Guide to the iPhone X

If you have recently invested in or upgraded to an iPhone X, you may be trying to find your way around your new device, discovering the new and wonderful ways to navigate the latest Apple release. We’ve put together a short compilation of tips, tricks and shortcuts you may not have come across yet.

If you want to use Siri, but you’re in an awkward social situation where you can’t speak aloud, you can simply hold down the side button. You can also double-click the side button to quickly bring up Apple Pay and of course, you can take a screen shot by pressing the side button with the volume up button. You can also set up the side button (in your Settings), so that if you quickly press it 5 times, it will set off emergency SOS, allowing you to discreetly phone emergency services. Lastly, you can turn off your iPhone X by holding down the side button at the same time as one of the volume buttons, then swiping the screen.

To quickly switch between apps, you will need to open the App Switcher. To do this, all you need to do is swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pausing in the middle until the multitasking interface appears. You can then flick between apps by swiping left or right at the bottom of the screen. If your phone has frozen and you need to force quit an app, you can then hold down the app(s) you wish to close and tap on the red exit sign.

Despite the major improvement of battery life that the iPhone X has, there are various things you can do to extend it even further. Obviously, you can put your phone into Low Battery Mode (this can be done in Settings), which will turn off certain features that aren’t necessarily needed.  Another feature you can disable to avoid draining your battery, is dynamic wallpapers. These are constantly animated, meaning that they continuously use up battery. If you use black wallpaper it will elongate your battery life even further, due to the way the new OLED display operates. To view how much battery life you have left, swipe down from the top right corner of your screen and you will be able to see the battery percentage.

If you’ve recently got an iPhone X, you will have discovered the app that features as part of iMessage, called Animoji. This feature uses face detection to create animated versions of classic emojis, including the dog face, monkey and even the poop emoji! The latest update also includes tongue recognition as well as Memoji, an Animoji you can design to look like just like you, so you can send messages with your voice and facial movements.

An innovative feature that is unique to the iPhone X is Face ID, the newest form of biometric authentication. In a similar way that Touch ID uses fingerprint detection to grant access to the device, make Apple Pay and App store purchases, Face ID uses facial recognition. Unlike Touch ID, only your face will be recognised and you cannot add anyone else’s faces onto your device. You can control which apps Face ID unlocks within Settings and it will regularly update itself as your face changes.