Social media is one of many ways to keep in contact with someone these days; it makes sense to include that information within a contact card, especially for the people you interact with most. Doing so allows you to view their social media profile directly from Contacts. Here’s how to include someone’s social media profile information in their contact card.

It seems like there are thousands of fitness apps to choose from and little advice on where to get started. Meanwhile, the most difficult part of any workout routine is to begin. Running, in particular, can feel daunting when you’re sitting on the couch, but nothing beats the movement of propelling one’s body through the air. Here’s a list of four running apps to help beginners feel like pros.

I use reading glasses for some things, a concession to middle age, but fortunately I don't ever need them when I'm using my iPad. That's because I've adjusted the settings so that the text is larger and bolded, making it much easier to see. These settings apply to all of Apple's apps and to third-party apps that support Apple's Dynamic Type. Ever since iOS 8 was introduced, Apple has gathered text size, bold, view, and brightness into a single panel in Settings.

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iPhone Dictation: How to Use Voice-to-Text

By Conner Carey Updated 01/08/2024

These days, hands-free iPhone operations are easier than ever. Siri commands can take care of almost all your iPhone dictation needs. But if you want to mostly dictate text instead of using a keyboard, you can also enable dictation on your iOS device. We'll show you how to send texts and emails via Siri, how to enable dictation, and more.

Related: How to Search Message Conversations on iPhone: iMessage, Facebook & Whatsapp

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How to Use Siri Text-to-Speech to Send a Text

Talk-to-text on your iPhone is incredibly helpful when sending a text message. To send a text through Siri: 

  1. Say, "Hey, Siri, send a text to," and then say your contact's full name as written in your Contacts list.

  2. Start dictating right away, or wait for Siri to respond with, "What do you want to say?"
  3. Stop when finished.

  4. Siri will then read the text back to you and ask if you're ready to send it.


     
  5. If you're happy with the text, say, "Yes." and Siri will send the text to your contact.

  6. If the text is incorrect you can say "edit" to begin the text over again.

You can also try using Siri to add events to the Calendar app, create reminders in the Reminders app, and even dictate a brief email. 

How to Enable iPhone Dictation

If you want to use your voice-to-text on iPhone to do more than send a quick text or add an item to a list, you'll want to enable iPhone dictation. This will allow you to more easily use voice typing to compose longer messages, create entire lists in Notes or Reminders, edit events in the Calendar app, and more. You can use dictation in most apps that have a keyboard. For more great iPhone talk-to-text tricks, check out our free Tip of the Day!

Here's how to enable dictation, also known as voice-to-text, on your iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Tap General.

  3. Scroll down and tap Keyboard.

  4. Tap the Enable Dictation toggle to toggle it on.


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  5. Whenever you open an app that allows for dictation, there will be a microphone icon. Tap the microphone to dictate your message.

  6. When you want to go back to typing, tap the keyboard icon.

Common Voice-to-Text Commands for Dictation

Now you're ready to dictate your response by using the voice-to-text iPhone commands. Frustratingly, there is no voice command to delete mistakes. If you want to delete something you'll either have to start a whole new note or text or tap the screen to select the text you want to replace and then tap the microphone to dictate the corrections.

Here's a short list of voice commands we've found useful with both Siri and dictation:

  • quote … end quote: to put quotations around a phrase say, "Quote," then say the phrase, and then say, "End Quote" to close the quotation.
  • new paragraph: begins a new paragraph.
  • new line: begins a new line of text.
  • smiley: inserts :-)
  • frowny: inserts :-(
  • winky: inserts ;-)

These commands will help you go hands-free with your texts, notes, and more. Give these tips a shot and with practice, you'll have Siri or dictation doing the work for you in no time! Next, learn what to do if iOS 16 Dictation isn't working.

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Topics

How-To
iPhone
Siri
Accessibility
Dictation
Voice Control
Communication

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Tip of the Day: How Redeem a Gift Card or Code in iTunes or the App Store

By Abbey Dufoe Wed, 12/23/2015
Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Tip of the Day: How Redeem a Gift Card or Code in iTunes or the App Store

If you receive an iTunes gift card or app code, you’re going to want to use it. You can redeem music in the iTunes app and other codes in the App Store. Doing so is easy and who doesn’t love free music and apps?

Open iTunes. Scroll to the bottom and tap Redeem. You’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID password. If you have a gift card, select Use Camera to easily scan the code. If you just have a code, tap ‘You can also enter your code manually.’ Either scan or enter your code and select Redeem.

  
Likewise, you can open the App Store and scroll to the bottom of the Featured tab page. Tap Redeem. Enter your Apple ID password. Choose to either scan your card or enter your code and tap Redeem.

  

 

Top Image Credit: urbanbuzz / Shutterstock.com

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Topics

How-To
iTunes
How to Hide Subscriptions on iPhone & iPad

Want to keep your subscriptions private? Many people want to know how to hide subscriptions on their iPhone or iPad, but it's not completely possible at this time. We can show you how to hide subscriptions from your Family Sharing group, though! Of course, keeping your iPhone locked goes a long way toward keeping your subscriptions and subscription history private; we'll show you how.

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