23 Neat iPhone 11 Tips & Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About

If you’re looking to get the most out of your iPhone 11, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you have an iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into. Below we’ve assembled a list of the best iPhone 11 tips and tricks that you’ll probably wish you knew about sooner.

iPhone 11 is a great device. It’s absolutely packed with great features, awesome hacks, and time-saving tricks.

But how much do you really know about your iPhone 11? Sure, you can make phone calls and send texts, but we bet there are a bunch of iPhone 11 tips and tricks in this article that you weren’t aware of.

If you’re looking for some more advanced, and perhaps more obscure, iPhone 11 tips and tricks, we’ve got you covered. Below are a few iPhone 11 tips and tricks that will help turn you into a power user.

1. Take a screenshot by tapping on the back of your iPhone

This is an awesome iPhone 11 trick that went viral on social media a few months back. Put simply, there’s a way to take a screenshot simply by tapping the back of your iPhone. It’s called Back Tap and it’s been around since iOS 14.

You can turn this on by opening up the Settings app. Next, open up the Accessibility preferences. Following that, scroll down to “Physical and Motor” and select “Touch.” You can now scroll down further and select the “Back Tap” option.

Once you do that, you can pick which type of action you’d like a Back Tap to trigger. Some options include taking a screenshot, adjusting the volume, and muting your device.

2. Locate a misplaced iPhone in the dark

If you misplaced your iPhone but know that it’s in your house, there’s a clever way to locate it. Simply turn off all the lights and use the Hey Siri command to turn on the iPhone flashlight. It may not be as useful during the afternoon, but it’s a nifty iPhone 11 trick to keep in mind if it’s later in the day.

3. Use your iPhone as a level

This is another iPhone 11 tip that novice users might be surprised to learn about. You can actually use your iPhone as a level. It can be used on both horizontal and upright surfaces. You can access it by opening the Measure app and then selecting Level.

4. Make sure your headphone volume is at a safe level

This iPhone 11 trick first came about with the iOS 14. In short, there’s a way to gauge the decibel level of your headphones. This is a particularly handy feature if you’re prone to blasting your music and want to avoid causing any type of ear damage in the process.

To use this feature, open up the Settings app and select Control Center. Next, hit the green “plus” icon located next to the Hearing setting. Once you do this, you’ll see the Hearing icon in the Control Center every time you open it up. If audio is playing when you open up the Control Center, you’ll see a color-coded audio level. If it’s green, the decibel level is at an appropriate level and if it’s yellow, you’ll be encouraged to lower the volume.

For more information, you can actually tap the icon and you’ll see the exact decibel level of your headphones.

5. Measure someone’s height with this awesome iPhone 11 trick

This is a fun iPhone 11 trick that leverages Apple’s AR technologies. Basically, you can use your iPhone to quickly and accurately measure someone’s height. All you have to do is open up the Measure app and make sure that the person you’re trying to measure is fully within the screen. If done correctly, you’ll see a line appear above the person’s head. This will reveal how tall they are.

If you need to save the photo for reference, you can conveniently tap the white shutter button to the right.

6. Share Content Using Siri

‌Siri‌ is smarter in ‌iOS 15‌ with improved contextual awareness, and the personal assistant can now recognize what’s on your screen and share it with someone else.

1. Open up what you want to share, like an Apple Music song.
2. Say ”Hey ‌Siri‌” to activate ‌Siri‌.
3. Say “Share this with [person’s name].”
4. At that point, ‌Siri‌ will confirm your request and ask “Are you ready to send it?” Just reply with a ”yes” to send the content along.

If you attempt to share something that isn’t naturally shareable, ‌Siri‌ will take a screenshot and send that instead. As an example, if you’re in the Weather app and ask ‌Siri‌ to share with someone, ‌Siri‌ will capture a screenshot and send that.

The ‌Siri‌ sharing feature works with ‌Apple Music‌, Podcasts, Apple News, Maps, web pages in Safari, the Photos app, Messages, and more.

7. Scheduling trips with Apple Maps

This feature is new to iOS 15. Essentially, the latest iteration of Apple Maps lets users bring up travel directions while also specifying exact arrival or departure times. This iPhone 11 trick won’t seem great to seasoned Google Maps users, but it’s nice to see Apple Maps finally add it.

8. Use snazzy effects when texting

Apple a few years ago added several visual effects to the Messages app. To access them, simply type your message and long press on the up arrow. Once you do that, you’ll be able to select from a handful of text effects that will add more pizzaz to your messages.

9. Push notifications for rain and snow

There are few things worse than stepping outside and getting caught in a torrential downpour or snowstorm. To prevent this from happening, iOS 15 includes a feature that lets users turn on push notifications for rain and snow. This can be turned on by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Weather. Once there, allow the Weather app to always access your location.

Following that, simply open up the Weather app, tap the hamburger menu icon in the bottom right-hand corner and select the “Turn On Notifications” setting.

10. Set up a Legacy Contact

With all of the sensitive and personal information people store on their devices, it only makes sense to set up a Legacy Contact so that someone can access your device if you pass away. It’s a morbid feature, to be sure, but it’s nonetheless helpful to be aware of.

By setting up a Legacy Contact, Apple notes that this chosen person can “access your account and personal information in the event of your death.”

To do this, open up the Settings app and then tap on your Apple ID profile. Next, select Password and Security > Legacy Contact.

11. Keep unused apps out of sight

This iPhone 11 trick is all about keeping rarely used apps out of sight. After all, sometimes there’s an app that you don’t want to delete because you do use it on very rare occasions.

To hide an unused app, long press on the app in question. Upon doing so, you’ll see a “Remove App” option at the bottom. Once you select that, you’ll see an option to “Move to App Library.” Select that. Following that, the app will be removed from its location. You can still access it by swiping to your last page of apps and then swiping to the left once more.

12. iPhone 11 tricks 101: Take a screenshot of the display

This iPhone 11 trick is basically iPhone 101. Still, you’d be surprised at how many iPhone users aren’t aware of it. You can take a screenshot of your display at any time simply by pressing the power button and the volume-up button at the same time. These screenshots will automatically populate your Photos app.

13. Quickly activate video mode

When you fire up the Camera app, it defaults to the Photo setting. Switching to the Video setting is easy and quick, but there’s an iPhone 11 trick that speeds up the process ever so slightly. If you’re looking to start recording immediately — say your toddler is about to walk for the first time — there’s a solution worth mentioning. Simply open up the Camera app whereupon you’ll see the Photos view. Now, drag the shutter button to the right and it will automatically start recording in Video mode.

14. Use Live Text with Your Camera

Live Text is a pretty new iPhone 11 trick that lets you scan the text on basically anything with the help of your camera. You can then use that text and paste it somewhere else or even call a number without having to dial it yourself.

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Place your camera in front of the text you want to scan.
3. The Live Text button should appear in the bottom right corner of your camera. Tap on it, and your iPhone will do the rest.
4. You’ll see the options to copy the text or share it right then and there. If you want, you can select any piece of text from the Photos app too.

15. Search and Launch Apps from Your Lock Screen

Your iPhone’s Spotlight is a useful feature that lets you search anything, from apps to photos and even Google in one place! You probably already knew you could access it by swiping down from the middle of your Home Screen, but in iOS 15, you can also swipe down from the middle of the Lock Screen, and the search bar will appear. You can search for whatever you want, or access Siri-suggested apps quickly!

16. Jump to Your First Photo in the Photos App Fast

This is a really cool iPhone 11 tip that’ll save you a lot of time. Whether you’re looking at all your photos or at a specific album, you can quickly jump to the first picture without having to swipe all the way up!
All you need to do is tap the edge near the top of your iPhone, right below the notch. If you want to go back to your most recent photos, just tap on the button for the view you’re in at the bottom of the screen.
Bonus Tip: Tapping the edge at the top of your iPhone will also work if you want to go back to the top of an app or website in Safari. Granted, not all apps support this feature, but the most popular apps do.

17. Select Multiple Photos to Drag to Other Apps

A cool iPhone 11 trick not everyone knows about is that you can move pictures and other files from one app to another. As long as both apps support this feature, you can basically drag one picture from the photos app to Messages without having to press the Share button.

1. Touch and hold a photo until you feel a tap.
2. Drag the photo a little bit while still holding it.
3. Tap on the other photos you want to move to a different app with another finger. You’ll see all the apps will start stacking.
4. Switch to the other app you want to move the photos to.
5. Release your finger in the place you want to place your photos

18. Save Time Typing with Text Replacement

For people who use the same phrases in every text message you send, you might want to use your iPhone’s text replacement feature. That way, you’ll only need a few letters, and your iPhone will turn it into the full text you want to send. Here’s how you can use it.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on General.
3. Scroll down and select Keyboard.
4. Tap on Text Replacement.
5. Tap on the plus icon in the top right corner of your screen.
6. Enter the phrase you want your iPhone to the right.
7. Enter the Shortcut or text replacement you want to use.
8. When you’re done, tap on Save in the top right corner.

When you type the shortcut you entered, your keyboard will show you the full phrase you want to use.

19. Open the Camera from the Lock Screen

Granted, most of us probably already knew this iPhone 11 trick, but we still wants to share it with the world.
You can access your camera without ever unlocking your iPhone, which is great if you want someone else to take pictures without having full access to your phone.
All you need to do is swipe to the left on your iPhone’s Lock Screen. Or you can also long-press the camera icon in the bottom right corner of the Lock Screen, and both options will take you to the Camera app.

20. Scan a Document in the Notes App

Your Notes app isn’t just to store your groceries list; it can also scan documents and save them in a note.

1. Open the Notes app.
2. Create or open the note you want to use to scan a document.
3. Tap on the camera icon at the bottom of your screen.
4. Select Scan Documents.
5. Position the document in the View Finder, and your iPhone will automatically scan the document.
6. Once you’re done, tap on Save in the bottom right corner.

You can repeat the same process and add as many scanned documents as you want.

21. Stack Widgets on Your Home Screen

Having widgets on your iPhone 11 Home Screen isn’t anything new, but some people might not know that you stack all your favorite widgets, so you have more room for other apps.
This is thanks to a feature called Smart Stack. Smart Stack will let you have different widgets in the same space, and it’ll rotate between them every now and then. You can also swipe the Smart Stack Widget so that you can see all your widgets.

1. Press and hold your Home Screen until the apps and widgets start to jiggle.
2. Drag one widget on top of the other and then release your finger.
3. Repeat the same process for all the widgets you want.

You can have up to ten widgets stacked but keep in mind they need to be the same size for this to work.

22. Pin Shared Content in Messages

Apple introduced in iOS 15 a new way to pin all the links and content people shared with you in Messages. That way, you can find it in a flash when you search for it in the Messages app and even in other apps too. Here’s how:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Select the item you want to pin.
3. Long-press the item you want to pin until a menu pops up.
4. Tap on Pin.

And that’s it! Now, next time you search for that item, it’ll be elevated in the Messages search. You might also see that pinned item on other apps if the apps support the Shared With You feature.

23. Delete, Copy, and Paste Numbers in Calculator

I’ve been surprised by how many people don’t know this iPhone 11 trick, but you can quickly and easily delete single digits from the Calculator app without having to delete the whole number.
Next time you enter the wrong digit, instead of tapping the C button, a simple swipe to the left or the right at the top of the Calculator app, and you’ll delete digits individually. Pretty easy and cool, right?
You can also copy and paste numbers to and from the Calculator app. All you need to do is long-press the top of Calculator until the options to copy and paste pop up on top of the numbers.

Use These iPhone 11 Tricks to Become a Power User

iPhone 11 is packed with lots of tricks that we have not covered here. But if you start using these 23 tips regularly, you can become an iPhone power user in no time.