So you have an iPhone for Christmas? Welcome! After a decade of jumping between Android phones, I returned to iOS in 2022 with the iPhone 14 Pro after my Samsung Galaxy S10e happened to be there when I jumped into a pool on vacation. I haven’t looked back since, other than being more vigilant about checking the pockets of swim shorts.
I picked up some useful iPhone knowledge along the way. Here you will find some helpful tips to get you started.
1. Bring your digital life with you
When you upgrade from one iPhone to another, Apple makes the process seamless, with your settings and preferences transferred cleanly.
Of course, Apple can’t get it quite as neat if you’re coming from Android, but the Move to iOS app does a pretty good job of it. Just download it on your Android device and follow the instructions. If for some reason it doesn’t work for you, we have some further instructions that you can read here.
2. Learn to type again
If you’ve been using Android for years, typing around on the iPhone keyboard can be a little confusing. The most important tip I have here is that you can control the cursor by holding down the space bar and moving your finger or thumb left or right. This makes correcting typos easy.
Or you can get something more familiar. Since iOS 8, Apple has supported third-party keyboards, so you can try one that suits your taste. When I switched to iOS, I was thrilled to see that Google’s Gboard was one of the options, offering neat swipe controls and easy GIF access at the touch of a finger.
3. Consider Apple One
Digital subscriptions are unfortunately part of modern life. Or “luckily,” if you happen to be an Apple shareholder, you’ll benefit from the estimated $100 billion the company’s services will generate this year.
If you’re tempted by several of Apple’s subscription services, you can save money by signing up for Apple One. For $19.95 per month, you get Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage, saving you about a third of the price of a standalone subscription. If your whole family also uses an iPhone, things get even cheaper with the Family plan, which gives up to six people access to the same services (and 150GB more iCloud storage) for $25.95 per month
Speaking of subscriptions, if you want to subscribe to non-Apple services, make sure the price in the App Store is not higher than expected. As Apple cuts corners, some developers are charging more than they would for using a web browser. However, this could change thanks to a recent court ruling.
4. Learn to juggle storage
Even with additional iCloud storage, it can be difficult to juggle iPhone storage, especially if you’ve opted for a 128GB model (note for the future: don’t go down this route again).
The most important tip to free up space on your iPhone is to enable two space-saving features. Offload Unused Apps removes apps you don’t appear to be using and retains your in-app data in case you need to download them again. You can find it in Settings > Apps > App Store > “Offload unused apps”.
Then there’s the Optimize iPhone Storage option in the Photos app, which keeps high-quality versions of your photos and videos in iCloud while reducing the file size of local versions (Settings > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage).
Photos are the number one cause of iPhone capacity issues in my experience, but there are a few tips to help you stay on top of them. Firstly, you can filter only screenshots in the Photos app, allowing you to delete years of unnecessary screenshots in a matter of seconds. Incidentally, something like Swipewipe simplifies and simplifies the tedious process of deciding which photos you actually want to keep.
5. Get to know Magsafe
Unless you purchased an iPhone 16e, which doesn’t have it due to cost, your new phone supports the MagSafe mounting system, which allows you to magnetically attach accessories to the back of your new phone.
This is primarily to reduce the frustration of wireless charging, as compatible chargers snap onto the back of the phone without slipping. However, other handy accessories let you attach a card holder or even use your iPhone’s excellent camera as a webcam for your Mac. Some of the best MagSafe accessories can be found here.
6. Try the back tap controls
The iPhone is known for its excellent accessibility features. Most of these are only useful for people with special needs, such as those with visual impairments, but there is one that most people might want to try: Back Tap.
This allows you to bind certain features to a double or triple tap on the back of the iPhone. You can link this to a preset list of specific functions (open Siri, turn on the flashlight, take a screenshot, etc.) or something more customized via the Shortcuts app.
Just go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap to get started.
7. Use your Apple Wallet
While I appreciate that the infrastructure for contactless payments isn’t the same everywhere in the world, I’ve basically stopped carrying my wallet because Apple Pay is so good.
But Apple Pay is just a small part of Apple Wallet, and I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with it. You’ll often find that digital tickets can be automatically added to your Apple Wallet for easy access. However, for passes without this option, something like Passdrop can turn anything into an Apple Wallet pass that you keep with you. These can then be quickly accessed along with your credit cards by double pressing the power button.
Speaking of useful documents about yourself, you can also quickly scan documents with the iPhone camera to convert them into PDF files. Just long-press the Notes app and tap “Scan Document” to get started.
8. Set time limits!
It’s very easy to waste hours every day with the millions of apps and other distractions that the iPhone offers. If you’re like me and lack the self-control to not overdo it, you can set daily usage limits for the most addictive apps – in my case, Reddit.
Simply click Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and set the apps you want to limit. Conveniently, you can create groups of apps (social media, videos, communication, etc.) to prevent you from switching from TikTok to Instagram as soon as you get locked out of one.
If you need more time on a given day, you can easily undo this via a passcode—like I did on a recent six-hour train ride—but it does make you think twice about your usage, which is undeniably a good thing.
