No, Siri won’t respond to “Abracadabra”, but believe it or not, it will launch the Apple browser if you say “Accio, Safari!” Order your iPhone to open apps with Harry Potter spells are not the only cool and magical actions your iOS device can perform. In fact, I have four more little-known iPhone tricks that will make you feel like a Hogwarts student wielding a wand.
Some of these features are mind-blowing, which makes you wonder how Apple’s software engineers managed to deploy such amazing exploits. Others require some programming on your part, but once you set up the features, viewers will be amazed and suspect David Blaine’s protege is among them.
I won’t keep you waiting! Check out the features below to get your Houdini with nothing but an iPhone.
1. Shout commands to Siri using “Harry Potter” spells
Why waste your breath yelling “Hey Siri, turn on ‘Do Not Disturb'” when you can demand peace by saying “Hey Siri, SilenceYou may draw some annoyed looks when you summon Siri’s help with Harry Potter-themed commands, but who cares? They’re probably Slytherins, anyway. Or worse, Muggles.
Here are six other spells that will trigger an action from Siri:
- Hi Siri, Lumos – turn on your iPhone’s flashlight
- Hi Siri, nox – turns off your iPhone flashlight
- Hi Siri, Lumos Maxima – turn on your phone’s flashlight and increase your screen brightness to maximum
- Hi Siri, Muffliato – decrease the volume
- Hi Siri, Sound – increase the volume
- Hi Siri, Homenum Revelio – reveals where your close contacts are
2. “Copy and paste” a photo from one iPhone to another by simply pinching it
Special thanks to YouTuber Ians Tech for showing this to his followers spectacular iOS function. You can actually transfer a photo from one iOS device to another just by using the pinch gesture.
“Sometimes he doesn’t want to do it!” Ians Tech pointed out. This is because there is a special technique for copying and pasting content – please do not grab the display willy-nilly. Before starting this trick, make sure Delivery is enabled for both devices. Go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Transfer.
Also, don’t forget to turn on Bluetooth! And finally, both devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
1. Go to Pictures app and copy an image by pinching your fingers closed with three fingers.
2. On the other iOS device, you can paste the image by pinching your fingers together with three fingers.
3. That’s it! Your photo from the first device will seem to magically appear on the second.
This technique can also be used with iPad and Mac devices. For example, you can transfer a photo from your iPhone 13 to your MacBook Air M2 with this feature.
3. Set your iPhone to read text for you – with a handy on-screen controller
Instead of squinting to read a news article, you can program your iPhone to read it for you. Best of all, users can even bring up an on-screen controller, allowing them to pause the text-to-speech process – or even skip ahead.
1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content.
2. Activate Speak selection and Speak Screen.
3. Make sure “speech controller” is on.
4. Now it’s time to test it! Click here to start a Laptop Mag review.
5. Tap the V-shaped icon on the side of the screen to launch the controller.
6. Press play and you should hear a voice reading the review.
4. Allow Siri to unlock your iPhone for you with a voice password
Credit for this iPhone trick goes to TikToker @hardreset.info. If you’re lazy like me, so lazy that even unlocking your device via password becomes a chore, you can summon Siri to do it for you. Funnily enough, @hardreset.info uses lipstick for this trick, but maybe there’s a method to his madness? It should be noted that this feature is ideal for security-lax users.
1. For this trick, let’s follow @hardreset.info. His password is 2, 5, 2, 5, 2, 5. He notes where his fingers fall on the passcode keypad by marking spots on the screen with lipstick. Follow the same procedure for your password (but we suggest using stickers instead).
2. Then head to Settings > Accessibility > Voice command
2. Go to Customize commands > Create a new command.
3. Under “Phrasing,” enter the voice password you want to use. Maybe “Open Sesame”?
4. Tap Action > Perform Custom Gesture.
5. Tap the marks on the screen, whether it’s lipstick or stickers, just like unlocking your phone through the passcode screen. Faucet To safeguard.
6. Now every time you say your new password (e.g. “Open Sesame”), your iPhone will magically unlock. Sure, you can just remove the password prompts altogether if you don’t want to bother with them, but where’s the fun in that?
5. Scan “real” content into digital text in a snap
Maybe you want to copy an interesting gem from a self-help book into the Notes app so you can refer to it regularly. You might be inclined to just look at the paragraph and type it into the Notes app, but don’t bother! There is an easier way.
1. Open the Remarks application.
2. Start a new note.
3. Tap anywhere in the open space.
4. An icon with two brackets flanking three horizontal lines will appear. Press it.
5. A crosshair will appear. Once you have correctly framed the paragraph, press “Insert.”
6. That’s it! Just like that, the actual text will appear digitally in the Remarks application.
