iPhone 12 tips and tricks: 14 cool iOS 14 things to try

Posted by Ryan Mai on April 6, 2021

If you've got a snazzy new iPhone, or even an older model but with the latest iOS 14 software downloaded, there are quite a few new features to take advantage off that'll help make using your phone that bit more convenient.

So, whether you have iPhone 12 Pro Max, or an iPhone X, there's plenty to sink your teeth into. In this feature we'll run you through some of the cool iPhone 12 tips and tricks we've discovered since using the new software and device.

15 Best Tips And Tricks For Your iPhone 12 Pro Max

1 - Tap the back for screenshot. ...
2 - Change your default browser and email apps. ...
3 - Stop new apps appearing on your home screen. ...
4 - See all your apps in a list. ...
5 - Add widgets to your home screen. ...
6 - Create custom widget smart stacks. ...
7 - Get rid of entire home screens. ...
8 - Create a custom dark mode schedule.
...

1 - Tap the back for screenshot

Apple’s iOS software has long been the source for many great accessibility features, and one of the more recent ones is the ability to tap the back of your phone to launch specific functions, like taking a screenshot.

To enable it, go to Settings, then find ‘Accessibility’, now select ‘Touch’ and scroll down to ‘Back Tap. Choose either double or triple tap and then select ‘Screenshot’. Now when you double or triple tap the back of your iPhone, it’ll grab a screenshot.

One other cool one to choose is notification centre, so you can double or triple tap to quickly get to notification centre. Really handy.

2 - Change your default browser and email apps

How to change iPhone default email and browser apps - iPhone 12 tips and tricks: 14 cool iOS 14 things to try

One new feature in the latest software is being able to use other apps as default for things like your internet browser or email app. So, if you want to use Chrome as your default browser, download Chrome from the App Store and then open your iPhone Settings app and find Chrome in the list at the bottom. Tap it and then choose ‘default browser’ from the next screen, and choose ‘Chrome’ on the following one. Now Chrome will be the default browser.

You can do the same with email apps, so if you want to use Spark or Gmail instead of Mail as your default, you go to Settings, find your third party email app, tap on it, then choose ‘default mail app’ on the next screen, and then choose Spark (or whatever email app you’re using).

3 - Stop new apps appearing on your home screen

How to Stop Adding New Apps to the Home Screen on an iPhone 11 - Solve Your Tech

With iOS 14, we now have an App Library, which is great for storing those apps you don’t use all the time. But by default whenever you download a new app it appears on your home screen. If you’d rather it went straight to the App Library instead and didn’t fill up your home screen, go to Settings > Home Screen and then choose ‘App Library only’ under the ‘newly downloaded apps’ section.

4 - See all your apps in a list

By default, App Library automatically sorts apps into folders for you, but if you’d rather see them in a list, you just drag down on the screen in App Library, and now all your apps are listed alphabetically.

You can search using the search bar at the top if you want to, or scroll quickly to the app you want by tapping the tiny corresponding first letter in the column down the right side (you can also scroll down this column).

5 - Add widgets to your home screen

iOS 14 has changed things up quite a lot by allowing you to add widgets to your home screen, to add them, simply long-press on an app icon on your home screen and select ‘edit home screen’. Or, for a quicker method, just long-press a blank area on your home screen.

Now tap the plus sign in the top corner and find the widget you want to add. To see all the apps that support them that you have installed, scroll all the way down to the bottom and select the app from the list. Now choose which size widget you want and tap the ‘Add Widget’ button at the bottom of the pop-up window that appears.

If you want a more in-depth guide on how to use widgets to create your own custom aesthetic, check out our other feature on that process, or watch the video below.

6 - Create custom widget smart stacks

One of the widgets you can create is a smart stack, which lets you scroll through multiple widgets in the same widget on the screen. To create your own all you have to do is drag and drop individual widgets on top of each other. Now they can be set to auto rotate, or you can scroll through them manually.

7 - Get rid of entire home screens.

Long press a blank area on your home screen, and now tap the page indicator on the bottom of the screen. Tap the tick or check mark at the bottom of each screen you want to move. It doesn’t delete the apps, just hides them away in the app library.

8 - Create a custom dark mode schedule

Dark mode has been around a while, and it’s easy to activate by heading into Settings > Display and then choosing the dark mode at the top. But if you want it to activate automatically to a custom schedule set by you, toggle the ‘Automatic’ option on and then tap on the ‘Options’ tab beneath that. On the next screen, select ‘Custom Schedule’ and set a light and dark time. Now it’ll activate and deactivate when you’ve set it to.

9 - Edit your Today view.

As well as having widgets on your home screen, there’s the ‘Today’ view that lives to the left of your first home screen. To customise this just swip over to it and then scroll down until you see the edit button. Tap that and now you can remove any widgets from the top, to edit the window at the bottom of the screen that has the old-style widgets in it, tap ‘customise’ at the bottom of the screen to add and remove widgets from there

10 - Search for your emoji

Using Apple’s built-in keyboard, you can now search for emoji easily. Just launch the emoji keyboard and tap the ‘search emoji’ field to search for eggplants, smiley faces and poops. Or whatever else you’re after.

11 - Fake eye contact in Facetime

So this is a cool trick. If you head to Settings > Facetime > Eye Contact, you can enable that toggle and whenever you’re making FaceTime calls, it’ll make it look like you’re looking directly at the camera or person on the other side of the call, even when you’re looking at the screen.

12 - Bring up camera controls

When you load up the camera app, the controls are quite basic, but if you want to, there are others hidden and easily revealed.

Launch the camera app and then if you’re holding it vertically, swipe up on the camera shooting modes row. If you're holding it horizontally, swipe left. Now you’ll get a whole new set of controls, which changes depending on the shooting mode you’re in.

If you’re in the regular stills mode you’ll see a night mode option, live photos, photo aspect ratio and exposure as well as flash. To change exposure, for instance, just tap on the little plus/minus sign and then slide the slider on-screen until it’s exposed the way you want.

13 - Quickly scan a QR code

If you want to quickly launch the phone’s inbuilt QR code scanning feature, just swipe down from the top right of the screen to launch Control Centre. Here you can find the small QR code button. Tap on that, and you can quickly scan a code.

14 - Burst photo button

You can use your volume up button to take a burst photo. Just head to Settings > Camera and then toggle on the ‘Use Volume Up for Burst’ option and when you hold the volume up button down in the photo mode, it’ll automatically shoot a burst of photos.

15 - The best way to protect your new iPhone 12 Pro Max

Rule number one of owning an iPhone is you have to consider buying a case. Even if you don't get one, don't sleepwalk through this stage and wonder why you've scraped your iPhone 12's lovely aluminium (or steel) sides in week one.

There are almost countless case designs. The most basic are third-party silicone ones that might cost a just few dollars or pounds. More advanced versions of this same ideal use little air pockets in the corners. These compress on impact, soaking up the force of a fall.

For a sharper look, consider a polycarbonate shell instead. These are harder, and therefore often feel more refined. However, most are better at protecting your phone from scratches than impacts. Still, an iPhone 12 with a hard shell case will still weather a fall better than a naked one.

Cases with the highest level of protection use several different kinds of material. You might have foam in the corners, a rubber inner layer and a hard plastic outer one, for true armor-like toughness.

The iPhone 12 introduces a new case-related feature too, MagSafe. A magnet behind the phone's rear glass snaps MagSafe phones into place so you don't have to wrangle the into position. Look out for MagSafe cases to make full use of an iPhone 12's hardware.

See more:

Other Tips and Tricks for your iPhone 12 - Full Power to You

Apple has recently released the iPhone 12 series, and it was a bundled launch. What’s more, the series features Apple’s latest and fastest A14 Bionic processor and iOS 14 operating system. And there is a lot of buzz going around the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. In case you are planning to buy either of them, you should definitely know some of the best tips and tricks for your iPhone 12 and 12Pro to unlock the full potential of the device.

Apple has recently unveiled the iPhone 12 series, including the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro max. What is interesting this time is, unlike previous launches, Apple has gone for a bundled launch. On top of that, the series is equipped with the latest A14 Bionic processor as well as the iOS 14 and is equipped with several new features.

The new iOS 14 is already bundled with so many new features along with some added features that are only specific to iPhone 12 series. Here we have identified a list of 20 Best Tips and Tricks for Your iPhone 12 and 12Pro, so you have full control over your device. Let’s get started.

Tips to gain full power over your iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max

1. Smart Measure Party Trick

The iPhone 12 Pro variants feature a LiDAR sensor at the rear which aids in better portrait shots, night photography. But that not all, the sensor can help in measuring the length of the objects like a measuring tape to calculate the distance.

You can use the pre-installed measure app to use this trick, the best implementation is to measure someone’s height or measuring room dimensions by using this app and taking advantage of the LiDAR sensor.

Also Read: Which of the new iPhones is best for your? Here is a guide to help you.

2. Turn On Dark Mode

Although the dark mode is nothing new on iPhone 12, it was introduced last year on the iPhone 11 series with the announcement of iOS 13. But this year the dark mode comes in handy as all the iPhone 12 series feature a Super Retina XDR OLED display. And the dark mode can save a lot of battery taking advantage of the OLED display by turning off the dark pixels.

The dark mode makes more sense now as almost all most common apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc have a dark mode. And enabling a dark mode on iOS under “Display & Brightness” can enable a global dark mode.

Also Read: Apple launches iPhone 12 studio.

3. Back Tap custom controls

The new iPhone 12 features an interesting accessibility shortcut where you can simply double/triple tap on the back of your iPhone to enable custom shortcuts or actions. To enable this feature:

Head over to Settings > Accessibility
Tap “Touch” under “Physical And Motor”
Scroll to the bottom and select Back Tap
Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap to pick an action

Also Read: 5 Hidden Features For Your iPhone You Never Knew

4. Record Dolby Vision Videos

If you are a videographer then a smartphone capable enough to capture videos in Dolby Vision is a big deal. To enable Dolby Vision you just need to head over to camera settings and enable it under “Record Video” section and toggle HDR Video.

Also Read: Here is how to make an Android device look like an iPhone.

5. Set up reachability mode on

With the introduction of large-screen iPhones, Apple also introduced something called Reachability to help people make full use of the large screen even with one hand. The reachability feature comes in handy especially for the iPhone 12 Pro Max with that large 6.7 inches display it becomes impossible to reach the whole display with one hand.

This feature made it easier for users to reach the content on the top of the screen as Reachability brings items from the top of the screen to the lower half of the screen.

Here is how to setup up Reachability on your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro.

Go to Settings
Click on Accessibility
Select Touch
Turn Reachability ON by clicking the toggle

After setting it up, touch on the gesture area at the bottom of the display panel of your device.

Also read: Apple Mobile Price List In India

6. Get MagSafe Accessories

Magsafe is the new most convenient and more efficient variation of wireless charging technology that Apple has implemented on the new iPhone 12 series. The rear of the iPhone 12 series house a series of magnets that make the Magsafe accessories like the Magsafe charger, cases, MagSafe wallets and more at the back of iPhone using magnets.

The MagSafe charger is the most interesting product as without plugging any cable you can charge your iPhone using a wireless charger that sticks at the back of your iPhone. This even works with a case on your iPhone provided you are using MagSafe compatible cases.

7. Purchase a 20W power adapter if you already don’t have one

Apple has recently announced that the company won’t be supplying power adapter in-box with its device, including iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. However, your iPhone will come with a Lightning to USB-C cable for fast charging. So, make sure you are making most of it by using a 20W power adapter, not the old 5-10W chargers.

This 20W charger can charge your phone at 4x the speed and cost Rs. 1900.

8. Capture low light photos

Apple made a big leap in the camera department with the iPhone 11 series and the iPhone 12 series takes this to the next level. Last year’s iPhone was only capable to capture Night mode photographs with the primary camera and not with any other camera.

But the iPhone 12 can capture night mode pictures with the Ultra-wide lens as well. So, don’t shy away from clicking photos in low-light scenarios with your new iPhone. The wide-angle camera is capable of capturing 27% more light than the iPhone 11 series. Hence, the photos clicked by the new iPhones are way better than their predecessors.

Also Read: Top New iOS Features “Inspired” By Android

9. Hide Personal Photos

Your smartphone is your most personal asset and your photos are something that not everyone should be allowed to view. In the new iPhone 12, there is a way using which you can hide some of your photos that you select and these photos move to a separate hidden album. To hide your photos Launch the “Photos” app on your iPhone and click on “Select” at the top right and select all the photos that you wish to hide. Now click on “Share” button at the bottom right and select “Hide” from the menu. All these photos are moved to an album named “Hidden” in the albums section.

You can even go ahead ad hide this “hidden” album from the album section. To do so go to Settings > Photos and here scroll down to Hidden Album and click on the toggle next to this to disable this.

10. Shoot videos faster using Quick Take

Quick Take is an excellent feature on the new iPhone 12 series. It becomes even more useful when you want to capture a quick video as you don’t have to fumble around and switch to Video mode on your device. On the contrary, you just need to hold the shutter icon to access Quick Take to start video recording instantly.

Once you press it will start recording and in case you want to switch to regular video recording, just swipe your finger to the right and it will keep recording video once you release the shutter button.

Also Read: How To Save Battery Life On iOS 14 With Automated Shortcuts

11. FaceTime calls at 1080p using 5G

The latest iPhones are the first iPhones with which you can make FaceTime video calls in 1080p HD. To do so, stick to the following steps: Settings> Cellular> Data Mode and then Allow More Data on 5G. After that, you will be able to FaceTime in HD over 5G. You always have an option to make HD calls over a Wi-Fi connection.

Although 5G is not available in India, once the 5G is available in India this feature can come in handy enabling HD Facetime calls over mobile data.

12. Use AirPlay to stream HDR content on you Apple TV.

In case you either own a second-generation Apple TV or a smart TV with AirPlay capabilities, you can stream HDR content using your new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro.

Also Read: 5 Reasons To Sell Your Old iPhone SE

13. Waking up SOS feature

Apple iPhones come with an Emergency SOS feature to call emergency services. If you press and hold the Side button + either volume button, a countdown will be with an alert sound. And if you continue pressing the buttons till the countdown is not over, your new iPhone will automatically try to reach your local emergency services.

14. Voice Control your Smartphone using Siri

Siri is the voice assistant that Apple provides on its devices. This feature has risen in popularity in the last few years. And you should also take full advantage of this feature. With the iPhone 12, you can simply control your device by commanding Siri to do any actions for you.

You just need to press and hold the Side button. Alternatively, you can also set up and say, “Hey Siri, turn on Voice Control.” With this, a special voice control mode will be enabled. You can then ask Siri to select any option displayed on the screen, in case you are not sure what’s on the screen you can ask Siri to “Show Numbers” or “Show Names” and this will show an overlay tags for each item on the screen.

To enable Voice Control you need to head over to Settings and select Accessibility. Now select Voice Control, then select Set up Voice Control. A download will begin in the background and once the download is complete you are ready to go.

Also Read: iPhone 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S20: Detailed Comparison

15. Sound Recognition

Another interesting accessibility feature on the iPhone 12 is the sound recognition features that can identify environmental sounds in the background. As soon as any recognized sound such as fire alarms, animals, household sounds, running water, door knock, and people is identified it throws a notification.

This feature comes in handy to identify low heard alarms such as smoke alarm, or identifying a knock on the door when you are busy working out with your headphone on.

To enable this features:

Head on to Setting > Accessibility
Swipe to the bottom and tap “Sound Recognition”
Select the type of sounds that you would like to recognize

16. Creating Smart HomeScreen widget

The iPhone 12 comes preinstalled with iOS 14 and home screen widgets were something that was introduced along with iOS 14. We have widgets for a few apps such as stocks, Spotify, weather, and more. But one of the widgets is a smart stack that consists of multiple widgets and shows the most relevant one according to the user’s behavior.

For example, as soon as you connect Bluetooth earphones, it shall show the widget to start listening to music on Spotify. And when you are travelling it shall start showing the Maps widget.

To create a Smart Stack widget:

Long press on your iPhone’s screen to edit your home screen
Now scroll down the widgets list and select Smart Stack
Tap Smart Stack to create the widget.
Select the size of the Smart Stack widget
Tap “+ Add Widget” The Smart Stack will be placed automatically on the screen.

Also Read: Apple iPhone 12 Vs iPhone 11: Are The Upgrades Worth The Money?

17. Connect Playstation Controller with iPhone 12

With the introduction of the Apple Arcade, Apple seems to be serious about gaming on the iPhone. To unlock the gaming potential of the iPhone 12, you can connect your existing Playsation 4/5 or XBOX controllers to play gaming.

To connect a Playstation controller:

Settings > Bluetooth
Press and hold the PlayStation button and share button at the same time on the Playstation controller
In the Bluetooth, list look for “DualShock 4 Wireless Controller” and select it.

18. Create Shortcuts

With the pre-installed Shortcuts app, you can create a set of predefined tasks, actions, and a conditional set of instructions. These shortcuts can save you a lot of time and can perform actions such as your iPhone can be switched to battery saving mode as soon as the battery hits a predefined percentage.

To Create a shortcut:

Open the Shortcuts App
Click on My Shortcuts and click on “+ Add Action“
Now a list of actions appears, select the action from the list that you would like to perform. You can add multiple actions by again clicking on “+ Add Action”
When you’ve finished adding actions to your workflow, click Next and give a name to the shortcut.
And its done a shortcut is ready.

Also Read: 11 Camera Tips And Tricks For iPhone

19. Automatic Language Translation

The new translate app on the iPhone 12 can translate 11 languages and can come in handy to make a conversation with someone who speaks a different language. You can use the microphone feature and click on it to record a voice and then the app shall translate it to your desired language instantly. There’s also a conversation mode that allows you to chat back and forth translating texts on to go.

20. Custom App Icons

With the new iOS 14 on the iPhone 12 series, you can customize the app icon of all the apps on the home screen. To do so:

Install the app Moloko from App Store.
Open the app and have a look at the bunch of icon packs that are available.
Click on download to save the file on your iPhone. Make sure to use the Safari browser to download this file.
Now click on Allow to download the file.
A popup will appear stating “Profile Downloaded”
Now go to Settings > General > Profile
Here you shall see a profile downloaded with the name of the theme package.
Now click on the profile and click on Install at the top right corner.
Now you have the theme installed on the device and you can now see the new app icons.

What is Tips and Tricks

Tips and Trick is the way to boost your smartphone run faster than usually.

Just got yourself an iPhone 12 or an iPhone 12 Pro? You’ve literally got the fastest smartphone on the planet, and that too by a long shot. It comes with Apple’s latest A14 Bionic chipset, features 5G connectivity, and sports an incredible Super Retina XDR display, among loads of other new features. If you just picked up your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, here are a handful of tips and tricks that you must definitely keep in mind as you go about using it.

Does iPhone 12 Pro Max need Tips and Tricks

The new iOS 14 is already bundled with so many new features along with some added features that are only specific to iPhone 12 series. Here we have identified a list of 20 Best Tips and Tricks for Your iPhone 12 and 12Pro, so you have full control over your device. Let’s get started.

Top iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini Tips & Tricks to discover the best thing of your iPhone

1. Transfer from iPhone

If you are coming in from an older iPhone, don’t forget to transfer your data first. That way, you get to avoid having to set up your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro from scratch.

While you can do that over iCloud, a faster way is to transfer your data directly from your previous iPhone (if you still have it at hand).

After turning on your iPhone 12, place it next to your old iPhone and connect both phones to power. You should see the Quick Start screen on your old iPhone. Follow the onscreen instructions and select Transfer from iPhone to transfer your data quickly.

2. Understand 5G Icons

After years of hype and rumors, you get 5G connectivity baked into your iPhone 12. That allows for incredible download and upload speeds of up to 4.0 Gbps and 200 Mbps, respectively. With that comes three different status icons that you may want to keep an eye out on — 5G, 5G+, and 5GUW.

5G — Indicated normal 5G network availability.
5G+ / 5GUW — Indicated faster high-frequency 5G network availability.

3. Manage Smart Data Mode

5G is amazing. But it can also ding your iPhone’s battery life. To make that less of an issue, your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro features Smart Data Mode, a functionality that switches between 5G and 4G depending on network activity.

For example, you won’t need 5G while scrolling down your Twitter and Facebook timelines. Smart Data Mode will make your iPhone use 4G in those instances. But if you choose to download a video on Apple TV, your iPhone 12 Pro automatically takes advantage of faster 5G.

You can manage Smart Data Mode via Settings > Cellular > Voice & Data. Select 5G Auto to enable Smart Data Mode or 5G On to disable the functionality — the latter setting will force your iPhone to use 5G all the time but may end up draining your battery.

4. Restrict 5G

Smart Data Mode aside, you can also restrict your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro from using 5G (except during video streaming) by turning on Low Power Mode. Head into Settings > Battery to turn it on. Alternatively, you can tap the Low Data Mode icon within the Control Center to turn it on.

5. Don’t Forget About MagSafe

Your new iPhone comes with a MagSafe connector. It consists of an array of magnets on the back that allows you to snap on a host of accessories from wireless chargers, wallets, to smart cases. Check out the MagSafe Accessories section on the Apple Store for loads of cool stuff that you can use.

6. Buy 20W USB-C Power Adapter

Your iPhone 12 may not come with a charging adapter, but it sure comes with a Lightning to USB-C cable for fast charging. So, consider grabbing a power adapter with a rating of 20W or higher instead of sticking to your old 5-10W charger.

7. 5G iOS Updates

Due to 5G connectivity, you can download OTA (over-the-air) iOS updates using cellular data. To enable that, head over to Settings > Cellular > Data Mode and select Allow More Data on 5G.

8. FaceTime HD Calls

For the first time on an iPhone, you can perform FaceTime video calls in 1080p HD. Go to Settings > Cellular > Data Mode and select Allow More Data on 5G to FaceTime in HD over 5G. You can also do that by connecting to Wi-Fi.

9. Take Better Low-Light Photos

Don’t be shy to shoot photos with your iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro in low-light scenarios. The larger f/1.6 aperture on the Wide camera can capture 27% more light, allowing for photos that look incredibly better compared to similar shots on the iPhone 11 lineup.

10. Shoot and Edit 10-bit HDR Video

The iPhone 12 can shoot 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR video at 30fps, while the iPhone 12 Pro ramps that up to 60fps. You can also edit captured videos on your iPhone itself via the standard Photos app.

11. AirPlay 4K HDR Content

If you have a second-gen Apple TV or an AirPlay 2-enabled smart TV, you can AirPlay 4K HDR content using your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro.

12. Quick Take Videos

Quick Take is available on other iPhones. But it’s an incredibly useful feature that should come in quite handy whenever you want to shoot a quick video. Rather than fumbling around switching to Video mode on your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, tap and hold the Shutter icon to start recording video with Quick Take. Swipe your finger to the right if you want to switch to video recording completely.

Tips & Tricks – iPhone 12 Pro Only

13. Take Advantage of LiDAR

The triple-lens camera array on the iPhone 12 Pro consists of a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor. It uses lasers to measures distance, and that brings about lots of benefits. For example, your new iPhone can provide superior Augmented Reality experiences, so don’t forget to hop over to the App Store to try out some AR apps. To make things even better, LiDAR also improves auto-focusing by up to six times, helping you capture even better photos and videos.

14. Snap Portraits in Night Mode

Both the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro supports Night mode on the front and the rear cameras. But on the iPhone 12 Pro, in particular, you can also capture Night Mode portraits with the rear camera. That is made possible due to the improved auto-focusing brought about by the LiDAR sensor.

15. Shoot in Apple ProRAW

Your iPhone 12 Pro comes with a fantastic triple 12MP camera array consisting of a wide, an ultra-wide, and a telephone lens. It allows for amazingly detail-rich photos, especially with the Apple A14 Bionic’s advanced computational photography features at play.

That said, your iPhone 12 Pro also supports a new imaging format called Apple ProRAW. As its name implies, you can shoot photos and videos in the RAW format without the fancy camera effects, allowing you to have the final say by editing them however you want.

Apple ProRAW won’t be available if you just got your iPhone 12 Pro on the release date. Instead, the Cupertino-based tech giant is supposed to add it in a future iOS update. Do keep an eye out for it.

Essential iOS 14 Tips & Tricks

16. Customize Home Screen

With iOS 14, you can completely customize the Home screen on your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro by adding and modifying Home screen widgets, removing unwanted apps, hiding entire Home screen pages, and so on. Check our iPhone Home screen customization guide for more details.

17. Watch Videos in Picture-in-Picture Mode

iOS 14 allows you to watch videos in Picture-in-Picture mode. Swipe up while watching a video in full-screen mode, and you should see the video show up in a floating PiP pane automatically. The functionality works on apps such as Apple TV, Hulu, and Netflix. You can also watch YouTube in Picture-in-Picture mode

18. Watch YouTube in 4K

Speaking of YouTube, iOS 14 brings support for Google’s VP9 codec. That means you can watch YouTube in all its 4K glory on your iPhone 12’s stunning Super Retina XDR display. While watching a supported video on YouTube, bring up the Quality selection menu and select 2160p to switch to 4K.

19. FaceTime Eye Contact

You can complement FaceTime HD on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro with Eye Contact. Once enabled, the feature will make it seem as if you are looking directly at the person on the other end of the call instead of at the camera. To enable it, go to Settings > FaceTime and turn on the switch next to Eye Contact.

20. Change Default Browser

With iOS 14, you don’t have to be stuck using Safari or the default Mail app. Instead, you can set up any other supported third-party web browser or email client (such as Chrome or Outlook) to function as the default.

To do that, dive into the Settings app on your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro and select the app that you want to make the default. Then, tap Default Browser App/Default Mail App and specify the app as the default.

21. Manage Your Privacy

While you are using the best smartphone that money can buy, you must also be mindful of your privacy. Thankfully, iOS 14 comes with loads of privacy-related settings and options that can help you do just that. We’ve covered every one of them extensively in our iOS 14 privacy features guide. Don’t forget to check it out.

What Your Favorite?

The list above is exhaustive by no means, so don’t forget to explore each nook and cranny of your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro. If you find something unique, do share it with us in the comments section below. Meanwhile, you may want to check our top 35+ iOS 14 tips and tricks list for even more ideas on what you can do with your new iPhone.

Tags: iPhone 12 pro max tips, iPhone 12 tips, iPhone 12 tricks