Two-Finger Drag for Instant Selection

I wish I'd known about this one way earlier. No matter how each of us uses an iPhone, selecting stuff to copy, paste, and share is a major part of the smartphone experience.

Instead of hitting the Edit option every time you want to select multiple items, you can just drag with two fingers to activate editing mode. Simply place two fingers on the screen at the same time and drag them down to highlight as many items at once as you like. You can then perform the usual actions available in the share menu, like moving or deleting.

You can lift the second finger when the gesture is triggered and continue dragging with just a single finger.

In Mail, it works without having to go into Edit mode first. Put another way, dragging with two fingers activates editing mode. As soon as it is registered, you can actually lift the second finger and continue dragging with just a single finger. The same is true in Notes. In apps like Contacts, where there is no dedicated selection mode to begin with, it’s the only way to select multiple items, from what I can tell.

Two-finger drag works in all built-in Apple apps that present content in lists and support multiple selections, such as Messages, Mail, Notes, Contacts, Voice Memos, voicemails in the Phone app, and so on. Apple apps with grid views like Photos don't recognize two-finger drag. The gesture also doesn't work when selecting multiple attachments in a Messages chat.

Unfortunately, two-finger drag to select items isn't recognized in any third-party apps like Gmail or WhatsApp. It also won't work in list-based Apple apps that don't have an Edit mode. Performing the gesture in an app that doesn't support multi-select may result in unexpected behavior, and you may even delete stuff accidentally.

Any shortcut that shaves off a second or two when performing everyday stuff like making selections deserves my attention. Those seconds quickly add up to more screen time, which isn't good for your mental well-being. You want to use your iPhone efficiently, and two-finger drag is all about efficiency. It's super-easy to memorize and, while it takes some time getting used to, it'll save you time and effort when selecting multiple items at once.

Sometimes I find it easier to select stuff on my iPhone via iPhone Mirroring on my Mac by shift-clicking to select a range of contiguous items and Command-clicking to make a non-contiguous selection.

Speed Up Text Editing With a Virtual Trackpad

Your iPhone and iPad have a hidden virtual trackpad that saves you time and frustration when editing text. Hold the Space bar key to enter virtual trackpad mode. The keys fade away, and the keyboard becomes a giant trackpad; drag the finger to precisely position the cursor, then let go. Voilà! What was once an exercise in frustration has become second nature.

But the virtual trackpad has one more trick: text selection. To select chunks of text, first hold the Space bar key for virtual trackpad mode. Without letting go, touch and hold the trackpad with another finger and then drag the first finger to quickly select a chunk of text.

Trackpad mode is even more useful on an iPad. You can tap with two fingers once to select a word, double tap with two fingers to select a sentence, or triple tap with two fingers to select a paragraph.

These powerful text-editing gestures are some of Apple’s best-kept secrets. They take some time getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to imagine text editing without the virtual trackpad built into iOS. I've never liked the wonky way the built-in loupe works when trying to position the insertion point in a piece of text. It just never works reliably enough for me to use it comfortably, but the virtual trackpad proved a revelation.

Turning the keyboard into a virtual trackpad is probably the coolest hidden gesture on this list; it speeds up text editing tremendously, but way too many iPhone owners are oblivious to it, so we're doing our part in helping raise awareness of its existence.

Three-Finger Cut, Copy, and Paste

The cut, copy, and paste commands are available in the floating menu that appears upon selecting text. But did you know there are gestural shortcuts for these common actions? To copy something, perform a three-finger pinch. If you'd like to cut instead, perform a three-finger pinch two times in succession.

And to paste, do a three-finger spread. I use these gestures in combination with the Universal Clipboard feature for the instant sharing of images between devices to paste into apps that have input fields, like Pages and Messages.

Universal Clipboard is part of Continuity, Apple's umbrella term denoting features that work across Apple devices. For it to work, you must turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on all devices, which must be signed to the same Apple account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

With Universal Clipboard, the items you've copied or cut are available for pasting within 60 seconds or so. In contrast, the regular clipboard holds items until overwritten with new data or the device restarts.

You will also need to turn on Handoff on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. For the iPhone and iPad, venture into Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff and turn on the switch next to “Handoff.” On the Mac, go to System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff and tick the box next to “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.”

Triple-Click the Power Button to Invoke the Accessibility Shortcut Menu

Apple is routinely praised for the excellent accessibility features built into the iPhone, and many of them are so good that regular people use them every day; things like fullscreen zoom, Magnifier, Music Haptics, Vehicle Motion Cues, and others.

And with the handy Accessibility Shortcut, you can access your favorite accessibility features from a convenient menu, invoked by triple-pressing the power button.

To set it up, go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and cherry-pick your most frequently-used accessibility features to appear in this menu. You can then triple-press the power button to bring up the menu to quickly toggle those features on or off.

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My favorites are the three-finger gestures for copying and pasting. They're actually a nice alternative when AirDrop or iCloud Photos are having issues. The two-finger drag to quickly select stuff is tremendously useful as well, but I was left wishing it worked in all apps.

Many iPhone owners are oblivious to these secret gestures as Apple went out of its way to hide them. For example, there are absolutely no visual indications that you can turn the keyboard into a virtual trackpad or cut, copy, and paste by pinching.

But you'd be remiss to ignore these gestures. Putting effort into memorizing them will pay off; you'll be able to move the text-entry cursor around with utmost precision, as well as select text on your iPhone or iPad much faster, and cut, copy, and paste content without using menus.