01981 - video tip
iPhone Brightness 101: How to Prevent Dark Screen on the iPhone
Depending on where you are, what time of day it is, and how you're using our iPhone, you may want to adjust your iPhone screen's brightness. Late at night, a darker screen can help you sleep better and be easier on the eyes. But during the day, you probably prefer full brightness, especially when watching videos.
Related: How to Turn On Dark Mode on the iPhone in iOS 14
Jump To:
- How to Adjust the Brightness on an iPhone
- iPhone Control Center
- Display & Brightness Settings
- Auto-Brightness Settings
How to Adjust the Brightness on an iPhone
Learn to navigate your iPhone's auto-brightness settings and stop asking, "Why does my iPhone screen dim?" There are two ways to adjust your screen's brightness. You can access it through the Settings app or in Control Center. To learn more about iPhone Settings, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.
iPhone Control Center
The quickest way to adjust your iPhone's screen brightness is through the iPhone Control Center. If you have an iPhone 8 or earlier, you'll have to swipe from your display's bottom edge to open the Control Center. If you have an iPhone X or later, follow these steps:
- Unlock your iPhone.
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of your display.
- Raise or lower the brightness by tapping and dragging your finger over the sun icon.
Display & Brightness Settings
Going into your Settings is more time-consuming than adjusting your display's brightness via the Control Center. However, this is where you can find other display settings.
- Launch Settings.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Drag the slider to adjust brightness.
You can also change to Dark Mode, enable True Tone, and set up Night Shift in the Display & Brightness Settings.
Auto-Brightness Settings
The auto-brightness feature helps adjust your screen brightness depending on the light conditions around you. To keep your screen from dimming automatically, you'll need to turn off auto-brightness.
- Launch Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Tap Display & Text Size.
- At the very bottom, toggle Auto-Brightness on.
Please note that auto-brightness can help maximize battery life. So keeping brightness up can affect your iPhone's battery life. Next, learn how to switch to Dark Mode on Mac!
How to Enable Your iCloud Music Library
By Conner Carey
With a subscription to Apple Music or iTunes Match, you can use the iCloud Music Library. This is an easy way to have access to your music across all of your devices. When your iCloud Music Library is enabled, you can add an Apple Music song to My Music from your iPhone, then check your iPad and the song will be there.
02242 - video tip
How to Screenshot on Apple Watch
You can screenshot on Apple Watch with just one step, which comes in very handy when you want to share something cool or interesting on your screen but only have a moment to catch it before the screen changes. We'll show you how to screenshot on Apple Watch so you can save and share interesting things from your Apple Watch screen.
Related: 15 Apple Watch Tips That’ll Make You a Pro
Why You'll Love This Tip
- Screenshot Apple Watch workout data to share with friends or on social media when you’ve finished a tough session.
- Take a screenshot of a problem you're having to share with tech support.
- Easily view screenshots later on any iCloud-connected device.
How to Take a Screenshot on Apple Watch
If you haven't done so already, you'll need to enable screenshots on Apple Watch prior to continuing. Once Apple Watch screenshots are enabled, you can use the handy trick below to capture a still image of your screen any time you like. To capture an Apple Watch screenshot:
- Press the Side Button and the Digital Crown at the same time, then release.

Image courtesy of Apple
- The screen will briefly flash, and your Apple Watch screenshot will be saved.
- Once you’ve taken a screenshot on your Apple Watch, you can find it in the Photos app on your Apple Watch, iPhone, or any device signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID.
How to Add a Song to Your iCloud Music Library
By Conner Carey
When you’re browsing through Apple Music songs and playlists, you’ll likely find music you want to download. If you want to make sure your songs are accessible across your devices, you’re going to want to add it to your iCloud Music Library. Luckily this is easy to do; here’s how.
How to Preview a Photo without Leaving the Camera App
By Conner Carey
The greatest part about the age of digital cameras is the ability to see exactly what you captured in a photo immediately after you take it. Gone are the days of the thumb picture or the blinking family photo. That's why we love how easy it is to view your recent photos directly within the Camera app on your iPhone.
Top 4 External Microphones for iPhone
By Conner Carey
For everyday uses, the iPhone has a decent built-in microphone. But if you want to get any level of professional sound, whether it be to film a movie, record a song, or conduct an interview, you’re going to need an external mic for quality sound. There’s a wide variety of options, but it’s definitely the type of product where you get what you pay for.
How to Easily Invite and Email Frequent Contacts
By Conner Carey
iPhone Proactive suggestions are really helpful sometimes. If you often invite the same group of people to meetings or events, or if you often email the same group of people, your iPhone will make it easy to continue to do so. Both the Calendar and Email app will provide suggestions when you begin to add commonly grouped contacts.
7 Cool & Creative iPhone Cases for Artists
By Conner Carey
There are iPhone cases for every type of personality, from the rugged, life-proof beasts to the professional, leather covers. Collections of cases are made fairly streamlined though; what if you want to show off your personality or love of art with your iPhone case? There is an array of websites offering graphic design covers but, recently, I came across Redbubble, a company that features independent art on all kinds of gear. Here are seven of my favorites amongst the 8000 options the website offers.
