AdminWe recently detailed the iPhone’s two-second trick for mass deleting Safari tabs, but this helpful shortcut is far from the only hidden iOS feature worth knowing about in 2023.
We say “hidden”, but only hidden, unless Apple makes a big song and dance about the myriad of really useful navigation tools dotted around iOS.
We’ve highlighted 9 iOS tricks every iPhone user should know elsewhere on TechRadar, but for this article, we’ve picked out five more useful iOS vulnerabilities to help you navigate your iPhone faster – from keyboard shortcuts to calculator tricks.
1. No more problems with the calculator
Most iPhone users know the pain of having to re-enter numbers in a calculator app after accidentally pressing the wrong number, but did you know that you don’t have to go back to square one to fix your mistake?
If you enter a wrong number in the calculator app, just swipe the wrong number left or right to delete the last wrong number. You can do this trick as many times as you like until the number screen goes back to zero.
if you’re navigating long web articles like lists or shopping pages, scrolling back to the top of those pages with just swipes of your thumb can be a pain. It’s helpful to tap the status bar at the top of your iPhone’s display – clock or battery side – to quickly take you back to where you started.
This trick works in browsers like Safari and Chrome as well as apps in general. If you are currently rocking your iPhone with A dynamic island – this is iPhone 14 Pro Or iPhone 14 Pro Max – you will only be able to use this method when the island is not in use.
3. Change the space bar to a trackpad
Okay, okay: us did include this particular trick in our other iOS tips guide, but the method of performing this trick has changed slightly since then.
Did you know your iPhone has a hidden trackpad? It is located under (or rather inside) the keyboard and can be activated by long pressing the space bar. In other words, you don’t have to clumsily click between words and letters to fix errors, and instead you can browse through the text using the convenient keyboard.
What’s more, touching the trackpad with another finger selects the text, so the numbers don’t have to venture to the top half of the iPhone screen at all.
4. Avoid switching to the numeric keypad
This next trick will only save you about a second each time you use it, but as they say, every little helps. When typing on an iPhone keyboard, you’re probably used to manually switching to the number pad when typing, well, numbers. But did you know that you can instantly switch between the alphabet and number keyboard?
Instead of tapping the “123” tab in the lower left corner of the keyboard, hold it and drag your finger to the number or symbol you want to enter. When you let go, the keyboard will automatically return to alphabetical order, saving you a few clicks. Admittedly, this trick is a little tricky to perfect at first – but with practice, it will make you feel like an iPhone master.
5. Say goodbye to in-app rating prompts
We’ve all been frustrated by those pesky “rate this app” prompts that pop up every now and then when you open an app, but thankfully iOS includes a helpful setting to remove them for good.
Go to Settings, scroll down to the App Store, and uncheck the Ratings & Reviews switch in the app. Ready! No more annoying requests for feedback (you can thank us later).
For more information on keeping your tech clean, read our guides how to clean phone charging port AND how to close iphone apps.
