5 iPhone Settings You Didn’t Know You Need to Change

Sumukh has a knack for simplifying tech for the masses and helping consumers pick the right gadgets with his in-depth insights and reviews. He decided to hide his engineering degree in the closet to pursue his passion for writing. Over the past 6 years, he has contributed with guides, reviews, and detailed opinions to notable publications like TechPP and XDA-Developers – before donning the Editor hat at Guiding Tech Media.

Everyone knows about enablingoptimized charging, AssistiveTouch, and the ability tolock photos with Face ID on an iPhone. But do you know there are some hidden settings on your iPhone that you need to change right now?

These settings will make your life easier or protect your data when using your iPhone. So, grab your iPhone and start working ’em toggles.

1. Clearer Voice Calls

Apple introduced a new Voice Isolation mic mode on iOS 16 that reduces background noise on a call. While most people would assume this feature works best withFaceTimeorother video calling apps, you would be (pleasantly) surprised to know it works well even with standard voice calls.

Once you place a call via the Phone app, drag down theControl Centerand tap onMic Mode. Then, chooseVoice Isolation. Enabling this feature will surely improve the quality of calls whenever you’re in a noisy environment.

2. Make Your Photos and Videos More Compatible

By default, your iPhone stores photos in a compressed HEIC format. While this certainly helps save storage space, the file format isn’t compatible with several other devices, and it may also be a hassle to transfer HEIC files to a computer.

Hence, it’s best to change the format of your photos and videos to one that’s widely compatible. Thankfully, Apple lets you do this with a single tap. Here’s how.

Open theSettingsapp and navigate to theCamerasection. Then, selectFormats. Change it toMost Compatible.

Note:Only the photos and videos you capture after making the change will be in the most compatible format. The ones recorded prior will remain in HEIC.

3. Improve the Quality of Close-Up Photos

Ever since smartphone sensor sizes started getting bigger, brands have started automatically switching to the ultra-wide camera for close-up shots to avoid fringing. However, this results in lower-quality photos since the ultra-wide camera on the iPhone isn’t as sharp as the primary one.

If you feel that the close-up pictures of your pets, kids, or documents and objects aren’t looking great on your new iPhone, here’s how tostop your iPhone from automatically switching to the macro mode.

Step 1:Open theSettingsapp > navigate to theCamerasection. Scroll to the bottom and enable the toggle forMacro Control.

Step 2:Scroll up and selectPreserve Settings. Turn on the toggle forMacro Control.

Step 3:Now, open theCameraapp and bring an object close to the camera. You’ll see aMacrotoggle at the bottom-left corner. Tap on it to disable it.

If you wish to use the Macro mode manually, tap on the yellow toggle again to enable it. However, ensure to turn it off after use.

4. Stop Apps From Tracking Your Data

Newer versions of iOS allow you to control whether or not you want apps to track your activity on your iPhone. This is a big bonus since you can avoid targeted ads by stopping apps from accessing your data.

So, the next time you think Instagram started showing you ads for pet toys after you searched for them on Amazon, here’s how to stop that from happening.

Open theSettingsapp > navigate toPrivacy & Security. Then, jump intoTrackingand turn off the toggle forAllow Apps to Request to Track. Also, turn off the toggles for all apps.

While at it, go to the previous menu and head toAnalytics & Improvements> disable the toggle forShare iPhone Analytics.

5. Hide Your Apps and Home Screens

This setting is surely going to take you by surprise! Apple has added the ability to hide a home screen from your iPhone, which is a great way to tuck away unnecessary apps you don’t use all the time. It’s a good way to hide some apps from your home screen before handing your phone to someone.

Once you get your phone back, enable the home screen(s) once again to access all its contents. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1:Tap and holdon your iPhone’s home screen until all the icons start jiggling. Then, tap on thedotsat the bottom indicating which home screen you’re on.

Step 2:Uncheckthe home screens you want to hide and tap onDone.

To restore the hidden home screens, repeat the process andtickthe home screens you want to bring back.

These Settings even work on iPads, so if you have one, perform the steps on it as well.

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Last updated on 21 May, 2024

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