ios 14 features

These are the game changing features you need to know about from the iOS 14 update

Double tap screenshot and camera flipping, yes please


The latest iPhone update, iOS 14 is taking over Twitter and TikTok with everyone showing off their new aesthetic home screens thanks to the custom widgets and pretty icons. However a cool looking phone isn’t the only update for iOS 14, in fact there’s a load of new features you may not be aware of.

iOS 14 is one of the biggest updates Apple has done in the last few years for iPhones and iPads so understandably there’s going to be loads of new things to get to grip with. And obviously some you’ll never use but it’s nice to know they exist.

From tapping the back of your phone to screenshot, to knowing if an app is recording you, these are all the best iOS 14 features you need to know about:

Tapping the back of your phone to screenshot

Ngl this is life changing. In the new update you simply have to double tap the back of your phone and you can screenshot.

This is how to set up double tap function:

1. Head to “Settings”.

2. Select “Touch”.

3. Scroll to the bottom and select “Back Tap”.

4. Pick “Double Tap” or “Triple Tap”.

5. Pick the action you want to use for double tapping in this case, select “Screenshot”.

The mirror front camera

We’ve all gone to take a selfie, think it looks great as you’re taking it and then when you go to photos it looks awful because you’re not used to seeing your face that way.

Well they’ve finally fixed that. This is how to flip your camera so your selfies look normal:

1. Go to “Settings”.

2. Select “Camera”.

3. Under “Composition” slide “Mirror Front Camera” on.

So what does that orange dot mean?

This is a pretty good security feature from Apple. If you’re using your microphone for recording or dictating something the orange light will come on.

However if you’re not recording something, it means an app is recording you via your microphone. Yeah pretty freaky, but in order to see which app is recording you pull down the control centre and it will tell you. 

Ok so then what about the green dot?

The green dot is very similar but it basically tells you when your camera is in use. So if you’re opening your phone with Face ID it will come up.

The new Translate app

A translation app isn’t exactly ground breaking but it’s the first time Apple has got one preloaded into your phone, so rather than downloading a new app or going to Google Translate, you can access it straight from your homepage.

Calls come up without taking over the whole screen

Finally you can ignore people’s phone calls without stopping what you’re doing. Yet another chance for me to be anti-social.

The FaceTime and phone calls pop up on screen but don’t take up the whole screen.

Reply to a single person in group chat

They’ve finally copied WhatsApp in allowing you to reply to one person in a group chat which is just going to make things so much easier.

Searching the emoji keyboard

Scrolling through the endless emojis in order to find that little heart you want is super long. Now though the keyboard allows you to search for emojis, so you can quickly find the basic bitch butterfly emoji.

You can hide photos 

Finally a place to put nudes so none of your mates see them when scrolling through your photos. Previously you could hide photos in an album called “Hidden Photos” that was still listed next to your other albums, which kinda defeats the point.

But now if you go to “Settings”, then “Photos” and select “Hidden Album”, the photos in that album will actually be hidden. They won’t be deleted but you just won’t see them with all your other albums. In order to put a photo in this album select “Share” and pick “Hide”.

You can have FaceTime up whilst going on other apps

This is a pretty decent update as rather than just the audio being available if you go on FaceTime whilst checking Insta or another app, you can now have the FaceTime video in a small floating window that you can move around and resize.

And finally you can fake eye contact

Lol yes really. If you’re not really paying attention to the person you’re FaceTiming then your phone will reframe your line of sight so it appears you’re looking at the caller.

To turn this on and off go to “Settings”, “FaceTime” and pick “Eye Contact”.

Featured image credit (background):  Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

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