The 2020 iPhone SE goes on sale in over 40 countries from today. For a $399 iPhone, the device packs a lot of punch and offers plenty of value for money which is why there’s a lot of hype surrounding it as well. If you plan to buy the new iPhone SE or have already purchased it, make sure to go through our list of the best tips and tricks for it to make the most out of it.
The below tricks will help you get to know your iPhone SE better, discover some of its hidden features, and more.
The Best 2020 iPhone SE Tips and Tricks
1. Directly Transfer Data from Old iPhone
Coming from an older iPhone? You don’t have to use iTunes or iCloud to transfer data between your old iPhone and the 2020 iPhone SE. Instead, just keep your old iPhone nearby when setting up your iPhone SE and you will automatically get an option to directly transfer all data from it.
https://youtu.be/cpNk6fkwS2I
➤ Read: How to Easily Transfer Data to New iPhone With Migration Utility
2. Learn About Haptic Touch
The 2020 iPhone SE features Haptic Touch which is just a fancy term for a long-press. Whenever you long-press on an item, it will reveal a contextual menu. If you are coming from the iPhone SE or any other older iPhone that had 3D Touch, you must spend a few minutes to get used to with Haptic Touch. Just try to tap and hold on a menu, link or app icon for more info.
3. QuickTake
Similar to the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro series, the 2020 iPhone SE features QuickTake in the camera app. This will allow one to tap and hold on the shutter button to instantly start shooting a video, similar to how it works in Snapchat. The video will stay in the same frame and shot as the photo, which is very impressive.
If you want to keep recording the video for a longer time, you can swipe right on the shutter to lock it into video recording mode.
4. Try Gesture Typing
With iOS 13, Apple finally added gesture typing support to the stock iOS keyboard. On the small 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone SE, gesture typing is even more convenient. The feature works in the same vein as to how SwiftKey and Gboard work.
5. Get a Fast Charger
The 2020 iPhone SE supports 18W fast wired charging, though Apple ships the device with a paltry 5W USB-A charger. Since the iPhone SE does not really have the best battery life, you should invest in a USB-C fast charger and Lightning-to-USB-C cable. This will allow you to charge your iPhone SE from 0-50% in just 30 minutes.
➤ Read: The Best iPhone SE (2020) Accessories
6. Get a Wireless Charger
Thanks to the glass back, the iPhone SE supports Qi wireless charging. While Apple doesn’t ship a wireless charging pad in the box or has an official option, you should get a wireless charger. This way you will be able to charge your iPhone SE by just putting it on the charger. Get multiple wireless chargers and put it near your bedside table and office desk so that your iPhone gets topped up while you are working or sleeping. And then, you will never have any battery anxiety.
➤ Read: Best Wireless Chargers for iPhones
7. Automate Tasks Using Shortcuts
Your iPhone SE is pretty smart. You can use the new Shortcuts app to automate repetitive tasks or to club multiple tasks together. Using the Shortcuts app, you can create a shortcut to make a turn off Do Not Disturb mode, send a message to someone, read you the latest headlines and turn on the lights, with just a single command.
8. Portrait Lighting
Despite coming with a single rear camera, the iPhone SE lets you take Portrait photos. It also has Portrait Lighting feature that lets you change the background of a Portrait Mode photo. You can switch to Studio Light to Contour light to a totally black background with the Stage Light effect. And that looks really cool. In total, there are six effects for you to choose from. Do note that the Portrait mode on the 2020 iPhone SE does not work with pets and other objects.
The best thing is that you can preview all these effects live, before actually clicking the shutter button. Switch to the Portrait mode and you’ll see a carousel below. Use it to switch between different Portrait Lighting modes.
9. Record 4K 60FPS Videos
Despite its small size, the 2020 iPhone SE can record 4K videos at 60fps. This is, of course, going to take up a lot of space. But it will also make for some amazingly smooth footage. You’ll need to switch to this format from Settings. Go to the Camera section and select Record Video. Here, switch to 4K at 60 fps.
10. Easily Cut, Copy, and Paste Text
This is more of an iOS 13 feature but one that’s still worth mentioning. There are new gestures in iOS that let you easily cut, copy, and paste the text. Use the three-finger pinch gesture to copy text, a three-finger double pinch gesture to cut text and a three-finger expand gesture to paste the text.
11. Connect Multiple AirPods to Your iPhone
The 2020 iPhone SE supports Audio Sharing which allows you to share whatever audio you are playing on your AirPods to another pair of AirPods as well. Just open the AirPlay section from Control Center and flick open the second pair of AirPods to connect and use it alongside your own AirPods.
12. Optimize Battery Charging
If you intend to use your iPhone SE for the next few years, you should enable the Optimize Battery Charging feature on it. This way, the OS will see your daily usage habit and charge your iPhone accordingly. It will slow down or even wait to charge it past 80% until you need to use it. This will help in expanding the lifespan of the battery.
➤ Read: iOS 13: How to Optimise iPhone Battery Charging
13. Tweak the Intensity of the Home Button
The Home button on the 2020 iPhone SE is not really a physical button. Instead, it is a capacitive button and it works in a similar fashion to how the Force Touch trackpad on MacBooks work. The good thing is that you can customize the intensity of its feedback as per your liking. Just go to Settings -> General” -> Home and select your desired option.
14. Silence Unknown Callers
You can automatically silence all incoming calls from unknown numbers that are not stored in the Contacts app on your iPhone. Just go to Settings -> Messages and enable the Silence Unknown Callers option. These calls will then go straight to your voicemail if you are using it.
➤ Read: How to Silence Robocalls And Spam Calls Automatically on iPhone
15. Express Card with Power Reserve
The 2020 iPhone SE features Express Card support with power reserve. The addition of power reserve is new and it means that you can still use your iPhone to pay for your metro ride even if it is out of battery. The feature works with any transit card or payment card that supports Express Transit.
What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for the second-generation iPhone SE? Drop a comment and share them with our readers!
