By Amy Spitzfaden–Both
While the bigger screens of our iPads can be good for visibility, you might still be wondering how to increase the font size on your iPad. Fortunately, your iPad screen is very customizable. Learn how to quickly change your iPad font size, so you can read and browse with maximum comfort.
By Brian Peters
Auto-Answer Calls is an accessibility feature you can enable to make your iPhone automatically answer or route your calls after a certain amount of time. Now, with iOS 16, you can turn this setting on or off with a quick voice command to Siri.
By Rhett Intriago
You can quickly end phone calls by simply pressing the power button on your iPhone. While this is a handy feature to have, it can also lead to accidental hang-ups, since your fingers tend to rest on the Side button when holding the phone up to your ear. You can prevent the power button ending calls from the Accessibility settings on your iPhone.
By Hallei Halter
Most people prefer listening to audio on their AirPods in stereo (where sound is fed through at least two channels). This requires listening to both AirPods to get the full dual-channel experience. But what if you only want to use one AirPod? You're going to miss out on the sounds coming through the other AirPod. Mono audio is a feature on iPhones that makes sure you don't miss anything when using one ear instead of two. Whether you have hearing loss in one ear, want to share the other AirPod with someone else, have misplaced one of your AirPods, or just want to keep one ear tuned in to what's going on around you, it's possible to make all the sound come out of one AirPod by enabling Mono Audio in your Accessibility Settings. Switching to this single channel setting means you'll be able to hear all the audio from either AirPod, so you can choose which AirPod to use.
By Kenya Smith
You may know Magnifier as a handy iPhone Control Center feature that lets you read small print more easily. But it's actually a feature-rich tool that helps users see the world more clearly in a variety of ways. One of those features, Detection, helps blind and low vision users be aware of their surroundings. There are two types of Detection Modes: People Detection and Door Detection. These two Detection Modes can help you practice safe social distancing, especially since COVID-19 is still around. If you're lost, Door Detection can help you locate doors when in new or unfamiliar places. Let's learn how to set up these Detection Modes and to use them.
By Kenya Smith
Sound Recognition is a feature that was added to iPhones to help users with disabilities be aware of certain sounds such as sirens, smoke detectors, and breaking glass. When Sound Recognition was first introduced, you could set up alerts for pre-programmed options. Now, the new iOS 16 will allow you to create custom sound recognition alerts, which is helpful if you have medical devices or appliances that have unique electronic jingles. Let’s learn how to create your own Sound Recognition alerts.
Let’s say you’re listening to music using your Bluetooth speaker, and you get a call. When you answer that call, the audio will probably default to your iPhone. But what if you want the call to always default to your Bluetooth headphones, speaker, or earbuds? You can select which Bluetooth device your call audio defaults to in the Call Audio Routing settings in the iPhone Settings app. We've already covered Bluetooth pairing to your iPhone, and how to change which Bluetooth connection you're using to play audio from your iPhone or iPad. You can even connect an Xbox controller to your iPhone. Now, here’s how to set your speaker, headphones, or earbuds as the default audio on your iPhone.
By Devala Rees
For some Mac users, the mouse icon is too small or too similar to the background color to conveniently see. Or perhaps you don't have a problem finding your cursor, but would simply like to change the cursor appearance for aesthetic reasons. In either case, we'll cover how to change your mouse settings on your Mac.
By Belinda Sanmiguel
Are you tired of squinting while looking at content on your iPhone? Good news! You can change the display and text size on your iPhone and iPad for easier readability. We'll discuss how to change the text size on your iPhone and iPad, make text bold, and add button shapes and toggle labels for easier navigation.
By Conner Carey
A heavily requested feature for iOS 11 was Dark Mode. Dark Mode essentially turns white space black while leaving media, photos, and content the same. However, we did not get an official Dark Mode in iOS 11, and we haven't gotten one for iOS 12, either. Hopefully this will come out soon because macOS Mojave does offer this feature. For now, though, the next best thing is pretty darn fantastic. Inverting colors on iPhone in the past meant distorting the look of photos and content as well. But iOS 11 introduced Smart Invert, which is (almost) as good of a Dark Mode as we need. Here’s how to turn on Dark Mode or Night Mode in iOS 12 on iPhone, this will invert colors on your display and reduce eye strain.
By Conner Carey
Safari Reader mode removes the clutter of a web page so you can easily read content without interruptions from ads. With Safari settings for Reader mode, you can customize your font, text size, and background color for a fun and easy-to-read browsing experience. Let's learn how!
By Sarah Kingsbury
If your eyesight isn't what it used to be, you may find the small text size on your iPhone or iPad hard to read and wonder, "why is the font on my iPhone so small? How do I make the text bigger?" There's no need to strain your eyes; here are several tricks you can use to make reading on an iPhone or iPad easier, including changing your iPhone font size.
The new gestures on iPhone X or later have some people confused while others are thinking up ways Apple could have done it better; but either way, they're probably here to stay. In this tip we'll cover how to open Control Center on the iPhone X, XR, and XS, as well as how to customize Control Center. Luckily, once you learn how to open Control Center and get used to the new movement, it’s really not that big of a challenge. Plus, we'll include a bonus tip for those who want to open Control Center a bit more easily on the iPhone X or later.
I take a screenshot on my iPhone several times a day, so I'm happy that Apple has introduced a new way to take a screenshot. One of the new iOS 14 features Apple has rolled out is Back Tap, a set of shortcuts that allow iPhone users to double or triple tap the back of their phones to perform various tasks. Back Tap is a great iPhone accessibility feature for people with reduced dexterity or limited vision, but being able to take a screenshot with a few taps on the back of our iPhones is convenient for everyone. Let's learn how to take a screenshot on your iPhone using Back Tap. Back Tap works with the iPhone 8 and later, including the iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and the new iPhone 12 line.
By Conner Carey
Shake to Undo can be a handy feature on your iPhone when you want to quickly erase something you've just typed. On the other hand, getting a pop-up notification every time you accidentally shake your iPhone can be annoying! Luckily, you can turn off Shake ot Undo on iPhones. We'll show you how.
By Elisabeth Garry
Apple's Voice Control feature allows you to navigate your iPhone hands-free, using only voice commands. It also offers a Numbered Grid overlay on your screen, which lets you select different items on your screen by calling out corresponding numbers. As an example, we'll show you how to use Numbered Grid to navigate your Photos.
By Leanne Hays
You can summon Siri, use Voice Control, or turn off the voice assistant feature paired to your iPhone's Home or Side button with this tip. Here's how to change iPhone Voice Control settings on your iPhone.
By Tamlin Day
Siri is great, but there are some things Siri can't do, like take screenshots. Plus, if you have low cell coverage and no Wi-Fi access, then Siri turns off entirely. Turning on voice commands is a great way to navigate your iPhone, open apps, browse the web, and send texts, all without relying on Siri. You can enable your iPhone's Voice Control in the Accessibility menu of your Settings app. Let's dive in with how to turn on Voice Control for the iPhone.
By Amy Spitzfaden–Both
Voice Command can be a helpful feature to many, but it can also be frustrating or even unsettling to know your iPhone's microphone is listening to you all the time. To stop Voice Command, you have to go into your Settings to turn it off, but it's an easy switch, and you can just as easily turn it back on. Let's look at how to disable Voice Control.
If you're hard of hearing, or just experiencing a little hearing loss, the audio from your headphones or AirPods may not be as loud or clear as you need it to be. Headphone Accommodations are Accessibility Settings that help you customize your listening experience.
You may know iPhone Life for the magazine and website that help anyone master their Apple devices. But did you know about the monthly podcasts that you can enjoy on the go? The iPhone Life Podcast covers apps, gear, and how-tos. The hosts are CEO and Publisher David Averbach and Editor in Chief Donna Cleveland. Needless to say, they are pros on all things Apple. Tune in to benefit from all their valuable tips; subscribe to the podcast today!
Informant 5 can help you meet all your 2023 organizational goals! Try it for free and experience a productivity boost by managing projects with tasks and notes, syncing your calendar among all your devices, enjoying a user-friendly 30-day calendar view, and so much more. Informant 5 features SmartBar navigation which makes it so much easier to use and master this calendar app. Plus, you can use it almost anywhere thanks to Dark Mode. With a dark background, you can check in on your tasks and schedule anywhere, even the movie theater. Upgrade to the best calendar app and task manager for iOS! Embrace the "out with the old, in with the new" spirit with Informant 5.
Effortlessly set up and manage all of your Apple devices with Jamf Now! This cloud-based device management software allows you to remotely configure the devices your team uses on a daily basis (such as iPads, iPhones, Mac computers, and more), giving you the ability to set up new equipment, add apps, manage security features, and much more. With Jamf Now, one person can do in a day what a small team of people could do in a week. Start with three devices for free and add more for just $2 per device, paid monthly.
