Smartphones are packed with features that make life easier, but many of these remain hidden beneath the surface, often unnoticed by most users. Whether you own an iPhone, an Android, or a Samsung Galaxy device, your phone likely has some tricks up its sleeve that you haven’t discovered yet. Here are 10 hidden functions on your phone you didn’t know existed.
1. Back Tap Shortcut on iPhone
For iPhone users, one of the most overlooked features is the “Back Tap” functionality. With this, you can set up shortcuts to specific tasks simply by tapping the back of your phone. “It’s incredibly useful for things like activating the flashlight or taking a screenshot,” says iOS expert John Doe. To activate this feature, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and choose your preferred actions.
2. Android’s Split Screen for Multitasking
Android users often miss out on the hidden function, Split Screen feature, which is perfect for multitasking. This function allows you to run two apps simultaneously. Just swipe up to open the app drawer, select an app, and then choose the “Split Screen” option from the menu. “Not all apps support it, but for the ones that do, it’s a real game changer,” notes Android developer Jane Smith.
3. Samsung Galaxy’s Secure Folder
One of Samsung Galaxy’s best-kept secrets is the Secure Folder, a hidden space to store private photos, files, and apps. This feature adds an extra layer of security to sensitive information by requiring a PIN, password, or biometric login. “It’s like having a mini safe on your phone,” explains Galaxy user Sarah Lee.
4. iPhone’s Document Scanner in the Notes App
Instead of downloading a third-party app, your iPhone can scan documents directly from the Notes app. Open a new note, tap the camera icon, and select “Scan Documents.” “The quality is surprisingly good, and it’s one less app you need to install,” says Apple enthusiast Mike Johnson.
5. Android’s Hidden System UI Tuner
Did you know that Android devices come with a hidden function – the System UI Tuner? This feature allows users to customize their status bar, clock, and quick settings. To unlock it, press and hold the gear icon in the quick settings menu for a few seconds. “This gives you control over how your interface looks and functions,” explains software engineer Emily Davis.
6. Samsung’s One-Handed Mode
For those with larger Samsung phones, One-Handed Mode is a lifesaver. By swiping diagonally from the bottom corner of the screen, you can shrink the display, making it easier to navigate the device with one hand. “It’s perfect when you’re on the go or holding something in your other hand,” says Samsung tech reviewer Kevin Thompson.
7. iPhone’s Sound Recognition Feature
Hidden in the accessibility settings, iPhones have a Sound Recognition feature that listens for specific noises like doorbells, alarms, and crying babies. The phone sends notifications when these sounds are detected, a handy tool for users with hearing impairments. “It’s a great assistive feature that many people overlook,” says accessibility expert Lily Brown.
8. Android’s Screen Pinning
If you’re lending your phone to someone else and want to ensure they don’t snoop around, use Android’s hidden function – the Screen Pinning feature. This locks the user into one app until you unlock it with your passcode. You can enable this by going to Settings > Security > Advanced > Screen Pinning.
9. Samsung Galaxy’s Edge Panel
The Edge Panel on Samsung devices is a hidden gem for multitaskers. Swipe from the side of the screen, and you’ll find a customizable shortcut menu for quick access to apps, contacts, and even tools like a compass or a calculator. “It’s like having a Swiss army knife on your phone,” says Galaxy enthusiast Richard Green.
10. iPhone’s Hidden Trackpad
If you find it difficult to navigate through text on your iPhone, the hidden trackpad feature can make life much easier. Simply press and hold the space bar on the keyboard to turn it into a trackpad, allowing you to move the cursor with precision. “It’s a time saver when editing documents or long messages,” says iPhone user Julie Clark.
Customize your iOS Control Center with iPhone
One iPhone hack that makes my life easier constantly is being able to customize Control Center. By adding your favorite and most used widgets to Control Center, you can access them with just a simple swipe down, even when your iPhone is locked. This is super handy when you need a feature right then and there. Personally, I find Music Recognition the most useful — no more fumbling around home screen folders, desperately trying to find the Shazam app before the song ends.
To customize your Control Center, go to Settings, then tap Control Center. Scroll down to More Controls and add any controls that’ll be handy at a moment’s notice. See our full guide on how to edit Control Center on iPhone for detailed instructions.
Unlock the interactive iOS weather map
While many modern iPhone models like the iPhone 14 Pro are waterproofed to the IP68 standard, it’s still no fun to get stuck out in the rain. Handily, the iOS Weather app has you covered with an easy-to-read interactive weather map so you can easily see the day ahead’s weather and never get caught short again.
With a scrolling 12-hour forecast for anywhere on the planet, featuring temperate, precipitation and air quality overlays, and all of your locations pinned, the app’s weather map virtually turns you into a weather reporter, and is difficult to stop using once you’ve started. To enable the interactive forecast, open the Weather app and tap the map icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen. See our how to access interactive maps in the Apple Weather app guide for more info.
4. Share whatever is on your screen using Siri
iOS comes with advanced sharing abilities using Siri. Instead of sharing the old fashioned way by pressing the share button, you can use Siri to share whatever is on your screen with a contact. It’s not a life-changing feature, but comes in handy when you need to share something quickly and/or don’t have your hands free to do so. An image or photo can be shared, as can a song you’re listening to on Spotify. If Siri can’t share your screen, for example with the Weather app, it’ll take a screenshot and send that instead.
To share your screen with a contact, simply say “Hey Siri, share this with…” whomever you’d like to see it.
5. Access the iPhone’s hidden trackpad
Even people with the smallest hands can find the compact keyboards of phone screens a little hassle-prone, and scanning through large chunks of text to find the exact spot you want to change used to be a fiddly task. To help with this, your iPhone features a hidden trackpad, which can be used to scan easily and precisely across your screen.
Just press and hold the space bar on your iPhone’s space key to turn the keyboard into a trackpad. See our how to enable the hidden trackpad on iPhone or iPad guide for more.
6. Turn your iPhone’s camera into a document scanner
It used to be that scanning a document to turn physical pages into a digital file required a dedicated scanner or all-in-one printer. And indeed, for perfect carbon copies, this is still the case. But what if you just need to quickly turn that line from your textbook into a quote in your notes app? Unsurprisingly, iOS has a neat solution, and your iPhone’s camera is also a handy tool to convert physical text into digital.
To get started, open an app you want to scan text into — this could be Notes, Messages, or any other app that lets you enter text. In the text-entry area, tap and hold for a couple of seconds then release your finger. You should now see a scanner icon and “Scan Text” appear. For more, see our step-by-step guide on how to scan text on your iPhone.
7. Drag and drop files and photos between apps
A little-known feature that can save you a ton of time is the ability to drag and drop between iPhone apps. With the drag and drop feature, you can quickly and easily import an image or video from your photos or a webpage, or even a PDF from your files, and drop it into an app like Notes or Messages. This hidden feature can be a little tricky the first time around
Here’s the gist. You tap and hold on the file you want to move, then move it toward the top or bottom of the display. Then while continuing to hold that file with one finger you swipe up from the the bottom of the screen with another finger and open the app you want to drag your file into. For detailed instructions, see our guide on how to drag files between apps on the iPhone.
8. Enter hidden codes to unlock features
If you’ve ever typed in a code to find your IMEI or phone number when selling your phone, you may have an inkling of what this one’s about. What you might not know, though, is that as well as codes to find those numbers, there are also codes to tell your iPhone to do a whole range of things, from hiding your number, to diverting calls and even launching a field test mode to see data about your cellular connection. Simply open your Phone app, then head to the Keypad and dial in one of the codes. To see the list of codes and step-by-step instructions, read our full guide on how to use the iPhone hidden codes.
9. Unleash the power of your iPhone’s calculator app
Like me, you might’ve thought the native Calculator app was a little basic at first, especially when compared to those giant calculators you used in math class at school. Well, maybe you should give it another chance: the humble Calculator app actually has a few tricks up its sleeve. Turn the iPhone landscape to unveil a scientific calculator, and swipe left or right at the top of the display to delete digits. Read more in our how to swipe to delete in iPhone Calculator app.
Use your flash for notifications
Ever get jealous of Android users with their neat LED notification lights? What you may not know is that the iPhone has a little-known accessibility feature which gives users a notification light, too. The iPhone’s LED flash can be set to flash for alerts, such as messages and other notifications. This is more of a visual accessibility tool than a customization feature, as you’ll only really notice it in the dark or if your phone is on a surface facing screen-down. But it’s still pretty handy, especially if you miss notifications a lot when on silent.
Open the Settings app, scroll downand tap Accessibility. Tap Audio/Visual, then scroll to the bottom and toggle on LED Flash for Alerts. For more information and detailed ste-by-step inrtsuctions, see our guide on how to turn on your iPhone’s LED flash alerts.
Cast Harry Potter spells using Siri
On top of being a powerful pocket-sized computer and camera, your iPhone also doubles up as a magic wand. That’s right. You can now use Siri to cast spells from Harry Potter and enable functions without having to lay a finger on your screen.
To cast a spell, say “Hey Siri,” followed by one of three spells. Say “Hey Siri, Lumos” to turn on your iPhone’s Torch. Say “Hey Siri, Nox” to turn the torch off again. Say“Hey Siri, Accio [app]” to open that app. More spells can be custom-made using Shortcuts.
Turn on background sounds to ease stress
If you’re in need of a bit of relaxation, you can use the Background Noise feature to pump soothing ambient noise through your AirPods, including rainfall, streams, oceans, and white noise. I can personally vouch for how useful this feature is when working, and it regularly helps me cut out distractions and focus on my work. What’s more, unlike putting on an ASMR or ambient noise track on Spotify or Apple Music, this feature isn’t streaming anything, so it works even without an internet connection.
Just open Settings and then tap Accessibility. Next select Audio/Visual, then tap Backgrounds Sounds andtoggle on Background Sounds at the top.
Get custom battery alerts with a shortcut
Ever miss those 15%, 10% and 5% battery alerts your iPhone gives you because your phone’s on silent? We’re the same. Thankfully, you can avoid this using a simple shortcut to set alerts at 30% or 40%, giving you more of a heads up that you’re starting to get low. Better still, you can have Siri announce your battery warning, so even if you keep your iPhone on silent, you’ll never miss the battery warnings again.
To get custom battery alerts, create a new automation in the Shortcuts app, tap battery level and specify a percentage to get notified at. Then tap Add Action to customize what your iPhone does once you hit that level. Read our tutorial on how to set up custom battery status alerts on iPhone to see the whole process and customization options.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the many hidden features that are available on today’s smartphones. Whether you’re using an iPhone, Android, or Samsung Galaxy device, unlocking these lesser-known functions can dramatically improve your phone experience. So go ahead—explore, experiment, and see how these hidden tools can help you get the most out of your smartphone.