Four Useful iPhone Functions Not All Students Know

When you use a certain device, you might think that you know all of its features. But any smart device tends to work as a brain. And we rarely use our brains to the full extent. So, basically, that’s what happens to our devices. There are always certain features that we don’t use or don’t even know about their existence. And it seems that this thing can be changed by simply reading manuals. 

But it turns out that more people are into learning from their mistakes rather than reading manuals. According to the study published in Volume 28 of “Interacting with Computers” journal, less than 25% of people tend to read manuals. The study was released in 2016, and according to it, younger people have even a lesser percentage of manual readers. 

  • Lack of time
  • Laziness
  • Being too bright for it
  • The assumption that common sense is enough
  • Eagerness to call the support team

That’s an incomplete list of reasons why people avoid using manuals. Of course, there are less extravagant reasons, like the complaint that most of the manuals are confusing and poorly written. It makes a perfect topic for an essay that you can write on your own or hire professional essay writers online, so you can have time to learn more device functions that you didn’t know about. 

Do you think that you know everything about your iPhone? When you google iPhone functions and go through the offered lists, you may find some ridiculous items there. You can find information that you don’t have to type your email address every time. Or that you can rearrange your home screen in a matter of seconds. 

You can even find brief instructions on how to use the photos app to delete old screenshots. Most likely, you knew about all those features, although there is a chance that you were oblivious to them. However, an iPhone is not limited to those hidden functions. There are a lot of useful ways that you can use your phone, and there’s a possibility that you’ve never thought of them. 

Have you ever thought that your iPhone can be used for studies, and it’s not a joke? Wait, what, that device that the teacher has a legal right to take away from you if you are using it in the class? Yes, while smartphones and studying may seem as distant from each other as possible, the iPhone has several functions that can help you study better. Let’s check them out without any further ado. 

Focus

One of the most difficult things to do when it comes to studying or working is concentrating. You cannot focus as your attention jumps from one thing to another. Scroll down the feed, reply to a message, or google something. Anything will do, as long as it keeps you away from devoting some time to your studies. And considering the fact that you’re going to do all that on your iPhone, it surely cannot come in handy during your studies. 

Still, there’s one function that was introduced recently. It’s called “Focus,” and as its name implies, it helps users to focus. Now, let’s be honest, you are going to use your iPhone for your studies. So, throwing it away is not a solution, but “Focus” is. It allows for limiting possible distractions as you’re working, studying, or resting. 

To activate the feature, go to Settings and find the Focus in the menu. There you can choose from the available options, which are “Personal,” “Work,” and “Sleep.” But you can customize the function and create a different option. Then you can choose which apps can send you notifications and which cannot. 

Photo Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/oCfkSnqZ0SI 

Screen Time

One of the main things that you are yearning for when you’re checking your grades is the productivity increase. Gladly, there’s an iPhone feature that can help you do it. Most likely, you’ve heard about Screen Time. And if you haven’t, you should surely give it a try, as it’s a feature which is designed to increase your productivity. 

The core idea is similar to Focus, as Screen Time offers to limit distractions. The function allows you to check and manage the time that you spend on selected apps. In doing so, you get more time to study. Set limitations based on your needs, and become a more productive version of yourself. 

Once again, you need to go to Settings and find Screen Time in the menu. There you will see various options, including Down Time, App Limits, and Communications limits. You can customize the function according to your needs. You can even set Screen Time for particular days and hours, making sure that you’re not going to be distracted during that time in advance. 

Picture in Picture

While others are struggling to focus, you find your smartphone useless when it comes to multitasking. You are absolutely okay with talking with someone, watching a tutorial, and doing a writing assignment simultaneously. You might be underestimating your iPhone when you think that it’s not helpful in this case. Have you ever tried the Picture in Picture function? 

The core idea of the feature is to provide you with the possibility of watching a video or communicating with someone via video while using other apps. So, you’re checking out video tutorials or having a discussion with fellow students online while browsing the web in search of additional materials. 

The best thing about the app is that it’s extremely easy to activate. While watching a video or having a FaceTime call, just swipe to find the control panel and tap the double screen button. The video will scale down to the corner of your screen, and you are free to google whatever you need. 

Document Scanner

Okay, there are various devices out there that can be used for scanning documents. There are even mobile apps for scanning documents. Some, like Clear Scan, are designed specifically for Android, while others, CamScanner and Adobe Scan, are compatible with both iOS and Android devices. But did you know that you don’t have to download any extra apps to scan documents? 

iPhones come with an in-built scanner. And this function is crucial for students. If you’re trying to find the document scanner on your iPhone, don’t expect that it’s going to just pop up there. It is located in a different default app on your smartphone. So, go to your Notes app, and click “create a new note.” Then hit the camera button and select the Scan Documents option. 

After that, all you need to do is to place your iPhone over the paper that you want to scan. You can click the shutter button yourself or wait till the app does that automatically for you. After everything is done, you can simply crop the scanned document. 

Final Thoughts

So, now you learned some useful functions of the iPhone that you probably didn’t know about. However, you should’ve noted that, after all, everything depends on you. When it comes to the first two functions, it’s you who decide when to have more time for studying. And it’s a great thing that instead of controlling you, an iPhone allows you to be responsible.

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

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Passionate about design, especially smartphones, gadgets and tablets. Blogging on this site since 2008 and discovering prototypes and trends before bigshot companies sometimes