10 simple iOS 16 tips and tricks to help you master your new iPhone

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So you just unboxed your brand new iPhone. Maybe it’s the first you’ve ever had. Maybe you’re replacing an iPhone 8 that has seen better days. Maybe you get an iPhone every year, but you’re just very casual about using it.

Whatever the reason, you’ll have a lot more fun with your new phone if you take the time to learn some new tips and tricks. Some of these you may be familiar with, some you may never have heard of, but they all make life with an iPhone a little more enjoyable.

Change Siri’s voice

Siri’s voice is pretty iconic, but did you know you can change it? There are multiple varieties (American, Australian, British, etc.) to choose from, each with different entries, including different genres. Just open Settings, tap Siri & Search, then Siri Voice to hear the options. You may need to download new voices, so this is usually best done when connected to Wi-Fi.

Scroll to find everything

It’s always surprising how many people don’t seem to know or use the iPhone’s powerful global search feature. Like Spotlight on the Mac, it can find apps, search the web, and search across all kinds of content on your device like photos, documents, emails, messages, and more.

Just swipe down on the Home screen to access it, not down from the top edge (which will open Notification Center or Control Center), just swipe down on the home screen from anywhere in the middle of the screens.

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Spotlight Search on the iPhone is so overlooked that Apple actually added a little “Search” button to the bottom of the Home screen in iOS 16. Just search for anything and scroll down to find results in the App Store, on the web, and from within various phone apps. You can also type simple math problems and more.

Widgets are a great way to get information at a glance on your Home screen. But too many widgets leave little room for apps.

Luckily, you can stack widgets of the same size! Add a widget by tapping and holding on the Home screen until all the icons “jiggle” and dance, then tap the (+) button on the top left to add a widget. Once you have it on your home screen, tap and hold the widget until a menu appears. You can select “Edit Stack” to choose what other widgets you want to add.

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Or, keep holding the widget after the menu appears. Another second or two and you’ll be able to drag the widget around, repositioning it however you like. Just drag it on top of another widget to stack them.

Your iPhone will do its best to show you the widget you most likely want to see from a pile, using the time of day and location along with your past behavior. If you don’t see what you want, swipe up or down on the widgets to scroll through the stack.

Configure Back Tap a frequently used function

Your iPhone has an accessibility feature that is really useful for almost everyone. It’s called “Back Tap,” and it lets you double- or triple-tap the back of your iPhone to trigger an action. You can double-tap to launch the camera, for example, or triple-tap to toggle the flashlight, open Notification Center, mute the sound, take a screenshot, or launch a custom shortcut.

Open Settings, then tap Accessibility, then Tap. Scroll down to find Back Tap (it’s usually at or near the bottom) and select it. You can set independent actions for double-tap and triple-tap.

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Use the keyboard like a trackpad

Whenever the keyboard is raised, tap and hold the space bar. After a second you will see all the letters empty and you can drag your finger to move the cursor as if you were using a trackpad. Then you can move the cursor to the text you want, hold again and the text selector will appear. It’s a really simple and handy way to get back to the right place to make changes.

Extract the subject of a photo from the background

Normally, cropping an image from a photo requires Photoshop and some skill, but with your iPhone you can quickly select only the subject of an image and not the background. Touch and hold an image on any webpage or in the Photos app. In Photos, the object will be selected, while on a web image you will get a context menu and you need to tap “Copy object”.

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You can then paste it into all kinds of other apps: Messages, Mail, even save it to Files. If you have dexterous fingers, you can tap and hold the subject to drag it into other apps. You can find a more detailed walkthrough here.

Scan documents easily

Your iPhone can, quite easily, scan paper documents into PDFs and even mark them up. You can save them in the cloud or in the Files app, send messages or an email, whatever you want. There are a few ways to do this, so check out our step-by-step guide for more details.

The easiest way is to use the Notes app. Just open Notes, tap the camera button, then tap Scan Documents. This is a great way to take receipts, vaccination records, records, and other important paper documents and produce a digital copy that you can save to the cloud for safekeeping.

Set up your medical ID card

The advice that could save your life! Your iPhone can show emergency medical information to first responders. It’s called Medical ID, and it only takes a couple of minutes to set up. First, open the Health app. Then tap your profile picture in the top right. Tap Doctor ID. Tap Edit in the top right. You can enter emergency contacts, medical allergies, important medical conditions, and other information.

Then tap the Show when locked switch, which will let people see your medical information in an emergency. You can also turn on Share During Emergency Call so that when you contact emergency services on your iPhone, your Medical ID will automatically be shared with the person on the line.

Activate the haptic keyboard

In iOS 16, Apple finally added haptic feedback to the keyboard, but it’s not enabled by default. To turn it on (and turn off annoying clicks), open Settings, select Sound & Haptics, then Keyboard Feedback. You can independently enable or disable sounds and tactiles. It’s a great feature that adds a little vibration under your fingers as you type. It might help you make fewer mistakes!

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Read the manual

Remember when electronics like computers came with an actual physical manual? Those days may be long gone, but Apple still maintains an up-to-date iPhone User Guide with simple, step-by-step instructions on how to do everything with your iPhone.

You can find it on the web or download a free e-book version of the latest version from the Books app. Really worth taking the time to look into. Even the most experienced iPhone users will find something they didn’t know.

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