63 iOS 9 Tips, Tricks & Hidden Features

Use this list of iOS 9 tips, tricks and hidden features that will help you do more with your iPhone or iPad without spending money on apps and accessories.

We’ll show you what you can do with your iPhone or iPad and iOS 9, iOS 9.1, iOS 9.2 and iOS 9.3 to unlock the full potential of your device. This is updated with new tips and tricks, as well as a few iOS 9 hidden features even power users will have trouble finding.

For many users who are just getting used to iOS 9 and the iPhone, this is a in-depth look at the things you didn’t know the iPhone could do.

You don’t need to read the iOS 9 manual to become a master of iOS 9, but you will need to learn where to tap and how to use new iOS 9 features on your devices. You can also learn what’s new in iOS 9.3, which is coming to your iPhone and iPad in March.

With supercharged search, new Siri features and upgraded options, there is a lot you can control to make your iPhone work for you on iOS 9.

You’ll need to install the free update to use these iOS 9 tips and tricks on iPhone and iPad. Most of these work on all the iPhone and iPad models, but some require a newer device to work.

You’ll start to see some of these hidden iOS 9 tips and tricks in some of the Apple ads, but others are buried deep in the settings of your iPhone or iPad.

Call and Text Shortcuts

The new predictive iOS 9 search includes your current contacts. You can quickly call or message these contacts with two taps.

When on the new search page to the left of your home screen tap on a contact photo to see call and message options. If you search for a contact in spotlight you’ll also see the option to tap to call, text or video call.

Use iPhone Night Mode on iOS 9.3

Once you install the iOS 9.3 update you will be able to use the new iPhone night mode called Night Shift. This special setting changes the color temperature on your screen so that it is not as blue as normal. A slight yellow color will help you relax at night and should make it easier to go to sleep.

Go to Settings -> Display & Brightness -> Night Shift and then change the options to scheduled hours, scheduled sunset, manually turn it on or adjust the overall temperature of it.

Lock Notes with Touch ID

On iOS 9.3 you can now make a note private in the Notes app and lock it so that only you can open it.

When you are finished with a note, tap on share then on Lock Note to secure it. The first time you do this it will ask you to make a password. That is how you unlock all your notes, not just this one. it’s the only way you can unlock notes on your Mac. Don’t forget this password since you cannot recover it. Here’s more on how to lock iPhone notes.

Duplicate a Photo or Live Photo

When you edit a Live Photo on the iPhone you lose the moving portion, but in iOS 9 you can now duplicate the Live Photo or the still photo so that you can edit one and still have the original.

Tap on the photo you want -> tap Share -> tap on Duplicate and then tap on Duplicate or Duplicate as a Still Photo.

Draw in iOS 9 Notes App

The new iOS 9 Notes app lets you draw on the screen to take notes on your iPhone or iPad. This is a handy way to sketch out something that would be tough to type.

If you don’t immediately see it, tap on the + icon and then on the squiggly line to pull up your options including a marker, pen and pencil. You can use the ruler for straight lines or draw freehand. Tap the circle to change the color of your writing instruments.

Make a To Do List in Notes

You can now create To Do lists in Notes for iOS 9 that you can check off, and that sync to other devices on iOS 9 as well as OS X El Capitan.

Create a new note and if you don’t see a check mark icon, tap on the + above the keyboard. Then tap on the checkmark icon right above the keyboard. Start typing your list, press enter to add a new item. Tap on the circle to mark it as complete.

Add Photos and Links to Notes

Another very handy new iOS 9 Notes feature is the option to add links and attachments to Notes. This makes it easy to keep links and photos related to your note all in one place.

If you are in Safari or looking at a photo you can press the share icon and then choose Notes to make a new note or add to an existing Note. You can add a photo to Notes by tapping the camera icon in the Notes app.

Public Transportation Directions in Apple Maps

Apple Maps finally supports public transit directions in Apple Maps. This only works in larger cities, so you cannot use it in every location, but it works in many big cities. The directions include walking directions between the various transit options and it includes the schedules.

In Apple Maps, when you select directions you can now choose transit directions that will show you how to get from one place to the next using public transportation options.

Use iOS 9 Low Power Mode

When your iPhone battery is low the iPhone will prompt you to turn on Low Power Mode for longer battery life, but you can turn this on manually at any time.

Go to Settings -> Battery -> Low Power Mode -> On. You can manually turn this on and off as you need it.

Stream High Quality Apple Music on LTE

Apple Music now allows users to stream high quality music over LTE. Go to Settings -> Music -> High Quality on Cellular.

Add iCloud Drive to Your Home Screen

If you use iCloud Drive to sync files between your iPhone, iPad and Mac you can now add the iCloud app to your home screen for fast access to your files. If you did not add this to your home screen right after installing iOS 9 you need to go to Settings -> iCloud -> Show on Home Screen. Now you can move the app around like a normal app.

Ask Siri to Remind You About What You’re Looking At

Have you ever been looking at a webpage, an email or a note on your iPhone and wished Siri could easily remind you to look at it later without the hassles of describing it or copying and pasting?

With iOS 9 you can open Siri and simply say, “Siri Remind me about this,” with a location or date and time and Siri will add that specific item to your reminders and pop up with a link to that item at the right time or place.

Select Multiple Photos Fast

Forget tapping on a dozen photos when you want to select multiple items. Instead go to Photos -> tap Select -> tap and drag to the right or left to start selecting multiple photos and then you can go up or down to include another row.

Hide Photos in iOS 9

You can now hide multiple photos at once in iOS 9. In your photo library simple select the photos you don’t want to show up there and then tap on the share icon and then hide.

Use WiFi Assist to Avoid Crappy WiFi

iOS 9 includes a new feature that will fall back to your LTE connection when you are on a poor WiFi connection that is too slow, unreliable or if the Internet connection for that WiFi signal drops out.

Go to Settings -> Cellular -> Scroll all the way to the bottom -> WiFi Assist -> On. When you have problems with WiFi it should fall back over to your LTE connection.

Set Default Video Modes for Camera

In iOS 9 you can now tell the iPhone to record at a specific resolution and framerate and what type of slo motion video to record.

Go to Settings -> Photos & Camera -> Record Video and Record Slo-mo -> Pick the option you want to use.

Make Siri Stop Talking

Go to Settings -> General -> Siri -> Voice Feedback -> Control with Ring Switch. With this setting turned on Siri will not speak results back to you when you have your phone ring switch set to silent. You will still get voice feedback when you use Hey Siri and when you are connected to Bluetooth or a car hands free system.

Hide Apps from New iPhone Search

The iPhone search tools in iOS 9 are more powerful, including the ability to deep search inside your apps. If you want to avoid information from some of these apps appearing in the main iPhone search results you can exclude the apps. Go to Settings -> General -> Spotlight Search -> Uncheck the apps you don’t want in Spotlight.

Use Two Apps at Once on the iPad Air 2

The iPad Air 2 iOS 9 update allows users to run two apps at the same time on the iPad screen. Apple calls this Split View, but most users simply call it multitasking or using two apps side-by-side on the iPad.

Open an app that supports this, swipe in from the right, choose the app you want then tap and drag the slider from the right window to the middle of the screen. Here are more detailed directions on how to use two apps at the same time on the iPad with iOS 9.

Use iPad Pop Out Video

With iOS 9 you can now pop out video from some apps to a small moveable window that lets you watch a video while working in another app. This currently works in Apple apps and Hulu, and we expect to see more apps support it soon.

To use it, open a video app and then use the small button in the lower right or just press the video button while the video is playing.

iPad Slide Out Multitasking

You don’t need the newest iPad to use a smaller, but still useful version of iPad multitasking. Instead of opening an app to full screen, you can use the Slide Out feature to get access to a variety of apps that allow you to control some items without leaving your main app. See this in action in the video above this section.

Select Text Faster in iOS 9

When you need to select text on the iPad with iOS 9, you can now use two fingers on the keyboard to turn it into a touchpad like experience that lets you select text easier.

When in a document, you can place two fingers on the keyboard and move them slightly to start the selection process. It takes a little practice, but once you get it mastered, you’ll be able to select text faster.

iPad Keyboard Shortcuts Amp Productivity

The new iOS 9 iPad keyboard includes shortcuts that make it easier to do more on your iPad with both an on-screen keyboard and with a Bluetooth keyboard.

When using the on-screen keyboard, you’ll see options to cut, copy and paste, as well as options for app specific shortcuts, like in Notes and other Apple apps.

If you connect a Bluetooth keyboard you can still enjoy some of these benefits with a small on screen toolbar of shortcuts that you can reach up to.

Faster Access to Apple Pay

If you use Apple Pay a lot, you can set up the iPhone to open Apple Wallet when locked with a double press of the home button. When you do this it will open your Apple Wallet with your default card active, but you still need to use Touch ID to activate it. It is a handy way to choose the card you want to use before you get to the register.

Go to Settings -> Wallet & Apple Pay -> Double Click Home Button -> On. To use it you have to double press, not just rest on the sensor and it only works when the phone is locked.

Ask Siri to Find Photos

Forget looking through your Photo Library manually. You can now ask Siri to find photos at a location, at a time or in a album you made. The first two options work without manually taking action since your iPhone knows when and where your photos were taken.

Just open Siri and say, “Show me photos from Hawaii” or “Show me photos from two weeks ago.” You can also say a specific date. If you have an album you can say that album name.

Use a Six-Digit Passcode

Apple now supports a six-digit Passcode instead of just a four-digit one. Adding two digits makes it much more secure. Go to Settings -> Touch ID & Passcode -> Enter your passcode -> Change Passcode -> Enter your old passcode -> Enter a new passcode twice

Get Customized News with Apple News

The new Apple News app lets you choose your favorite topics and publications to keep up to date on news.

You can set this up on one device and it will sync to your other Apple devices. You can search to add more News items and you can also sign up for email notifications of news stories.

Quickly Go Back to Your Last App

When you follow a link from one app to another, iOS 9 makes it easier to get back to your original app. Simply tap on Back to App Name in the upper left and you’ll go back. No more using a double press of the home button just to get back to where you started.

Change iOS 9 Notification Grouping

By default iOS 9 will show you your notifications in order by date, but you can choose to group your iPhone and iPad notifications by App if you prefer that option.

Go to Settings -> Notifications -> Group By App -> On. This will change back to what we saw in iOS 8.

Take Notes and Draw on Email Attachments

The iOS 9 Mail app includes support for marking up email attachments using sketching, a magnifying glass, notes and even your signature that syncs over from Preview on your Mac. This is the fastest way to leave change notes on an attachment or to sign a document on your iPhone or iPad.

In the Mail app open a message with an attachment, tap and hold on the attachment and then choose Markup and Reply. Now you can use the options at the bottom of the screen to make notes on the attachment.

Search iOS 9 Settings

If you have trouble finding what you want to change in Settings on your iPhone or iPad, iOS 9 now lets you search.

In the main Settings menu simply pull down until you see a search box. Type what you are trying to find and you’ll see possible suggestions start to fill in. Tap on one to go right to that setting.

Toggle Flash On and Off for Videos

With iOS 9 you can now turn the flash on and off as needed while shooting videos. Using flash isn’t new on iOS 9, but the ability to turn it on and off without stopping a video clip is. Just tap on the flash icon when you are recording a video to toggle off and on. Choose from On, Off or Auto.

Save Mail Attachments to iCloud Drive

It is easier to save email attachments to a place you can work with them in iOS 9. When you are in the Mail app, tap and hold on an attachment. When you let go after a second a menu should pop up with a Save Attachment option and an iCloud logo. Tap on it and then choose where to save it in iCloud.

Quickly Find a Place in Maps

The new Apple Maps app includes an option to tap on categories that pop up based on time of day and that will show you items nearby that you may want to go to. Simply tap on Breakfast, Coffee, Convenience, Gas and other options in Maps or on the new search page to quickly get directions to a nearby store or business.

Set Favorites and Locations in Apple Maps

In Apple Maps you can search for a location, tap to see the location page and then tap the heart to add to favorites. Now when you are on the Apple Maps search page it will show under favorites. If you’ve told your iPhone where home and work are you will also see these options on the search page. The new Apple Maps also brings in locations on your calendar today.

Turn off Shake to Undo

When you shake the iPhone or iPad it will ask if you want to undo your typing. It is an easy way to clear what you wrote, but if you have trouble accidentally activating this due to shaking or movement you can now turn it off. Go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Shake to Undo -> Off.

Customize Reading Webpages in Safari

In Safari you can tap on the small lines next to a web address to launch Reader View. This strips out the adds and other web elements so it is easier to read the article. You can also make the font bigger so it is easier to read.

Now in iOS 9 you can change the background color and font as well. Tap on the aA icon in the upper right to change these options.

Switch from Android Easier

 

If you want to switch from Android to iPhone you can now use Move to iOS to switch your photos, messages, contacts and more from iPhone to Android. Download the free Move to iOS app to your Android phone and during iPhone setup choose Move Data from Android.

Know Who an Unknown Caller Is

Even if you normally use the Gmail app or another app to read your email, you may want to link it to the default Apple Mail app in iOS 9. The new features include the ability to link an incoming call from an unknown number to an email message so that it can tell you who is likely calling you.

Ask Siri How Late a Store is Open

If you need to know how late a store is open, just ask Siri, “How late is Best Buy open?”, or whatever store you are looking for. If there is only one store it will show the results immediately, if not you will need to tap on the store you want to see the hours for. You can see when a store opens and when it closes.

Track Your Sex Life & Reproductive Health

The iOS 9 Health app now supports tracking reproductive health. You can track your sex life including protected and unprotected sex as well as reproductive health items like menstruation and ovulation.

Go to the Health App, Tap on Health Data then on Reproductive Health. You can choose six different items to track, and then you will need to manually enter the data.

See the Battery Life of Your Gadgets

When you have an Apple Watch or a Bluetooth device connected to your iPhone you can now use the new iOS 9 batteries widget to see all of your battery information in your Notification Center.

Pull down the Notification Center -> Scroll to the bottom -> Tap on Edit -> Tap + next to Batteries. 

Add Discover Card to Apple Pay

You can now add the Discover Card to your iPhone with Apple Pay. Go to Settings -> Wallet & Apple Pay -> Add Credit or Debit Card.  You will need to point your iPhone camera at the card, fill in some more details and then verify the card with Discover through email, phone call or text.

If you make Discover Card purchases with Apple Pay in Stores for the rest of 2015 you will get an additional 10% cash back.

Discover Real iPhone Battery Hogging Apps

You can now see more details about your iPhone battery use, including which apps are using the most battery and which apps are using power with the screen on and in the background. This makes it easier to identify a misbehaving app and put an end to it.

Go to Settings -> Batteries -> Scroll down and tap the small clock icon. Now you will see more detailed battery use.

Zoom in While Watching Videos

When you are watching a video you can now pinch to zoom in. You cannot zoom to crazy levels, but this is a handy new iOS 9 feature that allows you to get a closer look at a part of the video you shot on the iPhone. Zoom back out by un-pinching.

Use iOS 9 Smart Albums

iOS 9 adds more smart albums that automatically keep your screenshots and selfies organized. In Photos, tap on Albums and then scroll up or down to see the new options you can choose.

Get Faster Apple Maps Routes

If you use Apple Maps to get from one place to the next, you will enjoy this new feature that can identify a faster route and offer it to you while you are driving. When on a route, Apple Maps may pop up and tell you that there is a Faster Route Available. Tap on Go to shave time off your commute.

Quick Access to Music Apps

With iOS 9 your iPhone will start to know when you are planning to listen to music, and when you plug headphones in the iPhone will show your most used music app in the lower left corner of the lock screen. You can then flick up from that icon and open the app.

Share or Save Voicemail

In iOS 9 you can now save or share a voicemail right form the Phone app. Tap on a voicemail and then tap on the share icon. You can send it as a message, save to voice memos, share in Facebook Messenger and more. You can even AirDrop it to a Mac.

Turn Off Frequently Visited Sites

When you open a new tab in Safari it will list your frequently visited websites in the background. If you don’t want others to see this data you can now turn it off.

Go to Settings -> Safari ->Frequently Visited Websites -> Off.

Quick Disconnect Bluetooth Devices

If you need to stop using a Bluetooth device, but you can’t get up to go turn it off you can now simply disconnect it from your iPhone. This will not unpair it, only disconnect it. This way you stop using it now, but it is easy to use later. Go to Settings -> Bluetooth -> tap on i  next to the device -> Disconnect.

Fast Access to Handoff

One of the most useful features from iOS 8 is easier to use on the iPhone and iPad with iOS 9.

Double click your home button in iOS 9 and you will now see more than just the recent apps in use on your iPhone or iPad. The update adds a small tab at the bottom of the screen with a Handoff app. This will show an app you have used recently on a Mac or iPad so you can open it on your iPhone without going to the lock screen.

Better Touch Options

iOS 9 adds a new touch control setting that will help users who frequently tap the screen too much or have other issues using the touch screen.

Go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Touch Accommodations. Here you can turn this feature on and customize the settings to make it easier to use your iPhone.

Turn on WiFi Calling

You can now use WiFi Calling on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. This will let you make phone calls when you have no signal or a poor signal, but still have a WiFi connection.

Go to Settings -> Phone -> WiFi Calling -> WiFi Calling on This Phone -> On. This will start the setup process. You will need to enter information about your address and agree to terms and conditions. Click the links above to learn how to set up WiFi calling on each carrier.

Use the New iPhone Emoji

The iOS 9.1 update added a lot of new emoji to the iPhone and iPad. You need to install the latest update to get on iOS 9.1 or newer to make use of these new emoji.

Use this guide to make sure you have the stock iPhone emoji keyboard installed and then you can use these new emojis in all iPhone apps.

Use Live Photos

You need the iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus to record a Live Photo, but with recent upgrades to iOS 9.1 you can see the Live Photo movement and hear the sound on older iPhones running iOS 9.1 or higher.

Simply long press on a Live Photo and you will see and hear the motion and sound that comes with a Live Photo, even on an older iPhone or iPad.

Hide Contact Photos

The iOS 9.1 update added the option to turn off contact photos in Messages. If you don’t like seeing pictures next to your conversations in the iPhone Messages app this is what you need to change.

Go to Settings -> Messages -> Show Contact Photos -> Off. And this will turn it off so that you can customize messages.

Use Sprint WiFi Calling

Sprint supports Wifi Calling which allows you to make calls even when there is not a good signal.

• Go to Settings -> Phone -> WiFi Calling -> On. 
• On other devices, go to Settings -> FaceTime -> Calls from iPhone -> On. 

This will let you answer calls on your other devices and make calls over WiFi. Here’s more info from Sprint.

Use SD Card to Lightning Adapter With iPhone

When you upgrade to iOS 9.2 you can now use the SD Card to Lightning adapter and the USB to Lightning adapter with the iPhone. This lets you connect the iPhone to your camera or SD card so that you can import photos.

Make sure you upgrade to iOS 9.2 and then purchase the Lightning to SD card or Lightning to USB adapters from Apple or another retailer.

Use Siri Arabic Language

The iOS 9.2 update adds support for Arabic Language Siri use. You can go to the Siri settings and turn this on so that you can speak Arabic to the iPhone with Siri instead of using English or another language.

Use this guide to turn on Siri Arabic iPhone features after you upgrade to iOS 9.2.

Use iPhone Private Browsing Mode

You can use your iPhone to browse the web without remembering where you visit and remembering what information you type into the browser.

If you are shopping or looking at a website you don’t want in your history you can use the Safari Private browsing mode on your iPhone to prevent someone else from seeing where you visited.

Open Safari and then tap on tabs option in the lower right. Next, tap on Private. This will launch a tab that doesn’t remember where you go.

Keep in mind that if you are connected to WiFi that is monitored, like at work, the company can still see what you are looking at.

Use the iPhone as a Level

You can use your iPhone to see if something is level. This allows you to quickly see if a surface is level or if a picture is hung level.

Open the compass app on the iPhone then swipe to the left and you will see a level.

If you hold the phone flat it will see if a surface is level. Hold it upright, like next to a wall and it will measure it like that.

Make a Custom iPhone Vibration

With this iOS 9 tip you can make sure that you know who is calling you without taking your iPhone out of your pocket. You can make a custom iPhone vibration for a contact in the settings.

Open the Contacts app -> Open the contact you want to make a custom vibration -> Edit -> Scroll to Vibration -> Create New Vibration -> tap on the screen to make the vibration you want.

Tap Stop when you are done. You can review it with Play or tap Record to start over. Tap Save to keep the custom vibration.

What's New in iOS 10.1

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This is a list of what's new in iOS 10.1, including new features like Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus and a number of important fixes for the iPhone and iPad.  Camera and Photos Introduces Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus that creates a depth effect that keeps your subject sharp while creating a beautifully blurred background (beta) People names in the Photos app are saved in iCloud backups Improved the display of wide color gamut photos in the grid views of the Photos app Fixes an issue where opening the Camera app would show a blurred or flashing screen for some users Fixes an issue that caused Photos to quit for some users when turning on iCloud Photo Library Maps Transit support for every major train, subway, ferry, and national bus line, as well as local bus systems for Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya Sign-based transit navigation including layouts of all underground structures and walkways that connect large transit stations Transit fare comparison when viewing alternative transit routes Messages New option to replay bubble and full screen effects Messages effects can play with Reduce Motion enabled Fixes an issue that could lead to contact names appearing incorrectly in Messages Addresses an issue where Messages could open to a white screen Addresses an issue that could prevent the report junk option from displaying with unknown senders Fixes an issue where videos captured and sent in the Messages app could be missing audio Apple Watch Adds distance and average pace to workout summaries in the Activity app for outdoor wheelchair run pace and outdoor wheelchair walk pace Fixes issues that may have prevented Music playlists from syncing to Apple Watch Addresses an issue that was preventing invitations and data to appear in Activity Sharing Fixes an issue that was allowing Activity Sharing to update over cellular when manually disabled Resolves an issue that was causing some third-party apps to crash when inputting text Other improvements and fixes Improves Bluetooth connectivity with 3rd party accessories Improves AirPlay Mirroring performance when waking a device from sleep Fixes an issue where playback would not work for iTunes purchased content when the "Show iTunes Purchases" setting is turned off Fixes an issue where certain selfie apps and face filters used with the FaceTime HD Camera on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus did not display a live preview Fixes an issue in Health where individual strokes are converted to separate characters when using the Chinese handwriting keyboard Improves performance of sharing websites from Safari to Messages Fixes an issue in Safari that caused web previews in tab view to not display correctly Fixes an issue that caused certain Mail messages to be reformatted with very small text Fixes an issue that caused some HTML email to be formatted incorrectly Fixes an issue that in some cases caused the search field to disappear in Mail Fixes an issue that could prevent Today View Widgets from updating when launched Fixes an issue where Weather widget sometimes failed to load data Fixes an issue on iPhone 7 where Home Button click settings would not appear in search results Fixes an issue that prevented spam alert extensions from blocking calls Resolves an issue that could prevent alarm sounds from going off Fixes an issue where audio playback via Bluetooth would cause the Taptic engine to stop providing feedback for some users Resolves an issue preventing some users from restoring from iCloud Backup For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:  https://support.apple.com/HT201222  Keep reading to check out the iOS 10 features and iOS 10.1 features that these updates offer.

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