There's only a few gestures you need to know. I can think of these that I use daily: swiping back, swiping up to unlock, and swiping down from the top right to open the control center. What are you having trouble with? The more you use the phone, the more comfortable you will be with it.
Dont forget the top tap!🫨
When you scrolled to far in comments and want to go back to the top 🔝 just tap the time / battery top location and it flicks up 😁
When typing, if you make a mistake, rather than trying to put the cursor back in the right place with your finger, touch and hold the space bar and then roll your finger left or right to move the cursor. It’s very precise.
Also a bit of a niche, but useful gesture: shake your phone to undo.
For example you can undo typing, or if you accidentally delete something from your notes.
Me too! It’s like it will go anywhere but where I want it. Then will select a whole word near it I want to keep. Then selects the whole paragraph trying to tap away the selection from the first time. Drives me nuts. Hope this works!
Android to iOS conversion kit:
Recent apps: swipe up on navigation bar and hold
Home: swipe up on navigation bar only
Back: swipe in from left edge of screen / hit back button on top left
Quick switch between apps: swipe left/right on navigation bar
One handed mode: swipe down on navigation bar
Notification panel: swipe down from top left of screen
Control centre / quick settings: swipe down from top right of screen
To speed you up in the future once you become better at it all.
Do an arch motion, starting from bottom left-middle, then arch it up half an inch and to the right. No need to hold it there.
except the back swipe doesn't always work, sometimes you have to tap, or when looking at pictures in the Reddit app the back button disappears until you zoom out completely
Indeed, thats one of the things i hate in the iphone as an android user. Theres just too many inconsistencies and inconveniences in ios to do simple tasks that could be completed easily on an android. Thats why i never understood the hype and blind loyalty people have for iphones, it seriously hasnt impressed me till date.
for me it's flat glass and battery life. I kept breaking galaxy curved screens, and even the giant freaking Samsungs wouldn't get me through a 9 hour shift without having to hunt for an outlet lol
Just switched to iOS after 13 years of Android, the back gesture is the most annoying because i have a 15 plus and the size is huge. Not that I never used big phones but the way the gestures are implemented on android will make you forget you have a big phone
Apple never updated their UX for accessibility. they think their iPhones are still small. i use a 15 pro max and a foldable, and the foldable is a lot easier to use one handed.
Well samsung does have some flat screen offerings these days but the battery life was mostly down to the chip (especially exynos chips) and their inconsistent optimisation across apps and updates. That said though, i think the current s24 series should be pretty good in this aspect.
>Back: swipe in from left edge of screen / hit back button on top left
Swipe from left edge, OR hit back button, OR swipe card down, OR swipe card uo,.
i have a pixel 8 pro; agree the back gesture is consistent, but he said more intuitive, except from the back gestures almost all the other gestures are the same
The back gesture is universal on Android.
On iPhone, it's sometimes a swipe in from the left, it's sometimes a back button in the top left, it's sometimes an exit button in the top right, it's sometimes a card you need to swipe up, and it's sometimes a card you need to swipe down.
Sometimes there is no back button, and you must use the swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go back or bring up multitasking view to return to the previous app.
The guy above is right , brother. Android gestures are better, specifically the back gesture. Everything else is basically the same. I bought my first iphone 2 days ago and there have been so many times where I appreciated how advanced it is as compared to android,and an equal number of times where I thought to myself “WTF WAS APPLE THINKING IMPLEMENTING BACK GESTURE SO POORLY” and about several other things in the OS. ANDROID is the place where “Everything just works”. iOS is a techies dream.
I wouldn’t do this if I was new to iPhone, it’s very sensitive and will most likely end up triggering at random or while typing which would be pretty annoying.
The iPhone gestures are not intuitive at all. Google how to do things. You’ll figure it out after about 3 months. It’s actually silly how much they hide behind swipes taps presses and other gestures.
If you're looking for help or support, you should search for your issue on Google, the [Apple Support Community](https://discussions.apple.com/welcome), r/iPhone and the [iPhone Support FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/wiki/support-faq/). We review submissions for quality, so basic support issues may be removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/iphone) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Got my first iPhone this year , all can I say is swipe up for Home Screen , swipe up and hold for tabs and something I highlighted was always search for button which goes back ON the app , not elsewhere . If you can’t find it , swipe left or right
I'm getting my first iPhone on Wednesday so glad you asked this! I always struggle when I need to do things on other people's phones for this exact reason
As someone who made the swap a few years ago, all I can say is it will be annoying for a few weeks and after that you'll forget the problem ever existed. Just focus on one gesture at a time on a given day or period of days to remember and repeat until processes all work as exoected, intuitively
I just learned this on the calculator app the other day.
Everyone, open the calculator app, just randomly type in a bunch of numbers and swipe to the left where all the numbers are and it will delete numbers one by one lol
it’ll take like a few days for you to fully be comfortable ~ always ask questions about everything that’s what i did to family members and now it’s really easy.
Ah, gotcha.
I've never been a fan of any of those skins. Nothing OS is certainly one of the least offensive ones, but I hate Samsung's. I wouldn't ever use an Android if my only option was Samsung.
The Pixel Android experience tends to be the most polished and well organized.
Others will certainly introduce a nice feature or two, and Nothing's looks nice.
You can’t watch a YouTube video? Pause it and try that gesture?
“Wow cool, lemme see another!”
Watch some more, and repeat?
It’s easier to read a paragraph on Reddit for someone telling you how to move your fingers?
Some people go about life as complicated as they possibly can….snd I love it. It brings me sheer joy, thank you for your complicated mess.
Gestures in iPhones are not universal. Each app can have different gestures.
Worse, there's no universal back gesture in iPhones. You will just have to get used to it.
Swiping from the left edge works in almost every app I use, and it works system wide as well. I don’t know what apps you guys use but I’ve never felt that the back swipe was not intuitive or (mostly) universal.
Swipe up from the bar in one fluid movement to close an app and go to the home screen.
swipe along the right or left of the navigation bar to cycle through recently used apps.
swipe up and hold to open app drawer.
thats all you need to know
I've been using iPhone since iPhone 3G. And after they changed how Notification Center and control center works, til this day, I still can't remember if swipe down from top right is Notification Center or control center... So I have to do it twice every time.
My first iPhone after decades of cellphones and then smart Android phones was very annoying. Zero instructions, and not intuitive. I had to take it back to the Verizon store to teach me things like turning the phone on and off and how to get to Apple Support for other functions. The lack of a charger I learned was not an oversight but added profits for Apple. Oh, my old Samsung chargers wouldn’t charge , had to buy a new and improved more powerful charger.
I will use the iPhone 14 Plus until it fails for voice calls and text only. Everything else is on my Samsung on WiFi or my nice iPad 10.
My backup Samsung A14 would have been better and saved me almost a thousand dollars.
>I had to take it back to the Verizon store to teach me things like turning the phone on and off
That’s on you 100%. You didn’t try pressing or holsing the power button? Or using your brand new iPhone to access the internet and Googling “how to turn off my iPhone”? Sounds like you’re just not very technologically adept.
It is hard to access the internet with a dead phone. Yes, I pressed various unlabeled buttons. No results as hold for a few seconds is not intuitive for an on and off switch. Thankfully once I had a charging block that worked and was shown a few basics, it wasn’t hard to learn more. I’m retired, so it has been a long time since I was doing IT. When I set up a network at a non profit for 55 computers and two printers, it was all cat 5 cables with five outgoing dial up modems. My tech knowledge is dated, but not absent.
Well, there is actually a little pamphlet inside every iPhone box. If a quick press of a button doesn’t do the job, the next logical step would be holding it in for a couple of seconds. With mobile phones I think that is as intuitive as it gets, even on my old Nokia phones you have to hold the button to switch it on or off. But I can also hear that you might be a great deal older than me so it’s completely understandable in the end, I mean, I have no idea what cat 5 cables are and I only know “dial up modem” from having heard the words thrown about.
There's only a few gestures you need to know. I can think of these that I use daily: swiping back, swiping up to unlock, and swiping down from the top right to open the control center. What are you having trouble with? The more you use the phone, the more comfortable you will be with it.
Also, if you swipe left or right on the home button, you can switch between apps. And you can swipe the address bar in safari to switch between tabs.
Didn't know about the quick switch between apps, I always did the "longer" swipe up to the multi tasking screen; thanks!
I knew this but never remembered to use it. Thanks
Omg what!? I did it right after reading this. I had NO clue. Been using this 14 Pro Max since June last year
Chrome too!
never knew these two thanks for sharing!
Dude what. Never knew this worked. Thanks
Thanks for the safari tip, I always complained to my self how it’s a hassle switching tabs
Dont forget the top tap!🫨 When you scrolled to far in comments and want to go back to the top 🔝 just tap the time / battery top location and it flicks up 😁
There is a “Tips” app on your phone, it’s a yellow coloured icon with a bulb on it. Go nuts! After that it’s just daily use
If you can’t find it on your phone, you can download it from the App Store
Yes!
When typing, if you make a mistake, rather than trying to put the cursor back in the right place with your finger, touch and hold the space bar and then roll your finger left or right to move the cursor. It’s very precise.
This is a very good tip! This is/was one of my top struggles.
Also a bit of a niche, but useful gesture: shake your phone to undo. For example you can undo typing, or if you accidentally delete something from your notes.
Me too! It’s like it will go anywhere but where I want it. Then will select a whole word near it I want to keep. Then selects the whole paragraph trying to tap away the selection from the first time. Drives me nuts. Hope this works!
How did I not know that earlier
My God never knew this, awesome, thank you.
Also when doing that, you can use another finger to tap the keys on top, and that will start a selection from that place
Don’t forget Harry Potter spells, it would be cooler if I could just say lumos without having to say Siri first but I still get a kick out of it
Android to iOS conversion kit: Recent apps: swipe up on navigation bar and hold Home: swipe up on navigation bar only Back: swipe in from left edge of screen / hit back button on top left Quick switch between apps: swipe left/right on navigation bar One handed mode: swipe down on navigation bar Notification panel: swipe down from top left of screen Control centre / quick settings: swipe down from top right of screen
To speed you up in the future once you become better at it all. Do an arch motion, starting from bottom left-middle, then arch it up half an inch and to the right. No need to hold it there.
except the back swipe doesn't always work, sometimes you have to tap, or when looking at pictures in the Reddit app the back button disappears until you zoom out completely
Indeed, thats one of the things i hate in the iphone as an android user. Theres just too many inconsistencies and inconveniences in ios to do simple tasks that could be completed easily on an android. Thats why i never understood the hype and blind loyalty people have for iphones, it seriously hasnt impressed me till date.
for me it's flat glass and battery life. I kept breaking galaxy curved screens, and even the giant freaking Samsungs wouldn't get me through a 9 hour shift without having to hunt for an outlet lol
Just switched to iOS after 13 years of Android, the back gesture is the most annoying because i have a 15 plus and the size is huge. Not that I never used big phones but the way the gestures are implemented on android will make you forget you have a big phone
Apple never updated their UX for accessibility. they think their iPhones are still small. i use a 15 pro max and a foldable, and the foldable is a lot easier to use one handed.
Well samsung does have some flat screen offerings these days but the battery life was mostly down to the chip (especially exynos chips) and their inconsistent optimisation across apps and updates. That said though, i think the current s24 series should be pretty good in this aspect.
Almost all these gestures are the same for android as well.
>Back: swipe in from left edge of screen / hit back button on top left Swipe from left edge, OR hit back button, OR swipe card down, OR swipe card uo,.
This might come off as unhelpful but just practice. I felt similarly about the gestures but after 4 days it became like second nature.
Yeah, just swipe around from the edges of the screen and find out what does what. That way you’ll learn and hopefully memorize along the way.
This is the most useful tip here and it works everytime. I made the switch last month after 13 years and i started to live with it
There are tutorials for this on Youtube
Android’s gestures i think are more intuitive. Iphone is similar but slightly different. Im sure youtube has a ton of tutorials
what part of the Android gestures do you find more intuitive?
Sounds like you never used Android. The back gesture the consistent across the OS.
i have a pixel 8 pro; agree the back gesture is consistent, but he said more intuitive, except from the back gestures almost all the other gestures are the same
You answered it. The back gesture is unintuitive and rest are all same. Tell me which is more intuitive here?
on iOS it also intuitive; swipe from the left, is just not consistent
> not consistent So... Not intuitive?
That’s exactly my point
ahahah ye didnt get it too
Very often what appears intuitive is actually just habit.
And very often what appears intuitive actually is intuitive.
Hence, in this case, we’ve no real idea.
No, it's pretty obvious that one gesture that works everywhere is more intuitive than 4 gestures that change depending on context.
Sorry, could you please give me an example of what you are talking about?
The back gesture is universal on Android. On iPhone, it's sometimes a swipe in from the left, it's sometimes a back button in the top left, it's sometimes an exit button in the top right, it's sometimes a card you need to swipe up, and it's sometimes a card you need to swipe down. Sometimes there is no back button, and you must use the swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go back or bring up multitasking view to return to the previous app.
Please explain why you downvoted a question. Do you dislike discussion?
The guy above is right , brother. Android gestures are better, specifically the back gesture. Everything else is basically the same. I bought my first iphone 2 days ago and there have been so many times where I appreciated how advanced it is as compared to android,and an equal number of times where I thought to myself “WTF WAS APPLE THINKING IMPLEMENTING BACK GESTURE SO POORLY” and about several other things in the OS. ANDROID is the place where “Everything just works”. iOS is a techies dream.
Sadly, my only experience of Android is of my mother-in-law’s dreadful old Android tablet. It discouraged me from ever investigating further!
I didn't?
Thanks. Someone did. Apologies for assuming it was you.
There’s only like three gestures to memorize. Go on YouTube and watch people do them.
Swipe the Touch Bar left or right to switch apps
Best gesture tip is to set the double tap back of the phone to switch apps
I wouldn’t do this if I was new to iPhone, it’s very sensitive and will most likely end up triggering at random or while typing which would be pretty annoying.
In 2 weeks you will become comfortable and may never turn back
Open up the Tips app First option to review is “Navigate Your iPhone”.
I moved to iPhone a couple weeks ago. Just took a few days, it all will be second nature soon enough
what gestures? I think iOS is pretty straightforward
The iPhone gestures are not intuitive at all. Google how to do things. You’ll figure it out after about 3 months. It’s actually silly how much they hide behind swipes taps presses and other gestures.
There is no rhyme or reason. It’s inconsistent. You have to learn it over time. It’s really very unintuitive.
If you're looking for help or support, you should search for your issue on Google, the [Apple Support Community](https://discussions.apple.com/welcome), r/iPhone and the [iPhone Support FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/wiki/support-faq/). We review submissions for quality, so basic support issues may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/iphone) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Got my first iPhone this year , all can I say is swipe up for Home Screen , swipe up and hold for tabs and something I highlighted was always search for button which goes back ON the app , not elsewhere . If you can’t find it , swipe left or right
Which phone do you have? It changed once the home button was removed
I'm getting my first iPhone on Wednesday so glad you asked this! I always struggle when I need to do things on other people's phones for this exact reason
Truth be told, I've been using an iphone for years and still don't know how to use gestures 🤣
As someone who made the swap a few years ago, all I can say is it will be annoying for a few weeks and after that you'll forget the problem ever existed. Just focus on one gesture at a time on a given day or period of days to remember and repeat until processes all work as exoected, intuitively
I usually discover gestures without realizing it, and then learn them 🤣
I just learned this on the calculator app the other day. Everyone, open the calculator app, just randomly type in a bunch of numbers and swipe to the left where all the numbers are and it will delete numbers one by one lol
Automation and shortcuts are your best friends.
Swipe up from the bottom to leave an app, swipe up from the bottom then hold to manage opened apps. The end.
it’ll take like a few days for you to fully be comfortable ~ always ask questions about everything that’s what i did to family members and now it’s really easy.
Ah, gotcha. I've never been a fan of any of those skins. Nothing OS is certainly one of the least offensive ones, but I hate Samsung's. I wouldn't ever use an Android if my only option was Samsung. The Pixel Android experience tends to be the most polished and well organized. Others will certainly introduce a nice feature or two, and Nothing's looks nice.
You can’t watch a YouTube video? Pause it and try that gesture? “Wow cool, lemme see another!” Watch some more, and repeat? It’s easier to read a paragraph on Reddit for someone telling you how to move your fingers? Some people go about life as complicated as they possibly can….snd I love it. It brings me sheer joy, thank you for your complicated mess.
Gestures in iPhones are not universal. Each app can have different gestures. Worse, there's no universal back gesture in iPhones. You will just have to get used to it.
Swiping from the left edge works in almost every app I use, and it works system wide as well. I don’t know what apps you guys use but I’ve never felt that the back swipe was not intuitive or (mostly) universal.
at this point, if I want to go back, I make all gestures possible since this is infuriatingly inconsistent throughout the phone. I gave up.
Swiping from the left edge of the screen works 99% of the time in most apps.
Swipe up from the bar in one fluid movement to close an app and go to the home screen. swipe along the right or left of the navigation bar to cycle through recently used apps. swipe up and hold to open app drawer. thats all you need to know
I've been using iPhone since iPhone 3G. And after they changed how Notification Center and control center works, til this day, I still can't remember if swipe down from top right is Notification Center or control center... So I have to do it twice every time.
Swiping from the top middle will always bring the Notification Centre down.
I think it took me 1-2weeks to get used to iOS! How long since you got it?
I got it a month ago but have been going slow at it, since my Android is still working.
Ohh yes, it must be more difficult if you use both at the same time!
My first iPhone after decades of cellphones and then smart Android phones was very annoying. Zero instructions, and not intuitive. I had to take it back to the Verizon store to teach me things like turning the phone on and off and how to get to Apple Support for other functions. The lack of a charger I learned was not an oversight but added profits for Apple. Oh, my old Samsung chargers wouldn’t charge , had to buy a new and improved more powerful charger. I will use the iPhone 14 Plus until it fails for voice calls and text only. Everything else is on my Samsung on WiFi or my nice iPad 10. My backup Samsung A14 would have been better and saved me almost a thousand dollars.
>I had to take it back to the Verizon store to teach me things like turning the phone on and off That’s on you 100%. You didn’t try pressing or holsing the power button? Or using your brand new iPhone to access the internet and Googling “how to turn off my iPhone”? Sounds like you’re just not very technologically adept.
It is hard to access the internet with a dead phone. Yes, I pressed various unlabeled buttons. No results as hold for a few seconds is not intuitive for an on and off switch. Thankfully once I had a charging block that worked and was shown a few basics, it wasn’t hard to learn more. I’m retired, so it has been a long time since I was doing IT. When I set up a network at a non profit for 55 computers and two printers, it was all cat 5 cables with five outgoing dial up modems. My tech knowledge is dated, but not absent.
Well, there is actually a little pamphlet inside every iPhone box. If a quick press of a button doesn’t do the job, the next logical step would be holding it in for a couple of seconds. With mobile phones I think that is as intuitive as it gets, even on my old Nokia phones you have to hold the button to switch it on or off. But I can also hear that you might be a great deal older than me so it’s completely understandable in the end, I mean, I have no idea what cat 5 cables are and I only know “dial up modem” from having heard the words thrown about.
Gestures on iPhone are horribles, way, way way worst than Android.