Two iPhone Features You Should Know

Let’s talk about two iPhone features you should know. If you’re an Android phone user, fear not, my next post will be about two Android features you should know! 😀

Like many of our computing devices, there are features in an iPhone that we never know about or use so infrequently that we forget about them. Let me introduce you to (or remind you of) two of them in this post.

Record Your Screen

Yes, you can record what’s on your iPhone screen. Now, you might ask yourself, “Why would I want to record my iPhone screen?” Here are a few reasons:

  1. To save a clip of a game you’re playing.
  2. To record part of a live stream on Instagram.
  3. To create a how-to video for friends.
  4. To demonstrate how to do something on your device.
  5. To capture an error or bug with an app or website to send to a support service.
  6. To communicate problems more efficiently by using audio narration.
  7. To simplify communications by sharing exactly what you see on your screen.

For the record, I use screen recording #4 often for customers. It’s an easy way to create a training video for an iPhone user.

How To Record The Screen

Step #1: Bring up the Control Center (Scroll down diagonally from the upper right corner of the screen) and see if you already have the icon circled in red here:

Two iPhone Features You Should Know - screenshot of iPhone
You can click on the photo for a closer look.

If you see that icon, skip to Step 3.

Step #2 – If you didn’t see the icon, do the following:

Go to Settings > Control Center, then tap the Add button (+) next to Screen Recording. Once you’ve done that, close all your Settings. Next, bring up the Control Center by scrolling down diagonally from the upper right corner of the screen. Go to Step #3

Step #3 – Tap the record icon. (The one circled in red above.) The recording will count down for three (3) seconds before it starts to record. When you’re finished, find the round, red record button and tap it to halt recording. You’ll then see a message that your recording was saved to photos.

Keep in mind, I’m using an iPhone 14 Pro Max (running iOS 16.6) which uses what’s called the “Dynamic Window” at the top of the screen. Your exact views may be different from mine if you have an earlier model.

Bonus

Here’s a little bonus for you: this same procedure works on the iPad, also!

Backspace In The Calculator App

If we’re using the calculator app and we make a mistake with a number, most of us would probably hit the C (Clear) button and retype the entire number. However, there’s a neat little feature built-in to the calculator app that will save you time when this happens. Instead of hitting the Clear button, simply swipe left or right over the numbers and the last number will disappear and you can then enter the correct number. By the way, if you keep swiping, it will keep removing the last number.

Let’s use the first feature in this post to show you this one! (Press the play button at the bottom.)

Of course, you can’t see me swiping left and right over the numbers but, I promise you, I am! Try it!

Two iPhone Features You Should Know Conclusion

I often hear people (especially older folks) say that their phone is too complicated. While it’s true they have lots of features, the way to learn them is to use them! With that in mind, take these two features I’ve shown you, and don’t just try them once! Repeat, repeat, and repeat. If you do, you’ll have them down pat and use them later on without even thinking about the procedure.

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