Your iPhone’s home button is probably the key you use the most. We list what you can do with it.
The iPhone home button is getting more and more options
Since the very first iPhone, the home button, the only button on the front of the device, has been central to the operation of the smartphone. Over the years, the button has acquired new functions. Think of Touch ID (introduced with the iPhone 5S) and system vibrations (thanks to the revamped Taptic Engine on the iPhone 7).
With the iPhone home button (or home button, as Apple calls it) you can do much more than just switch on the device. For the sake of clarity, we have listed all applications:
- Press the home button once to unlock the iPhone or to return (from an app) to the home screen;
- If you don’t have Touch ID enabled, your iPhone will show the lock screen after pressing the button. With a swipe to the left you open the camera, swipe to the right for your notifications and informative widgets;
- Press and hold the home button for voice control and / or Siri (switch on the assistant via ‘Settings> Siri’);
- Double press the home button to multitask and switch between apps. Close apps with a swipe upwards;
- Tap twice quickly (without pressing the button) to use the Reach Me feature on newer iPhones. Apps then slide down, so you can easily reach them with your thumb;
- Clicking three times will open Accessibility Options (if set). Via ‘Settings> General> Accessibility> Activation button’ you determine what the function does, for example zoom in or read aloud what is on the screen (useful for blind people);
- If the home button of your iPhone no longer works properly, enable the ‘AssistiveTouch’ option via ‘Activation button’ to conjure up a digital home button on the screen;
- With one press of the iPhone home button, you can close all kinds of apps and functions, such as the Control Center or the camera.
- From the iPhone 7, the home button is no longer really a physical key, but a surface that provides feedback with vibrations. Via ‘Settings> General> Accessibility> 3D Touch’ you set the sensitivity of the button;
- Go to ‘Accessibility> Home button’ and activate the ‘Place finger to open’ feature to make sure your iPhone with Touch ID unlock without pressing the home button.
Also read: this is how resetting a stuck iPhone 7 (Plus) works