If this is the first time that you have an iPhone without a Home button, you may be a bit lost when navigating the interface. Since 2017 and the appearance of the first Apple devices without that button, the way of handling iPhones was changed and those known as gestures were added. In this article we will show you how intuitive they are so you can start mastering them as soon as possible.
Which iPhones support gestures?
All iPhones released in 2017 and later (except iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone SE 2nd generation) support gestures. In other words, all those who do not have a Home button in the lower central part of the phone. This does not mean that the other models do not have access to these actions, but they are performed differently. Therefore, the list of iPhone with available iOS gestures are these:
- iPhone X
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
How are gestures activated?
It is not necessary to activate anything, since they are activated as standard and it is the native way of moving. There is no possibility of deactivating them, or changing them, or adding new gestures as such. The possibility of having virtual buttons in the iOS interface does not exist as in Android devices, although you can always use the Assistive Touch to have functions at your fingertips.
Actions performed with the buttons
Although the most modern iPhone have dispensed with the aforementioned Home button, it does not mean that they do not have any type of physical button. Both the right side button and the volume buttons are useful for a multitude of actions.
Turn iPhone on and off
Turning on the iPhone is extremely simple, since you will only have to press and hold the right side button for a few seconds until the characteristic Apple logo appears on the screen. To turn it off, there are two options:
- Press and release the volume up button, press and release the volume down button and hold the right side button for a few seconds. Then on the screen you just have to slide to the right where it says “Turn off iPhone”.
- Press and hold the volume up and down buttons together with the side button, until the option to turn off the iPhone appears on the screen and these buttons can be released.
Force restart the iPhone
The manual restart of the iPhone is by turning it off and waiting for it to be completely off to turn it on again, as we explained in a previous point. However, there are times when it is necessary to force a restart because it does not respond correctly, which is achieved in the following way:
- Press and release volume up button, press and release volume down button and hold down the right side button until the screen turns off.
Put iPhone in DFU mode
DFU mode is also known as recovery mode and it is only recommended to activate it when there is some kind of problem with the device that requires a restoration by connecting it to a computer. To do this, the following steps must be followed, similar to the previous ones, but not identical:
- Press and release the volume up button, press and release the volume down button and hold down the side button without releasing until a screen appears asking to connect the iPhone to a computer.
Lock and unlock the iPhone
There is no simpler and more everyday action than this and it is that just by pressing and releasing the right side button of the iPhone it will be blocked. To unlock it, the same action will be required, although to access the system you must be recognized by Face ID or enter the security code, if you have these security parameters activated.
Control the volume
If you want to control the playback volume of a video or audio, you can obviously do so with the volume up and down buttons (upper up and lower down). The same happens if you have activated the option to control the volume of notifications from these buttons. By pressing them once you will already be varying the intensity, without having to touch any other button.
Use Siri
In previous iPhone, the Apple assistant was invoked through the Home button and in the absence of this the way to proceed is by pressing and holding the right side button for several seconds.
Pay with Apple Pay or access Wallet
In the Wallet app you can configure both payment cards of associated entities such as train, plane, cinema and other tickets. Either to make payments with Apple Pay or to access those registered tickets, you will have to press the side button twice.
Enable accessibility features
If you need to activate the accessibility functions of the iPhone, you will have to press the right side button three times.
Call to emergency
If you want to contact the emergency service, you must press and hold the side button and the volume up or down button for several seconds until the option appears on the screen. You can also press and hold the buttons for 5 more seconds when it appears on the screen and it will automatically notify you.
It should be noted that in the iPhone of India the previous method does not work, having to press the side button three times if the accessibility function is not activated.
Gestures and shortcuts to move on iOS
Known the actions through buttons, it is necessary to know how to move with your finger through the iPhone screen. Below we show you all the actions that can be performed and that you should know to handle your iPhone as well as possible.
Return to the previous screen
If you are, for example, in a settings screen and you want to go back to the previous one, you will always find an arrow in the upper left that you can press to go back. It also works in applications. Another way to do it is with the gesture of sliding your finger from the left side to the right.
Return to main screen
If you want to return to the home screen of the iPhone, which was done before by pressing the Home button, you will have to swipe from the bottom of the screen all the way up. You will see that a small line appears in the interface at the bottom as an indication.
In addition to this, if you are on an application screen that is not the main one, you will be able to perform the same gesture and you will automatically go to that main one.
Open Control Center
Swiping down from the top right displays the iOS Control Center with a multitude of shortcuts to settings and even applications.
View the notification screen
To see what is known as the lock screen or notifications, just swipe down from any point at the top (except right).
Open multitasking
If you want to see what applications you have open in the background, you will have to slide from the bottom to the center to open them. Then it is a matter of moving between them and clicking on the one you want to open.
Completely close applications
Continuing with the previous procedure, once the multitask is open you will only have to slide any of the apps up to close them completely.
Switch from one app to another
Having several applications open, it is possible to switch from one to another easily. To do this, you simply have to take the bottom line as a reference and slide from the center to the right or left to move between apps.
Easy reach mode
This functionality must be activated from Settings> Accessibility> Touch. If configured, it will allow easy access to the content located at the top of the screen by sliding it down to the middle. To access it you must place your finger just above the bottom line and slide it down. To exit this mode, just touch anywhere on the screen.
Submenus available with 3D Touch
The 3D Touch functionality (whether with a haptic or taptic engine) allows access to previews or submenus and shortcuts of the apps. To do this, you just have to keep your finger pressed on the app or function in a matter of several seconds.
Possible glitches in iPhone gestures
In principle you should not have any failure when performing any of these actions. If you have it in those that require a functionality such as accessibility to be activated, we recommend that you review its settings. If the problem occurs when browsing on iOS, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure the iPhone screen is not dirty or wet and if so, clean and dry it.
- Have the latest version of iOS installed.
- Restore iPhone to remove potential software glitches.