Automate tasks, control medication or send photos without losing quality: how to take advantage of the iPhone

Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, along with the ecosystem of applications that it includes as standard, marks a totally different starting environment than that offered by smartphones with the Android system. The differences are more evident in the form of the unique iPhone apps, but also in the operation of those that are similar to those of other mobile phones, such as the camera or the contacts app. These are the peculiarities hidden in the most emblematic device of the Californian technology company; Some of them go unnoticed even by users who have been using iOS daily for years.

In the daily technological routine, one of the most common actions is to send a photo to a contact. The usual thing is to do it through the messaging application that is usually used. In the case of the most used app for this, WhatsApp, this method causes the images to be compressed to be transferred and, therefore, lose quality; something that is disappointing when you want to share the details of a photo that takes advantage of the increasingly advanced cameras of smartphones. Although last summer Meta finally introduced the possibility of sending photos in high definition via WhatsAppit is still an option to choose.

On the other hand, on iPhones there are two alternatives so that the images do not lose quality when sending them, and in both cases maintaining maximum quality is the default option: both when sending photos through the Messages app and when doing so through AirDrop. Of course, these exchanges are only possible if they are carried out between Apple devices. AirDrop is an old iOS feature that allows you to send files to nearby devices as long as they have the tool activated at that moment. With just a few clicks you can send images from your gallery, or documents from your archives to your MacBook or iPad, without needing to log in or open any other tools. The arrival of the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 17, has renewed AirDrop to allow sharing images and videos by proximity: Simply put two iPhones together and the photo that is open on one will automatically be sent to the other, after a single click to confirm the transfer.

The hidden functions of the camera

Although smartphone cameras increasingly offer a greater variety of features and technical improvements, it is common for users to only use the most basic ones and not get to know some that would allow them to obtain better images and videos. In the case of iPhones, in addition to being able to change the exposure and light level, the warmth or put a filter before taking the capture, there is a very simple way to take a burst of images: press the capture button. image and drag it to the left. The longer you hold it down, the more photographs will be taken. Then, in the image gallery of the Photos app, if you open the select option, which appears at the bottom of the image, you can view and delete all the images that you do not want to save. If you prefer to delete all of them, just click on the trash can.

If instead of dragging the image capture button to the left, you drag it to the right, the video mode will be activated quickly, although it will be recorded in photo size, and not in the preconfigured one for video that iPhones and which is larger than the images. In addition to the panoramic mode that can be found in most smartphones, Apple's incorporate a cinema mode which allows you to lock the tracking of a person or object so that they stay in focus and edit and change their focus from the gallery. They also offer a slow motion mode, and one of time-lapse or fast motion, in addition to the photos live.

How to extend battery life

If there is something that especially worries smartphone users, and especially those who have purchased the most expensive models, it is the life of the device in general and the battery in particular. On the iPhone, if you access the Settings app, in the battery menu you can check how long the phone has been charging, when the last charge was, which applications consumed the most, and also check the maximum battery capacity. the battery and monitor its deterioration. This information allows the user to take measures to reduce battery deterioration. You can disable background refresh for apps that are consuming the most, activate low power mode to temporarily reduce that secondary activity, or enable optimized charging. All of this can be configured from the settings.

The great unknowns, the shortcuts

The application Shortcuts It is one of the things that most distinguishes the iPhone from Android phones, although many users do not know how it works or find it too complex at first, so they do not incorporate this tool into their daily lives. The shortcuts are quick ways to perform tasks on mobile. They allow an action to be carried out sooner and some can be automated. That is, the shortcut must first be created and then it is automated so that it runs directly, without having to search for the shortcut in the app and click on it for it to start. For example, you can automate that when a certain contact sends a message that contains “send it to me,” the action of opening the photo gallery is executed. There are pre-established shortcuts, but the user can create as many as they can think of and need. Automations, on the other hand, can only be created by the user, although they can include the shortcuts that come by default. To start using this tool, it may be easier to use the shortcuts that come in the application gallery, where many work with Siri. Some can be edited, but others can only be executed as designed.

If you prefer to create a shortcut from scratch, you need to create an action. That action could be sending a message, for example. The recipient is then entered. If you click on the created shortcut, a window will open to write the text and it will be sent at that moment. Another option is, for example, for Siri to start a route to get home. Shortcuts are designed so that the smart assistant can use them when the user tells it to do so. This saves time and reduces the number of actions the user carries out with the phone. The possibilities are endless, so one must choose or look for the ones that best suit you or are most useful to you. The shortcuts can be classified into folders and, although they are configured from the mobile phone, they also work for the Apple Watch.

Take advantage of the Health and Search apps

One of the most popular apps that the iPhone comes standard with is Health. Other devices also incorporate tools of this type, but in Apple's you can keep track of your sleep h
ours, manage alarm clocks and schedules, exercise trends, calorie burning or heartbeats per minute, and it even has of a menstrual cycle control, in which daily symptoms, flow and spotting levels can be noted and which allows predictions of future cycles to be consulted on a calendar. It also gives the possibility of configuring the medication that is taken, establishing schedules to receive reminders and even creating a design for each pill as it is in reality so as not to have doubts when one has to be differentiated from another. In addition, you can keep a record of emotions and moods.

This app also offers short informative articles on different aspects of health and recommendations. If you also have an Apple Watch, the data is synchronized between the health applications of both devices and can also connect with other exercise and training apps. When you start setting it up, you can enter medical data, such as conditions, allergies or medications, which can be accessed by emergency services: the user can activate a function that allows others to check this data without having to unlock the device and add emergency contacts which receive the current location of the affected user, if configured that way. This tool is accompanied by the Fitness app, which helps control daily exercise parameters, such as the number of steps and kilometers traveled, but also access video tutorials, routines, meditations and tips if you have a subscription.

Another application that distinguishes iOS from Android is Search, which allows you to easily view, on a map, the location of all the Apple devices you own, or any other object such as a keychain or a bicycle, as long as they have placed an AirTag locator. However, the fact that the location of the devices is not activated does not mean that the Search application cannot find them: from it you can ring the lost terminal, so that, if you more or less know the area in which it may be, It will be reached thanks to the noise. This sound can also be emitted on AirTags.

Finally, there is a very practical possibility to explain the use of any of these hidden functions to another person: Apple allows you to record the phone screen without having to download a specific application for this. To do this, just go to the Control Center and press the symbol of concentric circles that represent the traditional record button (rec) of a camera. The recording ends when the user clicks on the same symbol, which appears in red in the upper left corner of the screen. That content is automatically stored in the Photos app gallery and includes sound, if it is turned on during recording.

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