We’ve been writing a lot about the new and upcoming features of iOS 15 lately, but despite all that coverage, there are still a few lesser-known features that we reckon deserve a mention. Here are six of our favorites that haven’t had much time in the spotlight.
Drag-and-drop
iPad has long had the ability to drag items from one app into another, but in iOS 15 this nifty technique comes to iPhone too.
Doing so is fairly straightforward, but it does require some multi-touch acrobatics!
To move things between apps, first hold a finger down on a piece of selected text or an image. After a moment, start dragging it and the content should move with your finger.
Then, without letting go, swipe up on the Home bar with another finger and choose the app you’d like to drop your content into.
Finally, position the text or image and release to drop it in place.
In this way, you could move an image from Safari to Photos, or a chunk of text from Mail to Notes. Handy!
Per-app customization
Apps look and function differently, so it makes sense that we should be able to configure their appearance on an app-by-app basis.
To do so, launch Settings, tap Accessibility, and navigate to Per-App Settings.
Then, tap Add App, choose which app you’d like to customize, and configure its appearance on the next page. You can increase or decrease text size, change buttons, reduce transparency, and more.
Note that certain aspects of the customization, such as dynamic type, are not supported by all apps.
Announce notifications
Siri can announce notifications from apps via a pair of compatible AirPods or Beats headphones. It can read out alerts from apps like Messages, as well as certain third-party apps.
To activate the feature, launch Settings and head to Siri & Search. Tap Announce Notifications and switch the button on. You can then configure notifications for individual apps.
Weather enhancements
Apple’s Weather app has received a bunch of improvements, including info widgets (which can be accessed at the bottom of the screen) and dynamic weather maps.
The weather map can also be expanded by tapping See More. You can then switch between three measures – Temperature, Precipitation, and Air Quality – by tapping the layers icon in the top-right.
iOS update choice
Updating your device when Apple’s yearly iOS update rolls around can be a tricky decision – are the new features going to come at the expense of hidden bugs and impaired device performance?
Now, users can choose whether they’d like to update their iPhone or iPad to the new software, or if they’d prefer to install the latest version of the previous software instead. For example, users may wish to remain on iOS 14 for a while before taking the jump to iOS 15.
Whichever choice you make, it will include the latest important security updates – meaning those who don’t want the latest and greatest will still be protected.
The options will be available to choose from in the Settings app. Tap General and then Software Update to see what’s on offer.
Temporary iCloud storage
Starting with iOS 15, Apple is offering users free iCloud storage for up to three weeks to set up their new devices using iCloud Backup. This will allow users to access all of their apps, data, and settings on their new device automatically, without needing to pay a dime.