Hidden iOS 15 Features That Will Transform Your iPhone Experience

For those who have just updated your iPhone, you are likely familiar with all of the major iOS 15 features, such as SharePlay, which enables you to watch movies, listen to music, and browse the web while FaceTime with friends and family. There's also Focus, which turns off messages and conceals distracting elements to allow you to pay more attention when you need to. However, not all of the coolest new features in iOS 15 are immediately evident; several of them are concealed in plain sight.

The next sections will lead you through several lesser-known capabilities of iOS 15, such as how to use your camera to live-scan text, how to reposition the address bar in Safari back to where it used to be, and how to drag-and-drop images and other files between applications.

The iPhone's Camera Can Scan Text

Have you ever wished that you could aim the camera of your iPhone at a sign or piece of paper and have it automatically recognize and copy the text into an email or a document? Finally, it's feasible and extremely amazing, thanks to iOS 15. You must long-press a text field to activate the iPhone's new "scan text" feature. This is similar to copying and pasting text from a document on a computer. The only difference is that you'll now see a Scan Text button. In addition, you may see a button that utilizes the scan icon, which is represented by a sheet of paper with brackets around it.

When you press the button, the iPhone sharing and camera's viewfinder will replace your keyboard on your device. Then, using your camera, point the device towards anything you wish to scan and follow the on-screen instructions. For example, consider the following scenario: if you're moving the camera too quickly, you'll notice a "Slow Down" message pop up on the screen. Then, while aligning your iPhone's camera and text, you'll be able to get a live preview of the text that your iPhone is recognizing and preparing to be placed in your document. Then, when you're finished, click on the Insert button. You can use this to rapidly scan an email address on a business card, a phone number on a sign, or even the back of a book and enter it as one large block of text, as you can see in the pictures above.

Move Safari's Address Bar To The Top Of The Screen

Safari on the iPhone and iPad has undergone significant adjustments due to these developments. Following the installation of the update on your iPhone, you will see that the address bar, along with all of the functionality it provides, has been relocated to the bottom of the screen. This is one of the most significant changes. While the concept is that by relocating the address bar to the bottom, it would be simpler to navigate Safari and surf the web since all of the buttons will be closer to your thumb, some users may find that the adjustment isn't optimal for their needs. However, you now have a choice on the issue, thanks to Apple's inclusion of an option to restore the address bar to its original location at the top of the screen.

The Aa button on your iPhone's address bar should be tapped while using Safari (don't long-press; a touch will be enough). You'll see a new option titled Show Top Address Bar at the top of the menu that appears once you click on it. To move the address bar to the top of the screen, tap it.

Your iPhone Can Translate Text From Anywhere

Apple released the Translate app with iOS 14, and although it can only translate to and from 11 languages (which is quite limiting, in my view), the capability has been enhanced with the advent of iOS 15 and the inclusion of the Siri voice assistant. If you don't want to use the standalone Translate app, you may highlight any text on your iPhone and translate it that way. Alternatively, you can use the standalone Translate app. The editing tools you're used to seeing will appear when you hold down the mouse button on the text to highlight it. But if you swipe right, you should be presented with the choice to translate your document.

After a few seconds, a window will open at the bottom of your screen, which you may swipe up to see both the word and words you've marked and the translated version of them. You can select a language from a list that includes Chinese, French, German, Korean, Spanish, Etc. Other options include listening to the translation, replacing the selected word with the translation, and copying the translation to your clipboard (see below).

If You Die, Your iCloud Data May Be Given To Someone

If you die and no one else has access to your iPhone, your images, messages, notes, passwords, and other vital information do not have to be locked up in a vault for eternity. iOS 15 introduces a new feature called Legacy Contact, which enables you to designate any contacts stored on your phone and provide them access to your iCloud data in the event of your death.

Create your Legacy Contact by going to Settings > tapping your name > selecting Password & Security > Legacy Contact from the drop-down menu. Afterward, choose Add Legacy Contact (twice) and provide your credentials before selecting someone from your contacts list. A unique access key will be generated by Apple, which your contact will require to access your data.

Live Updates Regarding Precipitation From The Weather App

When I heard that Apple had purchased the popular weather app Dark Sky, my first thought was that the official iPhone weather app would be updated to include the real-time rain and snow notifications that I had grown to depend on to stay dry. However, this is the first time such notifications have shown in iOS 15, and they often arrive a few minutes before Dark Sky's — which is OK with me.

Once you've upgraded to iOS 15, you can enable the new precipitation notifications by launching the Weather app and then pressing the three-line symbol in the bottom right corner of the screen to the left of the date and time. Then, in the upper right corner of the screen, press the circle with three dots, then choose Notifications from the drop-down menu that appears.

Turn on My Location by sliding the switch next to it to the on position, then touch done. If you have many cities linked to the Weather app, you may customize the notifications to be sent to each of them. For example, the next time rain or snow approaches your location, your iPhone will alert you a few minutes before it begins to rain or snow. Then, when the rain has nearly ceased, you'll get another notification to let you know it's time to go outside.

Applications May Be Dragged And Dropped On The iPhone

Drag-and-dropping documents, text, and images across applications have been available on the iPad for quite some time. And now it's the iPhone's chance to take the stage. For example, to share photos from a recent night out with pals, you may need to go back and forth between Messages and Photos. Now, you can drag photos directly from the Photos app to the Messages app, saving you time.

Try opening the Photographs app and looking through your recent photos to see how the new feature works. Instead of tapping on a photograph to make it full-screen, put your finger on the picture and start dragging your finger across the screen to make it fully visible. When the thumbnail begins to float over the rest of the photographs, navigate back to the Messages app without raising your finger. The thumbnail will be highlighted with a green circle with a plus sign in it, suggesting that you may raise your finger, and the picture will be put in the text box, ready for you to email.

Now You Can See More About Your Photos

I've always had to rely on a third-party application to access any finer characteristics recorded in the EXIF data of a picture I was provided or shot myself. In the Photos app, you can now swipe up on a photo to bring up an information view that shows you where you saved the shot and all of the EXIF information about it, including shutter speed and location. It is a wonderful complement to have the additional knowledge, even if you are not interested in the finer details. The ability to see where you saved the photo from (as well as who supplied it to you) is sufficient at the very least.

Change The Text Size In Some Apps

Currently, you have the option of changing the system-wide font size to suit your needs. Fortunately, a new feature introduced with iOS 15 allows you to customize the font size for each application. That implies, for example, that you may have various font sizes for the Mail app and Twitter. Opening the Settings app, then going to the Control Center and scrolling down until you locate the option titled Text Size by pressing on the green + symbol will enable you to utilize it.

To change the size of the text in an app, open Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner of the screen on an iPhone with Face ID, or up from the bottom of the screen on an iPhone with Touch ID) and choose Text Size from the drop-down menu that appears. Next, select just the app you're now using by sliding the toggle button at the bottom of the screen to the left side of the toggle, and then modify the font size to your liking by dragging it upward or downward.

If you haven't yet gotten your hands on iOS 15, here's a step-by-step tutorial that will walk you through the process of installing the most recent mobile operating system on your iPhone. You may also read our iOS 15 review, which discusses many of the important new features of the operating system.  

  

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Zainab is a content creator & a passionate blogger. She is a professional tech blogger & an avid reader by soul. She loves to explore topics related to news/technology, particularly SMS backup & restore. In her free time, she enjoys penning down her thoughts with a cup of coffee.