Archive for the ‘iPhone Tips’ Category
iOS 5: Show hourly forecast in the Weather app
December 19th, 2011 | 
Author:
Here's a piece of new functionality with iOS 5 Weather app.
The Weather app doesnt look like it has changed much, but when looking at the forecast for the week, tap and pull down below a day and it will give an hourly forecast.
[crarko adds: Hey, that's pretty cool. I hadn't noticed this before.]
The Weather app doesnt look like it has changed much, but when looking at the forecast for the week, tap and pull down below a day and it will give an hourly forecast.
[crarko adds: Hey, that's pretty cool. I hadn't noticed this before.]
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iOS 5: Safari Private Browsing
iOS 5 introduced Private Browsing, which can be set via Settings » Safari.
To tell whether you have Private Browsing turned on when using Safari on an iOS device, the chrome around the browser window will be black. When Private Browsing is turned off, it's the standard bluish-gray.
[crarko adds: A useful find, and I admit I hadn't noticed the addition. I always used a third party browser if I wanted this feature.]
To tell whether you have Private Browsing turned on when using Safari on an iOS device, the chrome around the browser window will be black. When Private Browsing is turned off, it's the standard bluish-gray.
[crarko adds: A useful find, and I admit I hadn't noticed the addition. I always used a third party browser if I wanted this feature.]
iOS 5: Selecting multiple photos on iPad
The old tap and drag to mass select photos has been reassigned to rearranging photos. So it isn't obvious how to select large groups of photos anymore. Many people have commented on the Apple Discussion Forums having trouble with this.
The new method is simple but not so intuitive. Just use two fingers, close together to tap on a photo, hold for a second and then drag across all the photos you want to select.
It works just like the old method, just needs two fingers instead of one.
[crarko adds: I tried this with the iPhone but I think you'd need far smaller fingers than mine to do this.]
The new method is simple but not so intuitive. Just use two fingers, close together to tap on a photo, hold for a second and then drag across all the photos you want to select.
It works just like the old method, just needs two fingers instead of one.
[crarko adds: I tried this with the iPhone but I think you'd need far smaller fingers than mine to do this.]
iOS 5: Unlock device by swiping Notification
After a quick Google search (as well as on macosxhints.com), I'm sharing this feature I discovered by accident. If your iOS 5 device is locked and you receive a notification, you can swipe the notification instead of the 'Slide to Unlock' widget, and you will be automatically directed to the related app. If you have a passcode, you'll still be prompted to enter it.
I've tested this on the following devices:
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]
I've tested this on the following devices:
- iPhone 4 with iOS 5.0.1
- iPhone 3GS with iOS 5.0
- iPad 2 with iOS 5.0.1 in both portrait and landscape mode
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]
iOS 5: Adding the date to Notification Center
Sometimes when I browse through the web on my iPad, I need to know todays date.
Unfortunately, iOS 5 has no way to show the date without quitting the current app to have a look at the Calendars icon. As there is no jailbreak yet for iOS 5 on iPad2 I was looking how this could be achieved using the Notification Center in iOS 5.
You need to create a new iCloud calendar which has an all-day event for everyday which tells the current date. Of course, this is a tedious task if you need to create an event for everyday.
So I made an AppleScript where you can select a range of dates for which those events will be created.
By default it creates the Events in an calendar called 'Todayis.' Please create this Calendar on iCloud before running the app, or your new calendar will end up on your Mac. The name of the calendar can be changed if you want to add the events to your default calendar. You will be prompted for a calendar name when running the script. ...
Unfortunately, iOS 5 has no way to show the date without quitting the current app to have a look at the Calendars icon. As there is no jailbreak yet for iOS 5 on iPad2 I was looking how this could be achieved using the Notification Center in iOS 5.
You need to create a new iCloud calendar which has an all-day event for everyday which tells the current date. Of course, this is a tedious task if you need to create an event for everyday.
So I made an AppleScript where you can select a range of dates for which those events will be created.
By default it creates the Events in an calendar called 'Todayis.' Please create this Calendar on iCloud before running the app, or your new calendar will end up on your Mac. The name of the calendar can be changed if you want to add the events to your default calendar. You will be prompted for a calendar name when running the script. ...
iOS 5: Use Siri to dictate emoticons
I stumbled upon this while dictating a text message to my daughter. You can use Siri on iPhone 4s to dictate emoticons in your text! I even tested this in the Notes app, so very likely this will work anywhere text can be dictated. Here are the basic ones I was able to use.
[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one. Hopefully Siri will never learn LOL-speech.]
- :-) = 'Smiley face.'
- ;-) = 'Winky face.'
- :-( = 'Sad Face.'
[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one. Hopefully Siri will never learn LOL-speech.]
iOS 5.0.1 and iTunes Match kill Genius list button
Not sure if anyone else has seen this problem, but the atomic symbol for generating Genius lists disappeared from song titles on my iPhone 4 (in the Music app) after upgrading to iTunes Match.
Another weird behavior is that Genius lists I create on my MacBook Pro using iTunes do transfer to my iPhone via iTunes Match, but can't be refreshed on the iPhone.
[crarko adds: I don't use iTunes Match, so I can't test this. Please confirm (or deny) this odd behavior in the comments section. I haven't noticed a lot of other reports on this, so it's quite possible it's a unique situation with the hint's author. If so, anyone with an idea of what would cause this please chime in as well.]
Another weird behavior is that Genius lists I create on my MacBook Pro using iTunes do transfer to my iPhone via iTunes Match, but can't be refreshed on the iPhone.
[crarko adds: I don't use iTunes Match, so I can't test this. Please confirm (or deny) this odd behavior in the comments section. I haven't noticed a lot of other reports on this, so it's quite possible it's a unique situation with the hint's author. If so, anyone with an idea of what would cause this please chime in as well.]
iOS 5: Save some Home button clicks
We all know that the Home button is heavily used in iOS multi-tasking and app management. But at least some clicks can be saved under iOS 5.x.
With iOS 5 and its Notification Center, you'll be able to perform fewer Home button clicks.
Once you're satisfied with the multitask bar management or and icon moves or rearranging in the SpringBoard, there is no need to push the Home button as a last step. Just start to open (not completely) the Notification Drawer and let it go back to the top of the screen, and the edit mode will end.
Not a major hint, but maybe a longer lifespan for the Home button.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. That button is one of the few moving parts of an iOS device, so it's subject to wearing out eventually. I haven't heard of one doing so, but I'm sure it must have happened to somebody.]
With iOS 5 and its Notification Center, you'll be able to perform fewer Home button clicks.
Once you're satisfied with the multitask bar management or and icon moves or rearranging in the SpringBoard, there is no need to push the Home button as a last step. Just start to open (not completely) the Notification Drawer and let it go back to the top of the screen, and the edit mode will end.
Not a major hint, but maybe a longer lifespan for the Home button.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. That button is one of the few moving parts of an iOS device, so it's subject to wearing out eventually. I haven't heard of one doing so, but I'm sure it must have happened to somebody.]
iOS 5: Weather forecast in the Notification Center
This hint shows how to switch between daily and weekly forecasts in the iOS 5 Weather app.
When in the Notification Center you can switch between the daily and the weekly forecast by simply swiping left or right.
You can even switch the city displayed in the Weather app: in daily forecast mode tap on the city name, and the Weather app will open. Swipe to the city you want to have shown in the Notification Center. That's it. This only works if you have set 'Local weather' to off and you have at least two cities set up in the Weather app.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]
When in the Notification Center you can switch between the daily and the weekly forecast by simply swiping left or right.
You can even switch the city displayed in the Weather app: in daily forecast mode tap on the city name, and the Weather app will open. Swipe to the city you want to have shown in the Notification Center. That's it. This only works if you have set 'Local weather' to off and you have at least two cities set up in the Weather app.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]
iOS 5: Siri and iTunes Match
With the advent of iTunes Match and the iPhone's intelligent assistant, Siri, comes an interesting twist on the familiar.
Siri can play music for you from your Music app. That makes sense. What is more interesting, though, is that it can initiate a download for a song if it is only in the cloud, but not on your device.
I deleted my whole music library from my iPhone (having switched to Spotify) and wondered what Siri would do if I asked it to play me a song. I had iTunes Match turned on, and Siri started playing my iTunes Match library like it was on the iPhone. I tried throwing it off by asking it to play an artist that hadn't been downloaded, and it was able to pull down the track. How nifty!
[crarko adds: It does indeed sound quite nifty. Slightly, off-topic, when editing this hint I found the author continually using the pronoun 'she' when referring to Siri. Apple consistently uses 'it,' and I've edited this accordingly. My question to you all ...
Siri can play music for you from your Music app. That makes sense. What is more interesting, though, is that it can initiate a download for a song if it is only in the cloud, but not on your device.
I deleted my whole music library from my iPhone (having switched to Spotify) and wondered what Siri would do if I asked it to play me a song. I had iTunes Match turned on, and Siri started playing my iTunes Match library like it was on the iPhone. I tried throwing it off by asking it to play an artist that hadn't been downloaded, and it was able to pull down the track. How nifty!
[crarko adds: It does indeed sound quite nifty. Slightly, off-topic, when editing this hint I found the author continually using the pronoun 'she' when referring to Siri. Apple consistently uses 'it,' and I've edited this accordingly. My question to you all ...