10 Hacks Every iPhone User Should Know

I’m regularly surprised by how much technology Apple has managed to cram into the iPhone that I can carry in the palm of my hand. What’s even more surprising is that beneath the layers, there’s even more than meets the eye. There’s a better, faster way to use the keyboard, there’s a faster way to select unread emails to archive, there are better ways to browse the web than just the usual Safari experience, and you can get path better photos with the iPhone Pro cameras than the original Camera app shows you.

The iPhone has become such a default product in all of our lives that we take it for granted. Yes, it’s a great way to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, capture moments and scroll through the night. But spend a little more time and a whole new iPhone experience awaits that will truly transform the way your iPhone looks and works.

Automate small, redundant tasks

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Apple installs the Shortcuts app on every device and even offers premade Shortcuts automations that you can install from Gallery. But the fun begins when you explore the very active online shortcut community and start incorporating automations into the mix.

Apple’s Shortcuts app lets you create automations that automatically follow predefined steps. They can be used to resize images, compress files, convert data and even control certain aspects of your smartphone. For example, you can create an automation that automatically turns on a VPN when you leave the house or sends a message to your partner when you leave work. Are you looking to get started? We have a list of Seven Automations I Think Every iPhone User Should Install.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

I’m a big fan of custom widgets. Every time someone picks up my iPhone, the response is usually something like, “Your iPhone doesn’t look like a regular iPhone.” It depends on custom widgets that display the time, day, my appointments, weather, my tasks, etc. The world of custom iPhone widgets is huge, and if you just want to dive into it, I suggest you start with the Widgetsmith application, which allows you to customize multiple widgets with the same theme and fonts. Overall, it looks really aesthetic. When you are ready, you can dive with the Widgy appwhere you can import and customize thousands of interactive widgets.

Quickly access features using the hidden Back Tap gesture

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The iPhone has a hidden button, and it’s on the back of your iPhone. This is an accessibility feature that you can access via Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Press Back. You can then assign any app, shortcut, or action to the Double Tap or Triple Tap gesture. This is a great way to trigger shortcut automations or simply bring up the selfie camera. Personally, I find that the double tap gesture tends to misfire sometimes, and the triple tap gesture is much more reliable.

Improve Safari using extensions

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If you are not using Safari extensions, you are sleeping on untapped potential. Just like on Mac, the Safari browser on iPhone also supports extensions. And you can use extensions to do really cool things, like block all ads and trackers (of course)but also to force every website to be in dark modeall the time. You will also find extensions for improve Reddit browsing experience and to take full control of all elements on websites you use frequently.

Upgrade to a third-party browser

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Use a third-party browserlike Vivaldi, is an approach very focused on experienced users. All third-party browsers on iOS are technically variations of Safari, because Apple requires developers to build their browsers on Safari’s WebKit platform. However, these third-party browsers may include unique features that Safari does not offer. Vivaldifor example, offers desktop-class tabbed navigation, including tab groups and pinned tabs. Then there is Orionwhich can run Firefox and Chrome Web Store desktop extensions on your iPhone (something Safari can’t do). And if you don’t like Safari’s new interface, try Quiche, which is a fully customizable browser.

Master your focuses

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Focuses have the potential to transform the way your iPhone looks and works, depending on your location, time, day, or task at hand. It’s time to move beyond Do Not Disturb and embrace everything Apple’s Focus can do.

It would be a good idea for you to set priorities for work, personal time and sleep. In each Focus, you can decide which apps can send notifications and which friends or family members can contact you. You can even choose which home screens to show in particular Focus, choosing to hide widgets and apps based on Focus (no work at all in Personal Time Focus, for example). Focus also integrates with Shortcuts and automations, so you can trigger a Focus when you start a video call on your Mac or reach a particular location (like your workplace). Go to Settings > To focus to start.

Use hidden swipe gestures everywhere

You’ll be familiar with all the usual iPhone gestures, like swiping up from the Home bar or tapping the top edge of the iPhone to instantly scroll up. But the iPhone has many more hidden gestures that can really speed things up. If you see a long list, try swiping down with two fingers to instantly start selecting items. It works great in Mail, Phone, and other Apple apps, but is also supported by third-party apps. Then, in iOS 26, Apple added gesture support that is arguably better than Android. You can swipe from anywhere on the left edge to quickly go back.

You can also cut, copy and paste with a simple three-finger gesture. To copy something, pinch it with three fingers. To cut, do it twice. To stick something, make a three-finger spreading gesture (the opposite of pinching).

Be faster with iPhone keyboard

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There’s more to the iPhone keyboard than meets the eye. It has a built-in Slide to Type feature where you can slide your finger across the keys to type words. It works great, especially when using the phone with one hand. A virtual trackpad is also integrated. Simply press and hold the Space bar and move your finger to move the cursor.

If you find your keyboard too big for typing, you can also enable one-handed keyboard from the Keyboard Settings button (press and hold the button Globe icon). From here you can go to the keyboard settings to enable a multilingual keyboard and try Text replacementwhere you can create shortcuts to expand your frequently used text snippets. For example, you can type “adrs” to display your full home address.

Scan documents without a third-party app

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You may not know this, but there is a very neat document scanner built into the Notes app and the Files app. I prefer to use the Files app for this because I can save a PDF directly to any folder I want. Open it Files application, navigate to any folder, tap the three dots Menu icon and choose the Scan the documents functionality. There is an auto-shutter feature enabled by default that will automatically scan each new page you place in front of your camera (if you find this annoying, you can also turn it off). Scan as many pages as you want and press the button Do button. Next, give the document a name. And it is now stored in PDF format in the folder. Now you can send it where it needs to go or back it up using iCloud Drive.

Improve your photos and videos on iPhone Pro

Credit: Blackmagic

The iPhone Pro’s cameras are truly excellent. But the Camera app is not. The default Camera app does too much computational photography for my liking and struggles to focus on items exactly when I need to capture something small. Additionally, Pro cameras can shoot in ProRes Connection mode, and to take full control of the visuals from your iPhone, you’ll need to exit the Camera app.

To shoot videos in the best light, Black magic is an excellent choice. Here you get full manual control over photos and videos, with cinema-quality presets (including the ability to create your own custom presets).

If this seems a little too professional, try using a third-party app to capture much better photos. My colleague Pranay highlighted some great optionswith Halide Mark II at the top of the list (I also agree). Halide gives you much more control over the appearance of your photos. There’s also a Process Zero feature that removes all of Apple’s computer processes from photos.