iPhone Settings

Asking Siri questions verbally can be convenient, and Apple has designed its personal assistant to operate completely hands free with Hey Siri. This voice functionality takes on new importance with products such as the HomePod. There are situations, however where iPhone and iPad owners may want to access Siri without making any noise. In quiet areas where speaking out loud would be disruptive, Siri can be used silently with Type to Siri.

The iPhone routinely offers advice on how long it will take to drive wherever iOS thinks you're going. Apple Maps makes an educated guess based on Location Services data. What you might not know is that iOS stores a list of Significant Locations on your device to make this happen. iOS makes it possible to see your Significant Locations on a list or even on a map.

For those with iOS 11 or later installed, Apple has added a new option to power off an iPhone or iPad without using a physical button. The sleep/wake or power button has always been a fixture of the iPhone. Also known as the side or top button, this switch will wake or sleep iOS with a quick press. Long press will enter the "slide to power off" screen. The alternative is a software shutdown, which can be performed by following these steps:

If you have updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 11, you may have noticed that the new Control Center toggles for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi don't fully turn off either service. If you turn them off you will disconnect from any devices that your iPhone is connected to, like AirPods, heart rate monitors, wireless speakers, or other accessories, but both services will remain on. This wasn't the case with iOS 10, where both could be fully disabled from the Control Center.

The Settings screen on iOS devices keeps growing longer. With every new feature of Apple's mobile operating system, another menu item is added to the list. Unfortunately, this makes finding a particular setting on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch more difficult. Sometimes it's not even clear whether or not a particular feature can be customized. Luckily there are two tricks you can use to more efficiently access iOS Settings, saving time and effort.