Hidden iPhone 7 Features

Ever since they showed up in 2016, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7s Plus have made an everlasting mark on the mobile market. Apple paired these two with a unique operating system, beefy hardware capabilities, and many quality of life improvements and features.

Now, in 2021, these phones might have been overshadowed by their younger cousins, but the iPhone 7 legacy remains strong. And now that you can get this model for a very reasonable price, there has never been a better time to get into the iPhone craze with the wicked seventh generation. Here are some of the best hidden iPhone 7 features that will make you spend even more time on your phone.

3D Touch Secrets

3D Touch was a decent addition to the sixth generation of iPhones. Still, with the iPhone 7, the capabilities of this feature have been greatly enhanced. Some of them are relatively well hidden, such as the quick access to your messages when you hard-press the message option. With this option, you can also quickly check for new messages.

With the single hard-press on the Instagram icon, you’ll be able to go through new activities, posts, and searches quickly. And when you hard-press on the message notification when your phone is closed, you can reply to your messages without unlocking the phone. When you ask yourself: “What can my iPhone 7 do?” Apple manages to bring plenty of surprises like these to the table.

Adjustable Flashlight

One of the very first useful iPhone tricks thanks to 3D Touch is the ability to change the flashlight’s brightness. Swipe up to open up the Control Center and hard-press the flashlight icon to choose either the bright, medium, or low light setting. It’s just one of many great iPhone secrets, one that helps shine light into even the darkest corner of your house.

Fast Unlock

There are more cool things to know about your iPhone 7. When you’re in a pinch or can’t be bothered entering your passcode again, you can always enable fast unlocking with the fingerprint sensor. To do this, select Settings, go to General, then click on Accessibility. You’ll see the Home Button, select it and toggle on the Rest Finger to Open function. With this option active, you’ll be able to unlock your phone with a quick touch instead of using the full press unlock.

The Power of Transcription

Why lose time listening to messages with a lot of noise in the background when the iPhone 7 will automatically make transcriptions of voicemail messages? It’s one of several functional, hidden iPhone 7 features that were introduced with the iOS 10 operating system. First, activate Siri Languages by going to Settings, then Siri, then selecting the Language option. Once you do this, select the Phone icon and press the Voicemail option. Select a new voicemail message, and the transcription will begin when the audio starts.

Enhance Live Photos

iOS 9 and later versions introduced the ability to turn your pictures into short videos via the Live Photos option. You can make genuinely captivating live photos by editing them and adding effects like long exposure, loop, or bounce. Once you make a live photo, tap on it to enter the view mode, then swipe up to reveal photo effects. It’s one of the iPhone 7 Plus’ best features.

Your iPhone as a DIY Tool

Back in the day, if you decided to build a swanky wooden bookshelf by yourself, you’d need a spirit level. Nowadays, your iPhone has a surface leveling app that will help you with your carpentry efforts. As iOS usage statistics clearly show, iPhones have any number of interesting functions, but a carpentry tool is honestly the last thing we expected.

Press the Measure icon and aim it at the object. A circle with a dot in the middle, along with the plus button, will show up. Point it toward the starting point of the surface, press the plus button, then go to the ending point and select the plus button again. Your iPhone will show the surface distance between these two points. These handyman tools really are some of the coolest iPhone iOS tricks and secrets.

Battery Savings

Most iOS apps are optimized to have as little effect on your phone’s battery as possible. However, occasionally an app or a setting might start draining battery significantly. In such cases, one of the niftiest iPhone 7 features will allow you to monitor your battery usage and react accordingly. Start with Settings, then select General, press Usage, and then press the Battery Usage option.

To check the usage timeline for a specific app, go to Settings then Battery. This is one of the many cool features of the iPhone 7. Scroll down to select an app, or press the clock to check the Last 7 Days option. Here you’ll see precisely how long the chosen app has been working in the background. If you find an app that’s running but that you didn’t activate or use, it might be the culprit that has been draining your battery.

Two for the Price of One

Some digital stores allow their users to buy an app or a game once, then let their entire family use it for free. It’s called Family Sharing, and you can activate this feature on your iPhone as well. Among several iPhone 7 hacks and tricks, this feature will save you money and give access to multiple family members for no extra cost.

To access Family Sharing, start with Settings, select the option with your name, then press the Family Sharing icon. Add someone here to invite, then send an invitation to them via iMessage or an email. Once the other person accepts your invite, they need to login to the App Store, enter the Updates section, then press the image in the top-right corner. From here, press the Purchased option, scroll through the apps the original Family Sharing member has bought, then install the one you want.

Trackpad Potential

Whenever you have to highlight something in the text quickly, use the trackpad on your iPhone 7. Hidden features on iOS come in many forms; to use this one, press anywhere on the keyboard and hold until the keyboard inputs disappear. The trackpad will activate, and you can use it as a cursor to highlight a word by pressing once, or the entire excerpt when you press it twice.

A Feature for Every Occasion

The iPhone has many handy tools that are hidden from plain sight. Even Apple Music has a wealth of unexpected features, which is why iPhones are widely considered the best smartphones for many audiophiles. There are heaps of cool things to do with your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus that can make using your phone a more enjoyable experience. We’ve shared some of them here, but there are many more waiting to be discovered.