Part of the appeal of the iPhone is that you can just pick it up, log into your Apple account and get started. But if you dive into the Settings, you'll find that there are a plethora of useful options you can tweak to improve your experience even further.
Here we are going to take a look at the Accessibility part of Settings on iOS: The options on this page are designed to make it easier for everyone to use iPhone, especially users who have difficulty operating the device in Standard mode.
From subtitles for on-screen content to alternative ways to select what's on screen, we recommend that you make yourself aware of what's available here. These settings may come in handy more often than you think.
Increase the text size
If you find it difficult to read text on your iPhone, you can increase the font size. Choose Display and text size and then Larger text, and you'll get a slider to adjust. If you want to go even bigger, turn on the toggle switch labeled Larger accessibility sizes above the slider.
Your changes will be reflected immediately on the screen, and you can also make the text smaller if you want to cram more of it onto the screen. Any apps you have installed on your iPhone should follow the text size as set here, although you may encounter some discrepancies.
Turn on the subtitles
For content that supports this, you can have captions and subtitles automatically appear on the screen via Subtitles and closed captioning. Use the Closed subtitles + SDH toggle switch to enable or disable the function, and Style to adjust the appearance of the text on the screen.
Where you see subtitles depends on the support in individual apps – and these apps may have their own subtitle options. This setting is especially useful if you are in a quiet environment without headphones and you want to know what is happening in a video.
Lock your iPhone with one app
If you're lending your iPhone to someone else (a friend or family member perhaps) and you want to keep it in one app instead of having it navigate your entire device, disable the Guided access function from the Accessibility menu in iOS.
You will be asked to set a passcode. Once Guided Access is enabled, you can then triple-tap the side button in an app to stay locked within that app. The passcode is required to exit Guided Access mode, and we can also set time limits if necessary.
Improve Face ID security
Newer iPhones have Face ID and via the Facial ID and attention menu you can enable Require attention for Face ID. This means you need to have your eyes open and looking at your iPhone for Face ID to work, making the screen lock technology more secure.
One of the hacks that stops this is having someone else use your face to, for example, unlock your iPhone while you sleep. You can also enable Haptic on successful authentication so that your iPhone gives a distinctive buzz when Face ID is used for authorization.
Show navigation buttons on the screen
Choose To touch and then AssistiveTouchand you can display a floating bubble on the screen that gives you quick access to areas like Control Center or Notification Center. There is also the option to set up custom shortcuts yourself.
The feature is designed for people who can't use the default shortcuts for tasks like launching Siri or going to the front Home screen, but it's also a handy backup if one of the buttons on your iPhone or part of the screen has stopped working.
Create your own synthesized voice
Select Personal voice and then Create a personal voice, and your iPhone will guide you through setting up a synthesized voice that sounds like you. The idea is that if you have trouble speaking, you can use the voice in apps like FaceTime.
All it takes is 15 minutes of recording time, and you're good to go. If necessary, you can set up multiple voices on the same device and all necessary information will be stored locally on your device. The function is used in combination with the Live speech choice.
There is a hidden gesture shortcut on your iPhone that you can access by selecting To touch and then Back Tap. You can then use the Double tap And Triple tap menu options to use taps on the back of the device to launch certain apps or screens on your iPhone.
For example, you can set a double tap to take a screenshot, or a triple tap to open Control Center. Any shortcut you've set up in iOS can be accessed this way, and you can also open the camera, launch Siri, and even scroll up and down on the screen.
Use your iPhone as a remote control
You can use your iPhone to control other Apple devices on the same Wi-Fi network that are signed in with the same Apple ID, essentially turning your handset into a remote control: Select Control nearby devices to scan the local network for other devices you can connect to.
It's really easy to operate and it means you can, for example, control music playback on a Mac computer from your iPhone across the room. The available remote control options you have will appear once the connection is established.
