AN APPLE expert has revealed his three top iPhone tips that every gadget fan should know.
“Almost every minute of the day I’m thinking about Apple,” Niels van Straaten told The Sun.
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“I love to educate people on Apple,” said van Straaten, who spends his days designing tips and tricks to make our lives easier.
Van Straaten’s fans love what he has to offer.
His Instagram page @appledsign has over 1.2million followers looking for new ways to do more with their iPhones.
He has over 6,000 posts, each reviewing, analyzing or tweaking a new Apple product or feature.
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The Sun spoke with van Straaten in an exclusive video interview to unpack his top hacks.
Using the video camera while playing audio
“Apple prevents you from actually using audio while filming,” van Straaten said. “There’s a way to bypass this.”
Van Straaten’s hack works a little mind game on the iPhone processor.
Start by playing your desired audio from your music or podcast app.
With music playing, open your camera and hold the large white shutter button in the lower center of your screen.
After about a half a second of holding the button down, it will turn red and you’ll be recording video.
If you remove your thumb from the shutter button, the video recording will stop.
But, if you want to continue recording simultaneous video and audio without holding your phone, van Straaten’s hack goes a step further.
Keep your thumb on the shutter button.
A small circle with a lock icon inside of it will appear; place your thumb over the lock and let go once you’ve felt a small vibration from your phone.
The audio will continue playing over your video for as long as you record, and continue after you’ve stopped.
Van Straaten said this hack is a “pretty useful thing for people that want to film and, at the same time, have audio,” for TikToks or other projects.
Turn off the flashlight with no buttons
Van Straaten’s second hack is a quick one but will certainly help user’s optimize their experience–especially if their hands are full.
The flashlight button is located in the lower left corner of the lock screen and also accessible in the Control Center.
Simply click this button to toggle on your flashlight.
Van Straaten’s hack allows users to turn off their flashlight without reaching across the screen or activating the Control Center.
Simply swipe your locked iPhone screen from right to left and the flashlight will turn off automatically.
If you continue swiping across the screen, the iPhone camera will open.
Users only need to swipe a slight amount to turn off the flashlight; remove your thumb from the screen once the light is off and the lock screen will snap back into place.
Van Straaten said he uses this hack “every single time” he uses the flashlight.
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Take a photo using only your voice
This hack is a bit tricky but perfect for users that want to set up a photo shoot without having to operate the camera with their hands.
Under Settings, tap into the Accessibility tab and then hit Voice Control.
On the Voice Control page, you’ll see the option to Customize Commands.
Tab “Create New Command” and enter a speakable phrase. This phrase will be the vocal command you give your phone.
In van Straaten’s video, he gave the command “Photo shoot”.
Once the vocal command is established, you’re ready to program your iPhone’s gesture.
Hit the tab that says “Action” and then hit “Run Custom Gesture”.
On the black screen that appears, tap your iPhone in the space where the shutter button appears when you operate the camera.
Save the new command.
Now, when you say “Photo shoot” with the camera open, your phone will execute your pre-saved gesture that taps the shutter button.
Van Straaaten is just one user, but his work pushes the boundaries of some of the most profitable products of all time.
Van Straaten described the feeling of finding a good hack as “like finding this hidden golden nugget in the Apple ecosystem.”
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