The iPhone 17 sequence is certainly one of Apple’s boldest in current reminiscence. The bottom iPhone 17 has adopted as soon as Professional-only options, such because the long-requested 120Hz ProMotion Show, whereas the iPhone Air pushes the boundaries of design and engineering, and the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max boast a swathe of actually skilled new options, together with ProRes RAW and GenLock.
Additionally they arrive with the most recent iOS 26 consumer expertise, a visible departure from the flat interface of earlier releases. Liquid Glass, plus a couple of notable additions, modifications the look, really feel and behavior of iOS in new and attention-grabbing methods.
Whether or not you’re new to the iPhone 17 sequence or a long-time iPhone consumer upgrading to certainly one of Apple’s greatest and brightest new entries, you’ll undoubtedly discover some useful ideas and tips on this information. It’s written by somebody who’s reviewed virtually each mannequin of the final decade, and spent plenty of time optimising the iOS expertise because of this.
Nearly all of the following pointers ought to work throughout the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Professional and iPhone 17 Professional Max, in addition to current however older fashions together with the iPhone 16 sequence. Learn on for the complete run-down.
Customise the lock display screen clock
With iOS 16, Apple added the power to customize the lock display screen clock’s font and color however, with iOS 26, it expanded on the diploma of personalisation obtainable.
Now, you even have the choice to scale the clock which, paired with the All the time On Show, makes for a helpful one-two punch of performance. You too can nonetheless customise font and color, in addition to select whether or not it adopts the Liquid Glass aesthetic, or the extra conventional flat look of earlier generations of iOS.
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HOW? Out of your lock display screen, press and maintain on a clean space till the lock display screen wallpaper zooms out. Subsequent, faucet the Customise button, which seems on the backside of the display screen. Bounding bins will seem round all the important thing UI parts you’ll be able to work together with, together with the clock.
Faucet and drag on the seize deal with seen within the backside proper of the clock’s bounding field, after which merely drag downwards to increase the clock to your most well-liked peak.
When you’re pleased with the place of the lock display screen clock, faucet anyplace throughout the clock’s bounding field to convey up the Font & Color menu. In addition to adjusting font and color, there’s now a brand new Glass / Strong toggle, which you’ll be able to experiment with too.
Spatial Scene lock display screen
Sticking with lock display screen ideas, iOS 26 additionally introduces a pretend 3D impact on sure pictures. Referred to as Spatial Scenes, this impact will be utilized to your lock display screen.
Offered you’ve chosen a lock display screen picture that the cellphone deems suitable with the function (often one with a transparent foreground topic), you must be capable to create a Spatial Scene lock display screen.
HOW? First, head to Settings after which search for and faucet on Wallpaper. From right here, faucet + Add New Wallpaper, or just swipe alongside till you see ‘New’ on the prime, after which faucet the + icon to create a brand new wallpaper pair.
From right here, faucet on the Pictures app icon within the prime left of the display screen. Subsequent, select a photograph you need to use as your lock display screen. Your cellphone will then swap to a full-screen lock display screen preview, along with your chosen picture entrance and centre.
Offered your cellphone deems the picture you’ve chosen suitable with Spatial Scenes, you’ll see two icons in direction of the underside proper of your display screen, simply above no matter lock display screen shortcut you’ve assigned within the backside proper nook (often, it’s the Digital camera app).
The left of those two icons ought to resemble a hexagon with a strikethrough. To allow Spatial Scenes in your lock display screen, faucet this hexagonal icon. After a quick little bit of processing, the place your cellphone will generate your new Spatial Scene lock display screen, faucet Add within the prime proper of the display screen.
As you’re creating a brand new lock display screen from scratch, faucet Set as Wallpaper Pair on the following pop-up. You’ll then be taken again to the Wallpaper Settings display screen, however you’ll be able to swipe as much as shut Settings or just lock your cellphone.
Subsequent time you faucet the display screen or energy button to wake your cellphone up, you’ll be capable to tilt your cellphone in your hand and benefit from the cool parallax impact of your newly-created Spatial Scene lock display screen.
Observe: Spatial Scene wallpapers solely seem on the lock display screen. On your house display screen, they’ll simply current as static pictures. Additionally, each time you modify your lock display screen picture, you’ll have to re-enable the Spatial Scene function. Your lock display screen will turn into static and dimmed when you’ve got a Focus Mode – like Do Not Disturb or Sleep – lively.
Spatial Scene in Pictures
If you wish to see what the Spatial Scene impact could be like on a number of photographs in your gallery, with out having to undergo the rigamarole above every time, you’ll be able to simply view any suitable pictures as Spatial Scenes, proper in iOS’ native Pictures app.
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HOW? Merely open Pictures, faucet on a picture you need to view as a Spatial Scene, and in case your iPhone decides it’s suitable, you must then see a small hexagonal icon with an arrow on its proper, in direction of the highest proper of the display screen.
Faucet the hexagonal icon and, after a second of processing, your chosen picture ought to now be a Spatial Scene. You’ll be able to view the 3D impact by merely tilting your cellphone in your hand.
Sooner haptics for a greater really feel
When Apple switched from an everyday typical spinning vibration motor (formally referred to as an ERM or Eccentric Rotating Mass) to its Taptic Engine (Apple’s branded tackle a Linear Resonant Actuator or LRA) again in 2015, it fully reworked the texture of interacting with an iPhone.
The Taptic Engine is significantly better than a spinning motor at conveying totally different sensations by way of haptics, with higher precision, power and distinction.
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Efficiency is already typically nice on the iPhone 17 sequence, however if you would like your cellphone to really feel even snappier, this one tweak within the Settings menu will make your machine really feel even sooner.
HOW? Head to Settings, scroll down and faucet on Accessibility, and search for Contact. Inside the Contact menu, the third choice must be Haptic Contact. Choose this and also you’ll be offered with three length choices, with a check button beneath.
Out the field, your iPhone’s haptic contact length will seemingly be set to Default, however attempt the opposite two choices out, or just swap it to Quick, with a faucet.
When you’re pleased with the brand new really feel of your iPhone’s haptics, again out of the Settings app with a swipe up from the underside of the display screen.
Hidden keyboard shortcuts
There’s extra to the iOS keyboard than meets the attention. Regardless of the criticism the iOS keyboard has come underneath, it does additionally boast a number of highly effective hidden options, which until you understand about, are simply missed.
In addition to swipe-typing (the place you don’t elevate your finger from the display screen between key presses to kind a phrase), do you know you don’t should toggle Shift or the numbers key to entry capital letters and numbers? You’ll be able to even transfer a cursor round to shortly scrub by way of textual content with out ever having to the touch a textual content field, and there are compact left and right-justified keyboards, all unseen, however proper at your fingertips.
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HOW? Entry to most of those hidden options comes all the way down to a tap-and-hold gesture.
Within the case of capitalisation, fairly than tapping the Shift key, after which tapping the letter you need capitalised, you’ll be able to merely long-press on the shift key and – with out taking your finger off the display screen – drag over to the letter you need capitalised. Releasing your finger will then create a capital letter and swap the keyboard again to decrease case in a single fell swoop.
Equally, fairly than tapping the numbers key, deciding on the quantity you need after which switching again to the letter view in your keyboard, you’ll be able to simply long-press on the numbers key, drag your finger over to the quantity you need, and launch.
Lengthy-pressing on the emoji key within the backside proper, beneath your keyboard brings up a menu which incorporates three keyboard format choice: the full-width keyboard you’re seemingly already utilizing, or a left or right-justified compact keyboard, good for one-handed typing. Simply drag your finger over and launch in your most well-liked format, or faucet on the format you need to use.
Lastly, fairly than long-pressing on a textual content field and utilizing the resultant magnifying glass to see the place the cursor is as you scrub by way of textual content, long-press on the spacebar as an alternative. You’ll see the letters of the keyboard disappear, whilst you stay in touch with the display screen, successfully turning it right into a trackpad, which you’ll be able to then swipe round to extra simply transfer the cursor in a given textual content entry discipline above.
Disable Management Centre in your lock display screen
Management Centre is the de facto method to shortly toggle or entry key options in your iPhone, however the comfort on provide is one thing of a double-edged sword, particularly the place theft is anxious.
Whereas options like Discover My iPhone are extremely useful and highly effective, their real-time monitoring hinges in your cellphone’s potential to keep up a mobile, Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connection. A savvy prison who simply swiped your machine might shortly have interaction Airplane Mode with out ever needing to unlock your cellphone or enter your passcode, basically reducing off the breadcrumb path Discover My tries to depart.
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The perfect defence – on the expense of solely somewhat comfort – is to disable Management Centre entry out of your lock display screen.
HOW? Head to the Settings app, then scroll all the way down to and faucet on Face ID & Passcode. Enter your machine’s passcode on the following display screen and also you’ll then be offered with a run of various safety settings.
Scroll all the way down to the Permit Entry When Locked part, and lastly faucet the toggle subsequent to Management Centre to disable entry to the function in your lock display screen.
To check it, lock your cellphone, wake it again up and take a look at swiping down from the highest proper nook of your lock display screen. Management Centre ought to now not seem.
Set a customized ringtone
Creating or setting your personal ringtone was once all the craze, however Apple made the method on iPhone somewhat too convoluted for many customers, pushing them to purchase ringtones by way of iTunes or just depend on the pre-loaded default ringtones.
Fortunately, these days, it’s a lot simpler to set your personal customized ringtone, supplied you’ve a suitable audio file (corresponding to a .mp3 or .m4a) handy.
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HOW? When you’ve downloaded the audio file you need to use as your new ringtone to the Recordsdata app, open the app and discover your downloaded audio.
Lengthy-press on the file and on the following pop-up menu, faucet Share. In the direction of the underside of the Share display screen that follows, you’ll see the choice to Use As Ringtone.
Observe: Audio information have to be shorter than 30 seconds to work as a ringtone.
Battery Share
A small however helpful tweak to the look of iOS comes with enabling Battery Share. Whereas Apple would in all probability fairly you don’t take into consideration battery life an excessive amount of and easily fork out for certainly one of its newest chargers or MagSafe equipment, having the ability to preserve tabs in your cellphone’s cost, or see how enabling/disabling totally different options impacts longevity is helpful.
Particularly for these of you who’ve opted for the super-slimline new iPhone Air, battery life is arguably some of the necessary facets of the cellphone’s efficiency to be monitored.
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Turning on Battery Share makes it a lot clearer the place your battery life is at at a given second. As soon as enabled, fairly than a battery icon within the prime proper of the display screen that merely reduces in measurement as you utilize your cellphone, the image may even comprise a quantity, which pertains to obtainable cost remaining.
HOW? To see battery proportion, open Settings, scroll down and faucet on Battery, and on the following display screen, scroll down once more and search for the Battery Share toggle. Flip it on and also you’ll instantly see the battery icon within the prime proper replace to incorporate your machine’s present cost stage.
Set a Cost Restrict
In the event you’re the form of iPhone proprietor who retains maintain of their machine for a number of years, you’re going to massively recognize the Cost Restrict function.
The character of present Li-ion smartphone batteries is that they function greatest at between roughly 20% and 80% cost, and totally depleting to 0% or charging to 100% has really been proven to cut back battery well being over time, which means the precise quantity of cost your battery holds on to after multi cost cycles – even when it nonetheless claims to be 100% – is probably going rather a lot much less.
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To fight this, cellphone makers corresponding to Apple have began added cost limiting performance to their software program expertise as a way to prolong long-term battery well being.
HOW? Head to Settings, scroll all the way down to and faucet on Battery, after which search for Charging, in direction of the underside of the Battery display screen. Inside the Charging sub-menu, you’ll see a Cost Restrict slider, which most often shall be set to 100% by default.
Drag the slider down as little as you’re snug with, figuring out that the extra strict the cost restrict, the higher your battery well being shall be over time (I’d suggest 80%).
Observe: In the event you determine you don’t need to use a Cost Restrict, at the least ensure that Optimised Battery Charging is enabled on the identical Charging settings display screen. When charging your cellphone in a single day, it will restrict cost to 80% for almost all of the evening, till simply earlier than you get up and begin utilizing your machine, at which level the cellphone will proceed to fill as much as the complete 100%.
Allow Adaptive Energy Mode
Likelihood is, you don’t must run your iPhone at full brightness or with the chipset operating at full tilt all the time and, whereas iOS natively adjusts these facets dynamically, there’s a extra aggressive choice when your iPhone detects larger energy draw than regular.
Enabling Adaptive Energy Mode mechanically scales again issues like brightness stage, or will activate Decrease Energy Mode within the pursuit of prolonging battery life.
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How? To show this function on, head to the Settings menu after which, as soon as once more, faucet on Battery. Scroll down the Battery sub-menu and the penultimate choice must be Energy Mode. Opening up the Energy Mode menu, you’ll then be offered with a trio of toggles, the highest one being Adaptive Energy. Flip this on and your iPhone will extra aggressively monitor its energy calls for towards battery longevity.
Observe: If you’d like extra perception into what Adaptive Energy is doing, it’s also possible to toggle on Adaptive Energy Notifications for extra data.
Activate Automobile Movement Cues
Whether or not you’re a passenger princess or the primary to name “shotgun!”, in case your cellphone use brings on movement illness when driving in a automotive (or bus or boat), Movement Cues may be the answer.
This accessibility function provides little dots across the edges of no matter it’s you’re on display screen and, utilizing movement information out of your cellphone’s numerous sensors, strikes these dots in opposition to any movement you could be experiencing whereas travelling. The dots give your mind somewhat one thing to latch on to, and assist cut back the sense of nausea that may come from a cellphone display screen on the go.
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HOW? Open the Settings app and scroll all the way down to Accessibility, discovered slightly below the Normal choice. Inside Accessibility, you must see an choice referred to as Movement: faucet on this. Faucet Mechanically in Automobile for it solely to provoke when your cellphone detects you’re in a shifting car, in any other case you’ll be able to swap it On or Off as you see match.
Observe: Tapping Customise Look will allow you to customise the look of the movement cue dots, by way of place, color, variety of dots and measurement of dots.
Make Apple Intelligence… extra clever
Regardless of Apple’s ever-evolving Siri expertise and, extra not too long ago, Apple Intelligence, the corporate’s efforts within the AI division have been… missing, in comparison with a lot of the competitors.
In truth, Apple’s had a lot bother constructing a reliable AI expertise of its personal that it’s turned to some of the outstanding gamers within the area, OpenAI; baking its assistive ChatGPT expertise into iOS and, extra particularly, Apple Intelligence.
HOW? So as to add ChatGPT search and outcomes into iOS, open Settings, scroll down and faucet on Apple Intelligence & Siri. On the following display screen, scroll all the way down to a bit referred to as Extensions, and you must see ChatGPT as an choice. Faucet on ChatGPT, and also you’ll transfer to a different display screen, with the phrases Set Up subsequent to Use ChatGPT, which you must faucet to proceed.
Faucet Subsequent on the ChatGPT pop-up display screen, adopted by Allow ChatGPT in direction of the underside of your display screen, and also you’ll then be good to go.
Observe: You don’t want a ChatGPT account or the ChatGPT app put in in your iPhone as a way to use this function, however you’ll be able to log in from the identical ChatGPT sub-menu when you do have one.
4K 60fps video by default
The iPhone 17 sequence all possess impressively competent cameras, however when you’re somebody who shoots plenty of video, the out-of-box settings seize sub-par footage, with the 1080p 30fps being the default decision and body price.
Dive into your cellphone’s Digital camera settings, nevertheless, and you may enhance the seize decision to 4K (that’s 4 occasions the default), in addition to upping the body price (as much as 120fps, relying in your mannequin of iPhone).
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HOW? Head into your cellphone’s Settings app, open up the Digital camera sub-menu, faucet on File Video and choose 4K at 60fps, as a sure-fire method to make sure you get this decision and body price each time you turn to video mode within the native Digital camera app.
Alternatively, open the Digital camera app, faucet Video on the backside of the display screen (when holding your cellphone in portrait) to change to video recording mode, after which faucet the decision and body price button within the prime left of the viewfinder. You’ll see the button increase to point out assorted resolutions and body charges, which you’ll be able to choose independently, simply by tapping on the configuration you need.
Add a grid and stage to your digital camera
In the event you’re severe about snapping footage or capturing video along with your iPhone, there are a few helpful instruments to assist with framing, which I allow on each iPhone I exploit.
Grid provides a 3×3 grid throughout the viewfinder that will help you higher body up your topic, permitting you to use established photographic ideas, just like the rule of thirds (whether or not you realise it or not).
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Degree, in the meantime, acts like a spirit stage, utilizing the cellphone’s inner sensors to determine whether or not your cellphone’s digital camera is perpendicular to the bottom and straight, serving to mitigate perspective distortion of your topic (if that’s one thing you’re attempting to keep away from).
In the event you’re pointing your digital camera straight down on the floor, the extent switches to a crosshair, which supplies you perception into the pitch and roll of your cellphone; permitting you to ensure it’s completely parallel to the bottom, or angled offset as a lot as you want.
HOW? Open the Settings app and faucet on the Digital camera sub-menu. From right here, scroll all the way down to the Composition part, the place you must discover Grid and Degree on the prime of the listing, with toggles beside each which you can faucet to allow.
Subsequent time you open your digital camera, you must then see each the grid and stage working as promised.
Disable Macro Management
One of many minor annoyances I’ve with the native iPhone digital camera expertise has to do with macro pictures. By default, if you convey your iPhone’s digital camera near a topic (just a few centimetres away), it’ll mechanically swap to Macro Mode, which includes shifting from the cellphone’s most important, to its ultrawide lens.
Whereas this swap means you will get a lot nearer to your topic, the weaker skills of the smaller ultrawide sensor in comparison with the primary digital camera turn into evident. Photographs typically undergo from weaker dynamic vary, extra processing and a lesser depth of discipline.
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When the cellphone switches to Macro Mode, you do have the choice to toggle again to your cellphone’s most important sensor by tapping the flower icon which seems on display screen, however it is a short-term repair.
If, like me, you’re joyful to take macro photographs with the primary lens from somewhat additional away within the pursuit of a greater general picture, change this one function.
HOW? Open the Settings app, then scroll down and faucet on Digital camera. Scroll all the way in which all the way down to the underside of the Digital camera sub-menu and some toggles up from the underside you must see an choice titled Macro Management. Faucet on it to disable the auto-switch.
Observe: Disabling Macro Management means you need to repeat this course of and faucet the toggle as soon as extra to re-enable any type of macro seize, which is somewhat irritating and long-winded, however feels just like the lesser of two evils.