From The Straits Times    |
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We know there are still many of you struggling and queueing (online and in person) to get your hands on the stylish new iPhone 6s, you may even feel like throwing the towel in and living with your current model, whether it be as recent as an iPhone 6 or as ancient as an iPhone 4 (no judgment here, we dig old-school). However, we’re here to tell you about the great, lesser known features of the new iPhone 6s that you’ll have the pleasure of using when your patience is finally rewarded!

Image: Showbit

#1  You can set a live photo as your lock screen

Live photos are the coolest thing ever! Super fun to play around with, they’re basically like the moving photos which were a Harry Potter myth until the new iPhone 6s brought them to life. They’re similar to gifs but less jumpy and more ‘real life’ looking. The best thing is, though you still can’t upload them to Instagram, you can set them as your lock screen, meaning any snoops who try and gain access to your phone will get a ‘live’ shock!

#2 You can preview a link without opening a new tab

Have you ever clicked on a lick and then wished you hadn’t? After scrolling for a few seconds and realising the content’s title was misleading or the piece badly written we’re often left wishing we’d never wasted our own time. Now if you hold down on a link in your Mail, Messages or Safari apps you can preview the link without choosing to open it, you then have the choice to open the link, add it to your reading list for later or decide not to fall for the clickbait, the power of the sneak preview!

#3  Never lose your phone again!

Now this function had me reeling, I’m always losing things (the scatterbrain gene) and when it’s my phone on the loose, I often wish I had an electronic tag attached to it so I could press a button and hear the alarm go off, enabling me to find it more quickly. Now, if you’re stuck at home in search of your phone and there’s no about to call it for you, you can just call out for your BFF Siri. “Hey Siri, where are you?” will now mean an instant response, even if your phone’s not plugged in. New iOS 9 Siri updates also mean you can ask Siri to search for photos taken at a specific location or date without having to trawl through your pics, genius.

#4 Call your contacts quicker than ever

If you open up your Messages, you can now directly call, Facetime and mail your desired contact right from the conversations scroll by pressing down for a few moments on the circular icon with their image or initials. 

#5 Save your battery life 

Image: Showbit 

Dubbed ‘low power mode’ in iOS 9, the new iPhone trick is more of an SOS mode which we love. When you need your iPhone to have juice, there are usually a few tried and tested methods to employ: turning your backlight down to be as dim as possible, closing any apps running in the background and so forth, however, this new power saving mode instantly closes those pesky battery draining apps for you when you’re in need. Once your battery life hits 20%, your phone will give you the automatic option of entering low power mode, but if you’re worried about hitting the 20% mark, you can turn it on manually in Settings, Battery. 

#6 Your photos are automatically organised

Perfect if you’re an organisation freak or a selfie queen, the new iPhone 6s and iOS 9 have automatically grouped folders made for Selfies, Screenshots and Live photos. For me this is perfect as I’m a bit of a screenshot fiend, I love taking visual notes of my Instagram feed or screenshotting particular information or maps when I’m in a foreign country and won’t have access to internet when I’m out and about. Now I no longer have to scroll back through my everyday shots to search for the info I need. 

#7 You can now search within Settings

I don’t know about you, but with all the new iOS updates and secret iPhone 6s hacks (there are many more which I’m yet to discover I’m sure) it’s often hard to know exactly how to find and turn on certain functions in Settings. Now Settings has it’s very own search bar! Just scroll to the top and type in the function you’re looking for e.g Low power mode and a list of options will come up, even if you only know the first word of what you’re looking for, so useful!

#8 You can mark up images on your phone

If you’re one who likes to edit images for work (or play), you can do so directly in an email on your phone. Simply add the photo to an email as your normally would and then tap on it in the screen, a menu of options will pop-up and you simply click on the mark-up option to enter into annotation mode, you can draw on, zoom in and add text remarks to the image or screenshot in a flash. 

#9 Do simple calculations in your search bar

In today’s fast-paced society, even the removable of tapping time is celebrated. The next time you’re trying to split the bill when out with friends or need to do a simple sum, simply swipe down or left from your home screen and enter the numbers. Just remember to use * for multiplication and / for division, try it now, you don’t even have to press equals, the sum is automatically done for you!

#10 The rose gold is not as pink as it looks

I know this is the burning question of many rose gold fans: is it actually pink? This was a concern of mine when I first laid eyes on the new colourway and as a major non-fan of pink, I was put off. However, upon seeing the model in real life, I can confirm that the rose gold definitely has enough of a burnt bronze undertone to keep things in the non-pink zone. Also, yes, the touch ID unlock is infinitely faster than the previous iPhone versions’. 

If you’re contemplating getting an Apple Watch to go with your swanky new iPhone 6s, see our Editor’s review on the fashion-tech hybrid here.