10 Simple Tips And tricks to Help You Master your New IPhone

Change Siri’s voice

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

Swipe to search everything

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

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

Search has 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 the various apps on your phone. You can type in simple math problems and stuff, too.

Stack widgets to save space

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

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

Or keep on holding it until the menu pops up. Another second or two and you’ll be able to drag the widget around, repositioning it as you please. Just drag it on top of another widget to stack them.

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

Your iPhone has an accessibility feature that’s really handy for just about everyone. It’s called “Back Tap” and it lets you double-tap 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 the Notification Center, toggle mute, take a screenshot, or launch a custom Shortcut.

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