Introduction
Nice to have you back for another episode of Digital4Productivity. And the last few episodes have always been relatively long interview episodes. And some of you may have wondered when there will be something about the iPad and iPhone again. So today we have a short episode on the iPhone with version 16.3.1 – that’s the current version at the time of recording.
Yes, 16.3.1 is the first question I keep getting. Can you install it? My recommendation always remains the same: I would never go for the major releases, but wait until 0.1 or 0.01 comes out. And if you then have the other releases, I always recommend installing them as soon as possible. As soon as possible also means ideally wait another 1-2-3 days and see if the network is overflowing with error messages, because if this is the case, that there are errors here, then you will notice this relatively quickly on the network.
Yes, with 16.3.1, by the way, in the software updates, if you go to the settings on the iPhone and iPad, that’s the app with the cogwheel, there is the Software update setting under General. Here you have the option, if you tap on automatic updates, to say download iOS updates. I always recommend this, because if your iPhone is ever in the W-LAN, it will download automatically. I wouldn’t check the second box for Install iOS updates, as it will do this automatically. However, I would check the third one, namely that security measures and system files are then automatically installed there. Incidentally, you can also set these ticks accordingly via a mobile device management system. What you can also set in the mobile device management system is a display delay of up to 90 days. This is how long an update is not displayed on a device. I always recommend this shortly before major releases.
Yes, let’s take a look at the most important settings. You know me, I’m a bit of a freak sometimes. One of the first things I always recommend is that you go into the Sounds and haptics settings and then set the ringtone as you like it. And I would remove all other tones accordingly. It’s always a matter of taste, but I would take it out. What I recommend adding is a point at the bottom that has been added relatively recently. In the latest version, the topic is System Haptics. This means that you get vibration feedback again. However, I would tend to remove sounds. The same thing I would do is sub-notifications. If you go into the notifications, you can set which notification you want for each application. I always recommend switching these notifications off completely everywhere if possible, because if I look here now, for example at Amazon Business, I need something. Nope. So ultimately you can say no, I don’t want to allow notifications here. If you allow it, then there is always the option of saying that urgent messages will be delivered immediately and everything else can be disabled.
What I would definitely take out are the tones. I always tend to find that a bit annoying. So you can see the best thing here in the settings, try it out how you like it. For example, I’m not a big fan of looking at the notification on the lock screen. So you can always adjust this again here.
So what other interesting topics are there? If you go to Battery, which is perhaps quite interesting again, Battery settings, there’s one thing, which has been around for a while, but I see a lot of people who don’t use it, you can display the battery charge percentage and it doesn’t take up any more space, but you’ll also see a number in the top right-hand corner of your battery icon showing what percentage of your battery is charged. In my opinion, there is no reason not to activate this. Yes, and then another interesting thing is that you have the topic of battery, status and charging process. If you tap on it, there’s a tick next to Optimized battery charging.
And I was recently at a workshop with one of my customers in the automotive sector and the question was, what is this optimized charging of the battery? And together with the customer, I found a nice picture, namely that if you have an electric car and you drive to the fast charger, that’s exactly the issue when it’s switched off, so it’s charged as quickly as possible. When it is switched on, optimized charging of the battery is also written underneath. It says to extend battery life, the iPhone learns when it usually charges. This means that when the battery is 80% full, it can wait until you need it again to finish charging. In other words, if you put the iPhone on the charging station at night, for example, then when it is 80% full and knows when you usually set the alarm clock and get up, it will charge the rest more slowly. Ideally, the current batteries should always remain charged to between ten and 90 %. In the past, there was always this so-called memory effect.
You remember this from the Nokia phones. I was told to always charge the thing completely and let it run completely empty. That was the right thing to do with the old batteries. With the new batteries, this memory effect no longer exists. However, every charging cycle damages the battery. They now have around 1,000 cycles before the battery’s performance decreases. This does not mean that you have to throw the battery away after 1,000 charging cycles, but that the battery performance slowly starts to deteriorate. So if you only charge your iPhone once a day, which is normally enough, then you have 1,000 days. In other words, you have three years where the battery will easily last. But if you immediately plug in your iPhone every time you go anywhere near a charger for fear that it might run out, then there are people who, if you charge ten times a day, which is easy to do, then you’ll have that 1,000 days gone after just 100 days and that’s just 1/3 of the year.
That’s why I’m not a big fan of these inductive charging cradles in the car. I always think that’s a bit of a shame.
Yes, on the subject of the battery, by the way, there is also a power-saving mode. What does this power-saving mode do? It also says underneath that when you use power saving mode, background activities such as downloading or checking emails are temporarily reduced until the iPhone can be fully charged. In practice, this means that if you have just activated push emails, they will not be pushed, but you will have to swipe down in the email application to get the emails in. I think push email is a pretty stupid idea anyway. You don’t have paper mail slammed on your desk either. That’s why I don’t mind and the photos aren’t automatically synchronized in the iCloud photo library, but only again when you turn it off. You can always keep an eye on this power-saving mode via a shortcut. In the settings, there is a Control Center section and here I recommend that you always add that you can find this under additional controls that you just add power saving mode. Then you can tap on the battery symbol at any time under power saving mode, and the battery will be displayed in yellow and the iPhone will last two and a half to three hours longer. Incidentally, I also recommend adding music recognition to this control center. This is Shazam.
Shazam
Shazam was bought by Apple and I think it’s also much quicker than saying hey, if you speak to the lady with the S, to say what song is this, it’s much quicker to simply drag down the battery symbol at the top with your finger. Or if you still have an iPhone with the home button, then you have to slide up from the bottom, then the control center comes up and then you have this Shazam symbol, tap on it, then it recognizes it immediately and can then call up the title immediately via a link in Apple Music. So I always recommend including that. Take out the things you don’t need. I really find this control center very practical.
By the way, if you have this control center, try tapping and holding an icon, such as the camera icon. Then you can also select whether you want to use the selfie camera, video or photo. It’s not just about the control center, but also when you tap apps on it.
Airpods/Airpod Pro settings
Yes, if you go to the general settings under software updates, we’ve already been there. By the way, if you have Airpods or Airpod Pro, you will no longer only see them hidden in the Bluetooth settings, but you will always find them right at the top if you have paired them. This is very good, as you can also specify the available settings. In other words, you can of course do this via Bluetooth. Then you have the Airpods here. Click on the “i” behind them and you will see the relevant settings, but you can also see this immediately at the top of the settings when you have paired them. So that’s always the most practical thing, i.e. if you have them, you can see them and then you can immediately make the corresponding settings.
Set up a personal hotspot
Yes, what else is interesting? You have your personal hotspot. Here you can access the Internet on your iPhone when you are out and about with your laptop, for example. And here’s another interesting thing: you can say that this checkmark wasn’t included from the start. There’s a tick called “Maximize compatibility” and if it’s activated, the Internet performance can be reduced for devices that are connected to a hotspot. So, if you can’t connect to the hotspot on your iPhone, I would give this tick a try.
Photo and video settings
You can also find the keyword compatibility in the photo settings area. If you go to the camera settings, there is a very interesting section. Then you have the first section at the top, Formats. And under Formats there is High Efficiency or Maximum Compatibility. If you are a complete fool, i.e. you only work with Apple devices, then you can use High Efficiency. If you also work with Windows devices, then I would always go for maximum compatibility.
While we’re on the subject of cameras, I always recommend recording video at 1080p with 30 frames per second, FPS is in brackets, you can see that many of them have 4K 60 frames. But if you take a look, it says very nicely in the settings, for example, one minute of video is about, if you look now, at 1080p 30 is 130 MB and if you take that in the largest format, then you have 400 MB. So you need more than three times as much memory, in other words, against the background. And you usually have the issue that with 1080p 30 frames per second, that is also the setting with which most YouTube videos are uploaded outside. So that also saves you memory. In the camera settings, I would also always set the two checkmarks for the topic “Recognized text displays and QR code scanning”, because you can just wonderfully, if you have the camera on it, it recognizes text, then mark it and then you can simply copy it out. So it’s wonderfully great.
Composition
Yes, when it comes to composition, there is also the option of displaying a grid. That’s always quite good, then you have two horizontal and two vertical lines and ideally, the eyes of the main subject should be at one of the upper left or upper right intersections, i.e. the rule of the golden ratio. And if you’re thinking to yourself, “Gosh, when I take selfies, it’s somehow unreadable, it’s mirror-inverted, just try this setting. There’s the “Mirror front camera” checkbox. It’s always trial and error, ideally you should hold a text in the camera image and then you can see whether it’s legible or not. In other words, you should do the whole thing again here.
Yes, then there is also the option of having photographic styles here. I think that was added with iOS 16. In other words, you used to only be able to process the photos afterwards and now you can say, by default, I would like to have a standard filter in here. So there is the topic of standard, high-contrast, bright, warm and cold. In other words, if you also say, before you have to change this filter every time afterwards, you can also do the whole thing in advance. So, if this is not displayed for you, then experience has shown that it is because your iPhone is a little too old or that you may not yet have the latest iOS version on it.
Yes, then just to say, at the top there is still a lens correction that the lens corrects distortions of front and ultra wide angle camera. As a rule, I would adjust this tick.
Yes, then when they are on one over, there is the photo setting. And there is an important note in the photo settings. Especially if you use the iCloud photo library, there’s a checkbox for Optimize iPhone storage. I would recommend this because, especially if you take a lot of photos, the memory will fill up quickly. And so it only keeps a smaller version on the iPhone and the moment you forward it, it downloads the larger version. I would use this accordingly. Since iOS 16, you can also configure the shared media library here. This means that you have the option of creating a shared media library with several people in the family. So that’s something like this. You should take a look at this at your leisure, and I would be happy to do a separate episode on this.
Yes, then you also have the option of showing or hiding a hidden album. So if you have confidential photos there, I have shown it on my screen, then I can see the album, ??? the others. But if you want to hide it completely, you can also remove it by ticking the box. Then you can only see it when you put the tick back in.
Use of mobile data
Yes, then with mobile data. You can then say whether you want to use mobile data or not. I have a flat rate, so I’ve got the two boxes ticked, as well as unlimited updates. So, and if you say, okay, maybe I’m traveling abroad or I don’t have a flat rate, then you can take it out again.
Reviews and holiday events
Yes, which is also quite nice, you can then configure again here in the photos section whether you want to view reviews, holiday events. I always find it very nice, also the topic of recommended content. As I said, I think it’s extremely nice to see that. But it’s a matter of taste to a certain extent.
Other settings
Yes, what other settings do we have? WLAN and Bluetooth are usually relatively self-explanatory. Perhaps another hint, if you are connected to a WLAN and you then tap on the “i” behind it, then there is the possibility that you have the topic here, the data saving mode. In data mode, the data usage of the iPhone via the mobile network or certain WLANs you have selected is reduced. If the data saving mode is activated, updates are automatically stopped a background action, as well as the synchronization of photos. This means that if you are on a mobile rate, you may not have a flat rate or you are currently abroad, then you can also include this data-saving mode again here under the WLAN section, or there are sometimes WLANs where you have to pay independently, i.e. in this area, so you can also include it again. Perhaps another hint.
Yes then exactly, that it is on the subject of WLAN. When it comes to Bluetooth, you also have the “i” behind it, and if you tap on “i” somewhere, you can always say, “Do I want to synchronize the whole thing here?”, “Do I want to hide the whole thing here?”, “Do I want to ignore the device?” and for some there are also additional settings.
Note By the way, if your WLAN or Bluetooth is not working, you can always deactivate one of the two and see if it works. Because WLAN and Bluetooth can also interfere with each other.
Yes, what other little tips do we have with us? For example, if you go to the topic of operating aids, you can adjust one or two things. In other words, you have the option here, for example, if you go to this topic, if I go to typing, then there are some very nice additional functions here, i.e. typing operating aids. Then you have the option of using Assistive Touch when you go in there. I have activated that for me. And if you activate it, it puts a virtual home button on the screen. I think it’s great. I miss the home button, to be honest. And then you can store your own actions there. I’ve set it up so that I just say tap Home. It’s like pressing the home button in the past. I have the double tap theme, then it’s like tapping the home button twice, then the app switcher comes up and a long press, i.e. tap and hold, is a screenshot for me. And then there’s the option, which I think is pretty cool, you don’t have it at the bottom, sorry, you don’t have it at the bottom, but there’s another option, exactly, if I go back to Assistive Touch, then you have tap at the bottom in the Accessibility section, then you have tap on the back at the bottom. And when I first read it, I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. But it’s not. If you tap on it, then you can say what should happen if you double-tap on the back. And what should happen if you triple tap? That means if I double-tap on the back, tap-tap, then it’s like the home button, so it also works quite well. In other words, some people might say okay, I’d like to double-tap, maybe to open my apps, you can adjust that. So on the back.
What you can also do, with zoom you can say the whole screen is correspondingly larger. What I rather recommend is to say in the settings area you can also say, how big should the text be? You can find this under Display and brightness. And under Display and brightness there is the option to set this text size. And there is also a note that apps that support dynamic text adapt to the reading size specified below. This means that you can slide and it is usually the better option to adjust the whole thing via this area.
Yes, what other things are there, FaceID or A.I. Code? That’s quite exciting again. If you have an Apple Watch, you can now set it up so that you can also unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch. I found that extremely practical during this whole corona period when he didn’t recognize me with the mask. Now you’re saying, ha, wait a minute, mask recognition is now also possible. Exactly, you can also find it in FaceID and Code, which means you also have the option of configuring FaceID with a mask for alternative appearances. This means you can add glasses, you can add a mask, FaceID with a mask. So that’s also very practical. And keyword alternative appearance. You can set up two FaceIDs and you can use this if you want to say, “Gosh, I’ve got my skier’s masked face and I’ve got my normal face. Or if you have private devices and perhaps the wife or husband can access them, then you can also set this up for both. As with TouchID, you can set up to five fingers. I also recommend setting up one of the family members’ fingers if a private device is used by several people.
Yes, I’ll have another look. Maybe again on the subject of data protection and security. Many people turn off the location services completely. I wouldn’t do that at first, because if you misplace your iPhone, you won’t be able to find it again. That’s why I would activate it, but then I would always check, wait a minute, now there are apps, then you can choose for each app whether you want it to access your contact data. Only when you use it, the next time you use it, when you share it or never. And you can even say, should the exact location or just the approximate location be shared? And if you go to the top of the list, you will find the System services section, where you can also say, for example, if you don’t have any Home Kit devices at all, you can also remove them. And you can always see if there is an arrow next to it, then you can see that it has recently accessed it.
This means that there is also a purple arrow here, indicating that the object has recently used your location. A gray arrow indicates that the object has used your location in the last 24 hours. And you can also see this in the status bar if you check the box. However, if you have an iPhone 13 Mini like me, you won’t always see this in the status bar. So maybe that again on the subject of location services. You can also set the topic of tracking there, to say, you are asked more often and if you say, oh, crap, now I have an app, I want to allow tracking. For whatever reason. Then you can add or remove this tracking afterwards. And when it comes to data protection and security, you can also look at each app and see which applications are allowed to access the photos, for example. And if you have perhaps accidentally said only selected photos, you can also change it back to all photos here.
Yes, the classic that I always like to include at the end is under “General” “Keyboard” you have the option of removing the auto-capitalization, the auto-correction. I would always recommend this. I would also recommend that you activate the dictation function. There is now even an automatic punctuation function. And take a look at the second point from the top in the text replacement section. You can create wonderful text modules there. So EMA is my e-mail work, EMP is my private e-mail. When I say HG, it’s Herzliche Grüße. IMK is Immanuelkirchstraße 37, my address, so that means here, if I have NJ, then it’s Professor Dr. Nicole Jekel. As you know, when I’m out and about with my wife, it’s always Professor Dr. Nicole Jekel and husband. And so that I don’t always have to write it out, it just says “NJ”. Or I have an appointment. Whenever I write TER, the link for my appointment booking page opens there. So text replacement. Maybe another tip. The easiest way would be to always set it up on the iPad and then wait a bit and then these text modules will also be displayed on the iPhone.
If you have a Mac, then it will also be used on the Mac. So then, I find it easiest to set up on the iPad and you can save yourself a lot of time.
Conclusion
Yes, with this in mind, I hope that you have once again received some inspiration and a few tips on the subject of iPhone and iPad use. As you know, this podcast is all about more productive digitalization. And for me, this includes the strategic topics on the one hand, hence the series of interviews where we really took a conceptual look at the topic of CRM, where we dealt with the topic of forms, where we dealt with the topic in the interview with Edgar Geffroy, if you haven’t heard it yet on the topic of knowledge warriors and how digitalization in sales enables knowledge management and finally in the last week of the interview on the topic of Metaverse. As you know, I’m someone who likes to take a broad look at technology and say what future technological developments are and occasionally go into a deep dive right down to the settings in the iPhone.
Yes, if you have any other topic requests, just tap on it here in the podcast in the show notes, then an email will go directly to me and most of them have my contact details anyway.
With this in mind, I hope that there was something for you again and wish you a successful week.
Yours, Thorsten Jekel.
Also available in: Deutsch
