The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are fantastic devices, which are largely without fault. However, nothing in life is perfect all of the time, so here are our handy tips and tricks for making your experience with either device as well as the latest iPads that little bit better.
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Following the arrival of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple's handsets and tablets now ship with iOS 9 as standard, and include a raft of options allowing you to tinker with display, security, privacy and input settings.
A handy addition with iOS 9 is the 'Search Settings' field in the Settings menu itself. Using this field you can search for a specific setting you're after, rather than navigating between menus.
Before you do anything else, turning off the annoying keyboard clicks via Settings > Sounds > Keyboard Clicks is something we'd strongly recommend you do.
There are a raft of optimisations to be made. Its worth spending a few minutes configuring your device as you'll benefit with a more personalised experience and potentially improve battery life.
iPhone 6/6 Plus tips: top five essential apps
Apps are arguably the most important part of any smartphone. Naturally, the first thing youll want to do with a new handset is fill it up with Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and the like, but once youve done that, here are the five apps we think are absolutely essential.
Google Maps
One of the biggest benefits of the smartphone revolution is never having to get lost again. Thanks to GPS, we can find out exactly where we are at any given moment. However, Apples Maps service pales in comparison to Googles far superior offering. As well as walking and driving directions, itll even do public transport! Ace.
Dropbox
Dropboxs internet file-sharing service has proved invaluable to many users, both in business spaces and at home. With Dropbox also beefing up its feature-set for iOS 8, theres really no reason not to get on board with cloud storage. Dropbox is currently the most popular consumer service, but rivals like Box and Google Drive are also equally slick.
Silent Phone and Text
Data privacy is an increasing concern among those who use their smartphones for business. If youre handling sensitive information, wed recommend outfitting your device with encryption apps. Were fans of Silent Circles Silent Phone and Silent Text apps, for secure voice, video and SMS communication.
Feedly
No one wants to be the last to know about the latest news, and Feedly is a great way to keep on top of developments. Add your favourite sites, and all their latest news and articles will be displayed for you in the app. You can read them at your leisure, share or save them, and divide them into specific categories.
Evernote
When it comes list-making, quick memos and sharing projects with colleagues or friends, Evernote is among the finest note-taking apps youll find. Using its sturdy iOS app on its basic (free) plan gives you access to cross-device syncing, the ability to share notes and store your web clippings. Its plus and premium tiers offer much, but you can do some much with the service in its basic form from storing helpful templates to managing entire projects that this digital notebook is an essential app.
iPhone 6/6 Plus tips: security and privacy
1) Setup Touch ID and a strong password
Everyone wants their device to be as secure as possible. When youre setting up the iPhone 6 it will ask you if you want to enable Touch ID we recommend doing this as its simple and effective.
Youll also be prompted to set up a 4-digit passcode as default but you should take steps to beef this up.
Lets put it into context. Say youre on a train and the person looking over your shoulder sees you tap in your 4-digit pin. Now if this unscrupulous so-and-so happens to be a thief, youll have a problem as they'll know the passcode to access your device once they pinch it.
To make it harder for people to access your device Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and then switch off Simple Passcode. Youll be prompted to enter a longer 6-digit password with the ability to use alphanumeric characters. We recommend using three memorable words as a long password is a strong password (Click here for more tips on a secure password).
Using a long password may seem like a drag but, with Touch ID enabled, most of the time you'll be unlocking the device or paying for apps via a thumbprint. The strong password is there to give you peace of mind if the device ever goes missing.
Theres also another option for users who carry around sensitive information on the device. You can set the device to wipe all data if the passcode is entered incorrectly 10 times. This is a nice failsafe and can be activated via Settings > Touch ID & Passcode > Erase Data.
2) Stop your iPhone (or iPad) from tracking you
Ever wondered where your phone gets that handy navigation and road condition information when you glance at the Notifications Center at different times of the day? It gets it by tracking your movements whenever you go provided you are connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, such as at home, work, a coffee shop or even the Tube network.
Though this can have benefits, if youd prefer to stop your phone tracking your frequently visited locations, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services and then Frequent Locations. From there, turn the option Off. For added privacy, hit the Clear History button, too.
3) Enable backup
The ability to backup your device is useful if you ever lose it as you can sync the new device and pick up where you left off.
Go to Settings > iCloud > Backup to enable it. When your phone is plugged into a power supply and connected to Wi-Fi, all documents, accounts, photos and settings will be backed up.
4) Hide photos
Weve all had that awkward moment. Showing a friend or relative a few pictures in our camera roll and then suddenly swiping to an embarrassing picture. In iOS 9 its possible to hide those private photos by pressing and holding it and then tapping Hide. This means it will no longer show up in your camera roll and will be in its own Hidden folder.
iPhone 6/6 Plus tips: accessibility and customisation
5) Get a new keyboard
Apple introduced its own QuickType predictive text keyboard, but this takes time to adjust to your usage pattern. Its possible to download a third-party keyboard and our personal favourite is Swype (99p). This lets you drag your finger across the screen to type out words and has a great prediction feature.
SwiftKey is also a popular keyboard on Android, but so far its reviews arent quite as good as Swype on iOS 9.
If you want to use a third-party keyboard as your primary form of input you need to go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Edit and then drag it to the top of the list.
6) Minimise email message
Its possible to minimise an email youre composing by swiping down from the top of the message. This allows you to check other emails for any important information or to copy an address. Once youre ready to continue with your message just tap on the New Message tab at the bottom of the screen.
7) Multitasking with videos or FaceTime on iPad
In our modern reality of multiple screens, multiple email accounts and multiple jobs, multitasking is pretty much de facto for us all. One of the new additions to iOS 9 on iPad is the ability to view another app while simultaneously seeing a FaceTime call or video in a smaller picture-in-picture screen.
To activate the feature, while holding a FaceTime call or viewing a video press the Home button or tap the Picture-in-Picture button to resize the viewing window. From here, you can then flick the smaller screen to move it about the main screen.
Currently, this feature is only available on iPad Air, Air 2, iPad Mini 2, 3 and 4, and iPad Pro. Great for when you need to finish that work email be cant resist watching the last 10 minutes of your favourite TV programme.
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