I’ve been selling iPhones for years now. Refurbished ones mostly \u2014 which means I’ve set up hundreds of them, transferred data from hundreds more, and watched a lot of people use their phones in ways that made me want to reach through the screen and change their settings for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gap between how most people use their iPhone and what their iPhone can actually do is genuinely massive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide covers the tips we use ourselves at OLA TECH, plus the ones we tell customers about when they pick up a refurbished phone from us. Sorted by what’ll save you the most time first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before anything else \u2014 if you’ve never touched these three settings, do it now. Takes under two minutes and you’ll notice the difference today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Set up Text Replacement.<\/strong> Stop typing your email address. Go to Settings \u2192 General \u2192 Keyboard \u2192 Text Replacement \u2192 + and assign 2. Turn on Focus Mode properly.<\/strong> The default Do Not Disturb is too blunt. Focus lets you allow calls from specific people, silence specific apps, and set a schedule. Settings \u2192 Focus. Full guide: [iPhone Focus Mode Setup \u2192]<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Check your battery health.<\/strong> Settings \u2192 Battery \u2192 Battery Health & Charging. If it’s under 80%, your phone is running noticeably slower and holding less charge. Good to know, whether you’re planning to replace it or keep it. Full guide: [iPhone Battery Health: What % Is Too Low? \u2192]<\/p>\n\n\n\n These exist in iOS right now. Most people don’t know about them because Apple doesn’t really surface them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back Tap shortcuts.<\/strong> Double or triple tap the back of your iPhone to trigger any shortcut, app, or action. Settings \u2192 Accessibility \u2192 Touch \u2192 Back Tap. I have triple-tap set to take a screenshot. Sounds gimmicky, turns out I use it constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track any flight.<\/strong> Type a flight number \u2014 just the letters and digits, like CX833 \u2014 into Messages, Notes, or Safari’s address bar. iOS 16 and later shows you live flight status without an app. Works better than most flight tracker apps, honestly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Share a link to a specific paragraph.<\/strong> On Safari, highlight any text on a webpage, tap Share \u2192 Copy Link to Highlighted Text. The person you send it to jumps directly to that line. Useful more often than you’d expect. Full guide: [How to Share a Web Link That Jumps to a Specific Line \u2192]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Text replacement for autocorrect fixes.<\/strong> If autocorrect keeps changing a word you actually want \u2014 your name, a brand, a technical term \u2014 go to Text Replacement, type the word in Phrase, leave Shortcut blank, save. iPhone stops “correcting” it forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever found a feature by accident and wondered why Apple doesn’t just show you these things? That’s kind of the whole premise of this section of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Battery anxiety is real. These help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optimised Battery Charging<\/strong> should already be on (Settings \u2192 Battery \u2192 Battery Health & Charging) but check it. It slows charging past 80% overnight to reduce wear. Doesn’t affect your battery during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check what’s draining it.<\/strong> Settings \u2192 Battery \u2192 scroll down to see which apps used the most battery in the last 24 hours or 7 days. Background App Refresh is usually the culprit for apps you barely open. Go to Settings \u2192 General \u2192 Background App Refresh and turn it off for anything you don’t need updating in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Screen brightness is the biggest drain.<\/strong> Auto-Brightness (Settings \u2192 Accessibility \u2192 Display & Text Size \u2192 Auto-Brightness) does a decent job. Manually lowering it when indoors makes a real difference on older phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buying a refurbished iPhone? Read our battery health guide first \u2014 it tells you what percentage to accept and what to walk away from. [What Battery Health Should a Refurbished iPhone Have? \u2192]<\/p>\n\n\n\n We covered Text Replacement above. The Shortcuts app goes deeper \u2014 you can automate things that Text Replacement can’t touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even without touching the Shortcuts app, the keyboard has some underused features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Swipe typing<\/strong> \u2014 slide your finger across letters instead of tapping each one. It’s already on by default. A lot of people never realise they can do this. Faster for one-hand typing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hold any letter<\/strong> for accented characters. Hold “e” for \u00e9, \u00e8, \u00ea and so on. Useful if you write in French, Spanish, or other European languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quick period<\/strong> \u2014 double-tap the space bar to insert a period and a space. Tiny thing, saves thousands of taps over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n iOS 26 added several features worth knowing about. Full breakdown here: [iOS 26 Hidden Features: 12 Things Apple Didn’t Announce \u2192]<\/p>\n\n\n\n The short version: the visual redesign is the obvious change, but the more useful additions are in the background \u2014 improved Focus filters, changes to how Mail categorises messages, and updates to the Passwords app that make it more practical as a standalone password manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re getting multiple spam or scam calls a day \u2014 which, if you’re in Hong Kong, you probably are \u2014 there’s a setting that makes a real dent. Full guide with exact steps: How to Block Spam Calls Automatically on iPhone<\/a> \u2192<\/p>\n\n\n\n The short version: Settings \u2192 Phone \u2192 Silence Unknown Callers. Unknown numbers go straight to voicemail. Legitimate callers leave a message; spam callers don’t bother. Some legitimate calls will get silenced too (delivery drivers, new contacts), so it depends on your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Browse all iPhone tips below, or jump straight to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 iPhone Text Shortcuts: Stop Typing the Same Things Over and Over<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 How to Block Spam Calls Automatically on iPhone<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 [How to Move Safari’s Address Bar Back to the Top] <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 [iPhone Focus Mode: The Setup That Actually Works] <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 [iPhone Battery Health: What Percentage Is Too Low?] <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 [iOS 26 Hidden Features: 12 Things Apple Didn’t Announce] <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2192 [How to Track Any Flight on iPhone Without an App]<\/p>\n\n\n\n We add new guides regularly. If there’s an iPhone feature you want covered, the comments are open.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The only iPhone tips guide you need for iOS 26. Covers essential settings (Text Replacement, Focus Mode, battery health), hidden features like Back Tap, and fixes for autocorrect and spam calls. Updated for 2026 with what actually saves you time. Used daily by the OLA TECH team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iphone-guides"],"blocksy_meta":[],"modified_by":"Peter Lam","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":74,"label":"iPhone Guides"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.ola.tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iphone-ios-26-banner-1024x572.webp",1024,572,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter Lam","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.ola.tech\/en\/author\/lamp\/"},"comment_info":16,"category_info":[{"term_id":74,"name":"iPhone Guides","slug":"iphone-guides","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"category","description":" We run OLA TECH \u2014 a refurbished iPhone business in Hong Kong \u2014 and we use iPhones all day, every day. That means we've actually tested these features, not just read about them on spec sheets.<\/p>\r\n This section covers practical iPhone how-tos: settings worth changing, features Apple buried three menus deep, and shortcuts that save real time. No padding, no beginner hand-holding, just the stuff that works.<\/p>\r\n New here? Start with our complete iPhone tips guide below, then browse by topic here:<\/p>\r\n\r\n We run OLA TECH \u2014 a refurbished iPhone business in Hong Kong \u2014 and we use iPhones all day, every day. That means we've actually tested these features, not just read about them on spec sheets.<\/p>\r\n This section covers practical iPhone how-tos: settings worth changing, features Apple buried three menus deep, and shortcuts that save real time. No padding, no beginner hand-holding, just the stuff that works.<\/p>\r\n New here? Start with our complete iPhone tips guide below, then browse by topic here:<\/p>\r\n\r\n@@<\/code> to your email. One tap, done. Full guide: [How to Set Up iPhone Text Shortcuts \u2192<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHidden Features Worth Knowing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBattery Tips That Actually Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nKeyboard Shortcuts Worth Setting Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat’s New in iOS 26<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow to Block Spam Calls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMore Guides in This Section<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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