Raymond Wong

Tech

7 overlooked iOS 15 features you need to know

At WWDC 2021, Apple focused on FaceTime, notifications, and privacy. But you probably don’t know about these seven features in iOS 15 that’ll make using iPhone better.

7. New Magnifier app

What’s this? A new app that Apple didn’t bother mentioning during the WWDC keynote? Yep, and like its name implies...

... it magnifies things you point at. Useful... I guess.

6. Hide your old passes in Wallet

Do you really need all those old and expired boarding passes, tickets, etc. clogging up your Wallet app? Of course not. By default iOS 15 hides them. If you like clutter, you can unhide them in the Settings app.

5. EXIF data for photos

Android has had this feature forever. In iOS 15, Apple is finally letting you see a photo or video’s EXIF data inside of the Photos app. No more needing to AirDrop it to a Mac or use a third-party app like Metapho. The EXIF data is right there in the “i” icon.

You also can change the date and time for a photo.

4. Return of the dial

For some inexplicable reason, Apple switched to this laughably tiny UI for setting alarms in iOS 14. It drove everyone mad. In iOS 15...

... the original and much larger dial for adding alarms is back in iOS 15.

3. Redesigned Apple TV remote

If for some reason you use your iPhone as your Apple TV remote, we have good news: it’s slightly better in iOS 15.

Told you it’s only slightly better.

2. Landscape iPhone apps on iPadOS 15

This one is another big finally. On iPadOS 14 and earlier, iPhone apps only worked in portrait orientation. On iPadOS 15, they display in landscape mode, too. Perfect for use with a Magic Keyboard. (It’s still a crime that Instagram refuses to make an iPad app, though.)

1. Welcome back, magnifying glass

One of iOS’s original innovations was a magnifying glass that appeared whenever you needed to make a text selection. Apple nixed it in iOS 14. Like the other hidden features highlighted so far, it’s back with a tweaked design: an oblong magnification instead of a circle one.

Looking for more Apple news?

💻 The 5 biggest features in macOS Monterey

📞 Here’s every major update in iOS 15

😝 FaceTime just killed Zoom. Good riddance!

oxygen/Moment/Getty Images

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