Image via Flickr by GONZALO BAEZA
As you set up your new iPhone, there are probably a million toys and tricks that you’re trying out. There seems to be an endless number of settings that you can choose from to customize your smartphone experience; however, many of these settings are purely cosmetic. While you’re setting up your iPhone, take note of the following features to try and make your smartphone experience even better.
Quickly Adjust Your Screen Brightness
It’s possible to adjust your screen brightness within the settings app, but an easier way is to flip open the control panel at the bottom of your screen. This will allow you to easily toggle the screen brightness up or down depending on your needs. Keeping the screen brightness low can save your battery life and mitigate strain on your eyes. However, it can be hard for scanners to read a dark screen, and you may need to brighten it quickly so that they can scan your ticket or accept your payment.
Along with manually adjusting the brightness, iPhones have a Night Shift mode that replaces the warm tones of day with cool tones at night. This makes the screen easier for your eyes to look at. The good news is that once you set the Night Shift hours, the time will automatically adjust along with your time zone.
Close Apps to Save Your Battery
Adjusting your screen brightness isn’t the only thing you can do to save your battery life. Closing apps when you’re not using them is another way to prevent them from draining your battery while they run in the background. Double-clicking the home button will open up the screen of apps that are running and allow you to swipe the ones that you want to close.
Along with closing your apps, you want to make sure you’re limiting when apps have access to battery-drainers like your location. Some apps like Uber and Google Maps will continue using your location and search for a GPS signal even when they’re not in use. In the Settings section, you can limit GPS usage only when the app is in use. This will also help save your battery life.
Learn About Low Power Mode
Here’s one final tip on how you can extend your iPhone’s battery. The latest updates come with Low Power Mode, which reduces download speeds, some visual effects, and the background refreshes. All in all, these steps work to reduce power consumption and stretch your battery father.
Turn on the Do Not Disturb Option at Night
Along with the Night Shift, the Do Not Disturb option is ideal for not waking up in the middle of the night. However, you can also use it during meetings or when you need to focus on work and don’t want to be interrupted by calls and texts.
With the Do Not Disturb option, any call, alert, or app notification will be silenced and the moon icon will appear in the status bar. You can schedule exactly what calls are able to get pushed through and set different rules for when the Do Not Disturb mode is on. This way, you can still receive important calls (like work calls or messages) while tuning out the distractions.
Resetting Your iPhone
Eventually, you may decide to sell your iPhone or pass it down to a child or sibling. Before you do this, it’s important to know how to reset your iPhone to remove all personal information, photos, files, and other bulky content. This basically clears your footprint and makes the iPhone appear brand new.
Resetting your iPhone is actually pretty easy and can be accomplished in the Settings app. However, you want to be careful when exploring this option. Resetting your iPhone cannot be undone, and if you do it by accident, you could lose all of your precious photos and music.
These tips will help your iPhone last longer and enhance your experience better. The more you play with your iPhone and test different tools, the more you will discover cool tricks that make it one of the best-selling smartphones of all time.
