With iOS 11, Apple ditched the Control Center’s page-like design in favor of a neatly organized collection of control icons, giving birth to the Control Center you see on iOS 13. And then, following a few tweaks and improvements with iOS 12, the recently launched iOS 13 gave Control Center features for better control. The ability to Force Touch on various controls, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to connect directly to devices, brightness control to activate Night Shift or Dark Mode, and more are a few of these options.
1. Apple TV Remote
You may access the Apple TV remote control app with this shortcut. This is a good method to make sure you always have a remote on you—and that it is only a swipe away, given how long many of us spend searching for a standard remote.
2. Screen Recording
At Macworld, we use this a lot. After three seconds of pressing the shortcut, your iPhone will start recording what is on the screen. You might find it useful to save a video you cannot download. For us, it is a good way to show how games or apps function. One note: Apple prevents you from recording a video from Netflix or a similar service.
3. Hearing
The “Hearing” shortcut turns on Live Listen, which essentially makes your AirPods into hearing aids by picking up sound from your surroundings using their microphones. But I have found it useful for hearing friends across the dinner table in crowded restaurants. You will not obtain medical-grade hearing enhancement this way. (Just be prepared for a slight delay that could be startling.)
4. Alarm
You will find this to be especially useful if, like me, you use your iPhone as an alarm clock. You may add new alarms, turn off existing ones, or set multiple alarms at once with the touch of a button. What makes this increase? Honestly, I usually use Siri to set alarms. This is simpler than saying, “Hey, Siri, wake me up at 6 a.m.”
5. Flashlight
There are many situations where a flashlight might be useful, thus having a control shortcut offers quick access without any hassle. If that is not exciting enough, the control also gives you the option to use Force Touch to change the light’s intensity. To change the intensity of the flashlight, simply give the control a hard press and slide your finger across it.
6. Magnifying Glass
iOS will turn your camera into a magnifying glass when you press this shortcut! It is also a nice one. You can zoom the image, turn on the flash to provide a lighter, or change the color of the image (which helps make small objects stand out more visibly than they would with the naked eye). For reading tiny, difficult-to-see serial numbers, like the one inscribed on the inside of the AirPods charging case, I find this to be helpful in my line of work.
7. Notes
This shortcut takes you directly to a blank page in Apple’s Notes app, where you can type something more substantial if you have the time. The Notes app has a substantial advantage over third-party competitors thanks to its convenience.
8. Voice Memos
The voice recording program that comes pre-installed on Apple devices is called Voice Memos. This control shortcut might be quite helpful if you frequently take voice notes or wish to record things. To use this, launch the program by tapping the Voice Memos control, then record a voice memo.
9. QR Code Reader
With iOS 11, Apple gave its camera the ability to directly scan QR codes and later added a control shortcut to make it simpler to use from the Control Center. Tap the QR Code Reader control to open the camera app and access the reader. From here, position the QR code so that it is inside the square box and scan it. Additionally, there is a flash button on the reader’s bottom, which can be useful if you want to scan a QR in dim lighting.
10. Low Power Mode
The Low Power Mode, as its name suggests, allows you to save some power when your battery is becoming low and you are unable to charge it immediately. It works by limiting certain trivial features from running or refreshing in the background on the phone, which would otherwise use more resources and ultimately drain more battery. You only need to tap the control once to activate Low Power Mode.
