5 hidden iPhone and iPad tricks that you can try at home

25/5/2020

One benefit of using Apple devices is that the company keeps the majority of its lineup updated with the latest operating system. Take iOS and iPadOS 13.4 as an example. It spans from the iPhone 6S to the brand-new iPhone SE, or the iPad Air 2 to the 2020 iPad Pro. That's six years worth of updates.

During that time, Apple continuously added new features with each update, including the most recent launch of iOS and iPadOS 13.4 adding trackpad support to the iPad. One favorite new feature brings us iCloud folder sharing, a Dropbox-like experience for Apple storage on your iPhone, iPad and Mac.

From the first celebrated features in iOS 13 to the new crop, we also like to call attention to the lesser-known gems, from a new type of voice search to a much-needed volume control and a new Audio Sharing feature for AirPods owners. You can find out about them all below.

1) Optimized battery charging
Routinely charging your iPhone's battery to full, and keeping it there for extended amounts of time, can damage your battery over time. A new option in iOS 13 is intended to help prolong your battery's life by learning your charging habits and preventing the battery from immediately charging to 100%.

If you normally charge overnight while you sleep, Optimized Battery Charging will keep your iPhone's battery at 80% for most of the night, finishing off the last 20% of charge right before your alarm goes off. To use the new features, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and turn it on.

2) Share photos with or without location information
You can now strip location information from a photo when you share it directly from the Photos app. The new option means you can leave the photo geotagged and you can view where it was captured, but when you share it across social media, email or messages, you can strip that information and keep any location information private.

Select a photo (or photos) you want to share in the Photos app then tap on Options at the top of the screen and turn off Location under the section labeled Include.

3) Use the new Scroll Bar
When you're scrolling a webpage in Safari, a new Scroll Bar shows up on the right side of the screen. Only instead of just being a handy way to see where you're at on a page, you can now use it to scroll faster. Try it out by starting to scroll on a page, then long-press on the scroll bar and drag it up or down. The faster you drag, the faster Safari will scroll.

4) Share photos with or without location information
You can now strip location information from a photo when you share it directly from the Photos app. The new option means you can leave the photo geotagged and you can view where it was captured, but when you share it across social media, email or messages, you can strip that information and keep any location information private.

Select a photo (or photos) you want to share in the Photos app then tap on Options at the top of the screen and turn off Location under the section labeled Include.

5) Scan documents in the Files app
The revamped Files app now lets you scan documents and save them directly to your device or cloud storage with little effort. Open the Files app, select the Browse tab, tap on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner, then Scan Documents. Hold your device over the document you want to scan, and it should automatically capture the page. You can scan multiple pages into one PDF file and then save to iCloud, or import it into another app once you're done.