With each iOS version, Apple introduces new improvements that make it easier to use the devices, and provide increased security. If you have an iPhone 12 you will have iOS 14, which is the latest version of the brand’s operating system. To take full advantage of this system, we recommend you explore a little of its new features.
But do you know what they are? Do you know all the improvements introduced in iOS 14 and everything you can do with your iPhone 12? Maybe you don’t. That’s why we’ve compiled some very interesting tricks to help you discover your device and use it like an expert.
7 iOS 14 tricks for your iPhone 12
- Change the default browser and email applications
One of the new features of iOS 14 is the ability to use other apps as default. In other words, you choose them. This option applies to the Internet browser and also to the email app.
So, if for example you want to use Chrome as the default browser, you just need to download it and once installed on the device open ‘Settings’. Find Chrome in the list and select it as your default browser. You can do the same with the email app: after downloading the one you want to use, go to ‘Settings’, find the app and select it as default.
- Add widgets to the home screen
Another option available in iOS 14 is to add widgets to the home screen of your iPhone 12. To do this you just have to press and hold the icon of an app on the home screen and select edit home screen. To access the feature you can also press and hold a blank area on the home screen.
Then you will have to select the plus sign in the top corner and then look for the widget you want to add. Choose the one you want, the size you prefer and select ‘Add widget’.
- Take screenshots by touching the back of your iPhone 12.
This is an option that you get in ‘Shortcuts’, an app that has been available for some time, but to which few have paid attention. However, it ‘hides’ a lot of utilities such as the ability to take screenshots by simply double tapping the back of the device.
To activate this option you must follow the route Settings> Accessibility> Touch. Once there you must scroll down and select ‘Back Touch’. You will be able to select double or triple tap and then check ‘Screenshot’. This way, the next time you want to take a screenshot, you will only have to double or triple tap the back of your device.
- Enable dark mode on a custom schedule
Dark mode isn’t exactly a novelty, as this feature has been with us for a while now. However, with your iPhone 12 you can not only activate it as usual by going to Settings> Display, but you can also set a schedule for it to be activated automatically.
Within the feature, you’ll need to enable the ‘Automatic’ option and then select the ‘Options’ tab. The next step will be to choose ‘Custom Schedule’ and there you will be able to set the schedule when you want the dark mode to be activated and deactivated.
- Send new apps to a library
On your iPhone 12 with iOS 14 you have an app library to store the apps that you don’t use as often. However, when you download a new app, by default, it appears on the home screen.
To avoid this, and better organize your apps from the moment you download them, you can select where they appear. If you do not want to see your new apps on the home screen, you must follow the path Settings> Home screen. Once there you should select ‘App library only’ in the Newly downloaded apps section. This way your home screen will not be filled with the new apps you download.
- Activate fake eye contact in FaceTime
When you make a video call, eye contact is lost. This happens not only because we are not really face to face with the other person, but because we are actually looking at the screen and not at the camera of the device.
With this trick you can change this. Follow the route Settings> Facetime> Visual contact; there you can enable this option that offers a false visual contact. When you make a FaceTime call you can look at the iPhone 12 screen, but it will appear that you are looking directly at the camera or the person in question.
- Identify apps that invade your privacy
One of the great advantages of iOS 14 is that it offers access to a large number of features related to the security and privacy of users. One of the most prominent is the option that lets you know every time an application accesses the microphone or camera of the device.
As a user, you will be able to know this because the iPhone will display, through colored status indicators, the activity of these components. If you see a green dot, it means that the camera has been activated, and if it is orange it means that the microphone is active. When you open the Control Center you will be able to see which was the most recent application to access these components.
Other interesting tricks in iOS 14
- Change video quality in an instant. You no longer have to go into the advanced camera settings to change the video quality. On the same screen you will find a video quality indicator from where you can quickly choose the available resolutions.
- Dismiss calls without rejecting them. In iOS 14 you will find an important improvement for incoming call notifications. Now you will be able to dismiss calls without rejecting them to continue what you are doing. Just swipe the notification up.
- Improve recorded voice memos. With the Voice Memos app on your iPhone 12 you can improve the audio quality of your voice memos by attenuating background noise. To use it you must go to ‘Edit recording’ and then select the option ‘Improve recording’.
- Sign a document. If you need to sign a document, just open it and select the pencil icon. Then you will have to select the ‘+’ icon and click on ‘Signature’. With your finger you will be able to make your signature and it will appear in the document.
iOS 14 offers many interesting features and in combination with your iPhone 12 you will have a powerful machine not only for communication and work, but also for entertainment. Apply these tips and tricks and you’ll be able to get the most out of your device.