6 iPhone Navigation Gestures You'll Wish You Knew Sooner

Mastering your iPhone's navigation gestures can take time, but doing so can transform your daily interactions, making your smartphone experience smoother and more efficient. Yet, many users remain unaware of some of the most powerful and time-saving gestures available.

speed up iphone typing trick
Whether you're an ‌iPhone‌ veteran or a newcomer, these hidden tricks can significantly enhance your device's usability. From quickly switching between apps to accessing controls with a simple swipe, here are six gestures designed to streamline your daily tasks.

Return to Top

Whenever you're browsing in Safari or scrolling through a long app menu or feed, tap the status bar at the top of your ‌‌iPhone‌‌'s display to shoot back up to the top.

settings
If you have an ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro or iPhone 15 and the Dynamic Island isn't in use, tapping it performs the same action.

Switch Apps

The Quick App Switcher is a handy feature on iPhones with no Home button that allows you to rapidly switch between recently used apps without the need to open the app switcher interface fully. It's ideal for tasks that require frequent app switching, such as copying information from one app to another.

safari
Simply swipe your finger horizontally across the bottom edge of your ‌iPhone‌’s screen. This gesture will cycle through your most recently used apps, allowing you to switch between them effortlessly.

Access Camera Faster

Capturing memories on camera often requires speed and spontaneity, and this ‌iPhone‌ camera feature is designed to ensure you never miss a shot.

iphone navigation gestures2
Instead of pressing the Camera icon on your Lock Screen, when your ‌iPhone‌ is locked, simply wake the screen and swipe left. This action immediately launches the Camera app, ready for you to take photos or videos.

Access Hidden Trackpad

Navigating and editing text on your ‌iPhone‌ can sometimes feel cumbersome, especially when trying to precisely place the cursor. Fortunately, Apple has integrated a hidden feature in the virtual keyboard that can make this task much easier.

notes
The next time you are writing something a little more lengthy and need to go back and change something, simply long-press the space bar, and the on-screen keyboard will transform into a trackpad that you can use to control the cursor. This allows you to navigate quickly through your text, moving the cursor to any desired spot with ease.

If you tap the trackpad with another finger while in this mode, you can also select chunks of text. This dual-functionality makes editing and tweaking text on your ‌iPhone‌ a breeze. Give it a try next time you're typing a message or note.

Spotlight Search is a powerful and efficient feature on ‌iPhone‌ that allows you to quickly find anything on your device, from apps and contacts to emails and web results. Spotlight can even search text in your photos thanks to Apple's Live Text feature.

iphone navigation gestures4
From any home screen, simply swipe downwards in the middle of the screen. This action will reveal the Spotlight Search bar at the top of your screen, along with a keyboard for entering your search query. You can even access it from the Lock Screen. (To disable access, go to Settings ➝ Face ID & Passcode, and toggle off Today View and Search under the "Allow Access When Locked" menu section.)

Reachability

Reachability is a convenient feature designed to make it easier to use your ‌iPhone‌ with one hand, especially on larger models. By temporarily shifting the screen’s top half down, it allows you to reach icons, buttons, and other elements at the top of the screen without needing to use both hands.

settings
To enable the feature, go to Settings ➝ Accessibility ➝ Touch, and turn on the switch next to Reachability. Then all you have to do is lightly swipe downwards on the bottom edge of the screen (above the Home button on ‌iPhone‌ SE models, or the gesture bar on models without a Home button). The entire screen will shift down, bringing the top portion within easier reach. To revert back to full screen, simply repeat the gesture.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...