look up an address or listening to my verbal directions.
4. Share your location
You can easily share your location with another iMessage user with iOS 8.1. In the conversation thread, click on "details" in the top right-hand corner and select "send my location" and your exact coordinates will be sent immediately.
Also, if you want someone to constantly know your position, then you can share your up-to-date location. Go to the same details menu, and select how long you want your location shared for; whether it’s one hour, until the end of the day or indefinitely. A parent may want to use this on a child's phone to keep tabs.
Whether you just need a ride, are lost or are in actual danger, the feature is certainly a useful one to have in your back (or front) pocket.
Bonus: Here's a clever way to use Location to help find your lost or stolen gadget.
5. Super-fast iPhone charging
Without compact rechargeable batteries, we probably wouldn't have mobile gadgets like iPads and iPhones. But unfortunately, even as our Apple gadgets get better and faster, the batteries still last only a day or less. So inevitably, sooner or later, you will be left high and dry with a dead iPhone battery.
However, did you know that your iPad charger can also charge your iPhone? Best of all, your iPad charger is designed to handle the tablet's bigger battery, so it will charge your little iPhone in no time. I was able to fully charge my iPhone 6 Plus in just two hours flat.
6. What's draining your battery the most?
If you do find your gadget constantly runs out of juice before you run out of day, it might be helpful to see which apps are using up the most power. In previous versions of iOS, this information was hidden from prying eyes. But now with one of iOS 8’s neatest new features we can finally see where all those battery electrons are flowing.
To see a full list of apps that are siphoning off the most battery power – even when they’re not in use, go to General>Usage>Battery Usage to pinpoint the guilty apps.
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Bonus: Need more battery life-extending tricks? Check out my 7 slick ways to fix your battery life.
7. Shake to undo
How many times have you wished your iPad or iPhone had a "Control-Z" shortcut? You know, that well-used keyboard shortcut to undo something you really wished you had not done.
First, a warning: Make sure you have a firm grip on your Apple gadget before your try this trick. I'd hate to see any shiny new iPhones go flying across the room! If you've just typed a long message and then accidentally deleted it, don't despair. We can now get it back. Just give your iPhone a firm shake to bring up the undo/redo button. So next time you pull a bone-headed move, don't hit yourself on the forehead, just give your phone a little jiggle.
8. Credit card scanner
Online shopping is bigger than ever and still growing. Now you can shop for nearly anything right from your iPad or iPhone. Just one problem: How many tries does it take you to correctly enter all those little numbers from your credit card?
Bonus: iOS 8 now allows you to use third-party keyboards. Check out these innovative keyboards that can make typing on your gadget a lot easier.
Instead of typing in your credit card details when you’re buying something via Safari, you can scan your card instead with the iPhone’s camera. The option will automatically appear above the keyboard. Select it and hold your card in front of the camera and it will capture the relevant information.
9. Special alerts for those "can't miss" messages
"Is it a boy or a girl?" "Is the flight on time?" "Did the package arrive?"
Sometimes it feels like sitting on pins and needles waiting for a very special, "can't miss" message. For those times when a vibrating or sound alert is just not enough to ensure you get the message, there's another element that you can add to the alert – light. By going to Settings > General > Accessibility and scrolling down to the "Hearing" section (this feature is designed for people with hearing impairments), you can turn on "LED Flash for Alerts". Now every time you get a notification, the flash next to your iPhone's rear-facing camera will blink.
Other situations can be just the opposite. You may be expecting or receiving a series of messages that you don't need to see right away, but you don't want to mute your gadget and miss every other notification.
10. Selective do not disturb
You can mute alerts for text messages from specific people by selecting the "do not disturb" option in the details menu in a message. This means while you can mute alerts from one person, you can still get alerts when messages from others arrive.
11. Bonus: Use your headphones to take a selfie
Last year, The Oxford Dictionary officially recognized the word, "selfie." Over the past couple of years, those arms-length self portraits have taken social media by storm. But here's a trick lots of selfie-takers could find pretty handy.
When the camera app is open on your iPhone, you can use the volume up button on your headphones to take a photo. Not only does this reduce shake, it also means you can take a more natural-looking photo from further away or take a photo hands-free.
One last selfie tip: Instead of using the camera in the front to take selfies, use the one in the back. The back camera takes higher-resolution pictures than the front camera, which will end up taking a blurrier selfie. You'll have to turn the phone around, and you won't be able to see your face as you take the picture, but it's worth the trouble to use the back camera.
Source from: http://www.komando.com
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