How-To

A lot of people tell me that they are never the early adopters of new iOS updates, “I always wait at least three months.” I felt the same way before I started working for iPhone Life, but being immersed in all things iPhone has changed my perspective. If there were ever an update to download, iOS 9.3 is it. With new features like Night Shift Mode and Touch ID or passcode protection for the Notes app, there’s a lot to appreciate. Here’s the best five features iOS 9.3 provides and how to use them.

With 3D Touch, you can quickly preview information, web pages, access Quick Actions, and more functions for apps are being added all the time. One such function is the ability to get information about a location and select actions pertaining to the address in the Maps app. You can use 3D Touch when pressing a pin or an address in Maps and it’s a super convenient way to jump into getting directions. Here’s how to get information about a location by pressing a pin in Maps.

Apple’s iOS has tons of features, so many that no one could ever use them all. And many aren’t obvious. We’ve rounded up 11 useful and novel features that are either buried deep or hidden in iOS. Some of these also work on an iPad.

In the Calendar app, it’s helpful to have multiple calendars for different areas of life. You might have a personal reminders calendar, one for work, one for home, one for family, etc. Each calendar is also color coded to make telling them apart easier; you can also view individual calendars. What happens, though, when you accidentally place an event in the wrong calendar? Easy, simply follow these steps to move it to a different one.

If you use Google Chrome on your computer, you’re probably familiar with a browser's ability to save your password for login websites. But did you know that Safari on iOS has the ability to suggest passwords for you? And Safari will then store the secure password for later use. This is an awesome feature, because not only does Safari create a far more secure password than your dog’s name plus your birthday, but it stores the password so you don’t need to remember it too. Here’s how to get a Safari password suggestion.

You can now set temporary Profile Pictures on Facebook to commemorate events or show support for causes. The Profile Photo expires after a set amount of time, automatically switching back to the original photo it replaced. This is an awesome way to promote a show you’re in, a holiday or event photo that’s fun, or to show support for a cause such as when Facebook allowed users to overlay the rainbow flag on their pictures. Here’s how to set a temporary Profile Picture on Facebook.

Apple’s Health app is a great way to see your overall health, but long-term health is about daily habits. The Calendar view in the Health app allows you to see all the information your health app has gathered for any particular day. The more apps or devices you have synced with the Health app, the broader and more accurate the overall picture of your health the app can provide. Here’s how to view and utilize the Health App Calendar view.

3D Touch, introduced with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, is still a relatively new feature and as such, more Quick Actions and Peek & Pops are being added to third-party and Apple apps all the time. Every instance where I can use 3D Touch is a welcome shortcut, and previewing a city’s weather is one of those instances. You already know that you can have multiple cities listed in your Apple Weather app, but did you know you can use Peek & Pop to preview each one? Here’s how.

When you need to redial a number or call the person you previously talked to, there’s a really fast shortcut you can make from the Phone app. Instead of going to your Recents or searching through your contacts, if you’re calling the previous person you spoke to, you can do it with two quick taps.