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    The best hidden features in iOS 14

    iOS 14 is filled with new options, however a few of the greatest gems are those in obscure locations. In this how-to, we’ll check out the perfect hidden options and easy methods to use them in your iPhone and iPad.

    Image: cnet.com

    When Apple’s iOS 14 was launched final week, many customers and builders had been stunned by the next-day availability. iOS 14 brings many large new modifications that may endlessly change the best way we use our iOS units: From the widgets on the Home Screen, to the App Library, to the brand new automations in Shortcuts, iOS is clearly shifting at a quick tempo and bringing many new headlining options.SEE: Apple iOS 14: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)In this text, we are going to check out the options that many customers skip over. They’re essential in their very own proper, however hidden. These hidden options can embrace some essential modifications, however do not share within the limelight of the Apple keynotes.Listen for soundsOne accessibility function that Apple added to iOS 14 was the flexibility in your iPhone to hear for explicit sounds after which warn you every time it encounters them. This function is unbelievable for onerous of listening to or deaf customers who want help in figuring out when the door bell rings, an animal makes a noise, and many others. To allow this function, carry out the next steps: Open the Settings appNavigate to Accessibility | Sound RecognitionSelect the toggle to ONSelect Sounds Toggle on the sounds that you simply’d like your machine to acknowledge and warn you to (Figure A)

    Figure AYour iPhone can acknowledge a number of sounds on-device and warn you to them. This checklist of recognizable sounds will develop over time.As of iOS 14, your cellphone can do on-device sound recognition of 4 totally different classes of sounds: Alarms, Animals, Household, and People. This set of sounds will develop over time primarily based on advances in machine studying and machine microphones. You can allow or disable the actual particular person sounds you are involved with.Apple notes that with this function enabled, your iPhone will constantly hear for sounds utilizing on-device intelligence and notify you when the sounds are acknowledged. Because of this your battery life could take a slight hit, and this can even make the most of on-device storage to course of the sounds. In addition, Apple notes that this should not be relied upon for emergency conditions or navigation. SEE: How to make use of widgets on the Home Screen in iOS 14 (TechRepublic)New shade pickerThere’s a brand new shade picker that you’ll encounter in each Apple and third-party apps that brings a couple of new means on iOS to pick colours that we’re enthusiastic about. If you’ve got spent any time in macOS, you’ve got undoubtedly encounter the macOS Digital Color Meter that is out there systemwide. Apple now has a brand new shade picker on iOS 14 that brings just a few new methods of choosing colours, and saving them. We’ll present how to do that in Notes, however the function can be out there in different apps. In Notes, choose the drawing instrument, then choose the colour picker icon. When you do that, the brand new shade picker will seem (Figure B). Figure BThe new iOS 14 shade picker brings the identical instruments from macOS to iOS for choosing colours.The first part you may encounter is an ordinary shade grid which reveals just a few hues to allow you to shortly decide a shade. The subsequent tab is the Spectrum, which helps you to get extra fine-grained management over each shade out there to choose on the machine and it is opacity. The final tab is Sliders, which we’re very enthusiastic about. This view enables you to decide or enter RGB values, or a hex worth to set the colour—a function that hasn’t been out there on iOS besides in speciality apps earlier than.SEE: iOS 14 App Library: How to apply it to your iPhone (TechRepublic)Lastly, you may discover the customized palette organizer on the backside of the colour picker. In this part, it can save you your favourite colours by tapping the + button, or faucet and maintain on any of them to delete them. You can save as much as 10 colours on this part for simply switching between apps, or tasks.Hide the Hidden Photos albumThe Hidden photograph album has been out there within the Photos app for years, but it surely has been removed from hidden on iOS units. Rather, it was a folder known as Hidden that simply saved images you did not need seen in your primary Photo library. Now you may also disguise this folder in order that the hidden images are really hidden. To do that, carry out these steps: Open SettingsNavigate to PhotosScroll close to the underside, and disable the toggle for Hidden AlbumWith this feature deselected, the Hidden album will not seem within the Albums tab of Photos. To present it once more, re-enable the toggle. Dictation shortcutOn iPadOS 14, there is a new technique to assign a keyboard shortcut for textual content dictation. This enables you to simply nonetheless use dictation even when an exterior keyboard is connected with out the necessity to use the on-screen controls for dictation.To allow this function, carry out these steps: Open SettingsNavigate to General | Keyboard | Dictation ShortcutSelect an out there Shortcut (Figure C)Figure CSelecting a dictation shortcut will allow you to simply double-tap the chosen button on a {hardware} keyboard to begin the dictation course of without having to make use of the on-screen controls.The out there shortcuts are both Control or Command. Select one or the opposite, then activate by shortly double-pressing the chosen shortcut when your cursor is in a textual content discipline.Hide Home ScreensApple launched the App Library for iPhone, and it permits plenty of customization and cleanup for iOS Home Screens for the primary time within the historical past of the iPhone. You can nonetheless have a number of Home Screens in iOS 14, however generally you could need to disable messy Home Screens or Home Screens of apps that you do not entry ceaselessly. To disable a Home Screen in your iPhone: Tap and maintain on the Home Screen to enter jiggle modeTap the dots denoting web page numbers Tap the checkmark beneath the Home Screen to take away it, faucet once more so as to add it again (Figure D)Figure D Hiding Home Screens permits customers to scrub up their icons and conceal pages of apps that are not all the time wanted.Select Done when completed and your modifications will probably be saved. Any hidden pages will probably be omitted when swiping left or proper between Home Screens.Back faucet gesture If you could have an iPhone 8 or newer, then we saved the perfect function for final on this tip lineup. That’s as a result of the again faucet function is a type of hidden gems that may change your digital life as soon as you’ve got applied it. SEE: Apple will launch iOS 14 with out this privateness function: What iPhone customers and builders must know (TechRepublic)With this function, you may assign a double- or triple-tap gesture to the again of your iPhone. When you faucet the again of the machine along with your finger twice or thrice, it may possibly carry out an motion that you simply assign. Yes, you learn that proper, you may carry out an motion by simply tapping the again of your iPhone along with your finger, and it even works with a case. To setup this function: Open SettingsNavigate to Accessibility | Touch | Back Tap Select Double Tap or Triple Tap to arrange actions for one or each Select an motion (Figure E)Figure EMyriad shortcuts can be found to the again faucet function. You may even launch an app by way of a Shortcuts workflow.There’s many system, accessibility, scroll, and even app shortcuts out there. You may even create your personal Shortcut workflows and assign them to a double- or triple-tap gesture. The prospects are limitless in relation to assigning actions for this function. 

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