Split the keyboard

Having a tough time typing on the iPad’s massive keyboard with your thumbs while holding the tablet in both hands? If so, try splitting the iPad’s keyboard in two.

Typing on your iPad with your thumbs gets a lot easier once you split the keyboard.

The trick: one at a time, put one fingertip on the left side of the keyboard, then another fingertip on the right side. Now, pull the two sides apart. When you do, the iPad’s keyboard will split neatly in two, making it far easier for your thumbs to reach every key.

Or, here’s another way: tap and hold the keyboard key (the one in the bottom-right corner of the keypad), then slide your fingertip up to the Split button.

Want to put the keypad back together? Simply push the two sides together again, or tap and hold the keyboard key and select Merge.

Put the iPad’s keyboard in the middle of the screen

Even with the iPad’s keyboard split in two, typing with your thumbs can be tricky when the keypad is sitting at the bottom of the screen. Here’s the thing, though: you can, if you wish, let the keyboard float in the center of the display.

Tap and hold the keyboard button to “undock” the iPad’s keyboard from the bottom of the screen.

Tap and hold the keyboard button in the bottom-right corner of the keypad, then select Undock. When you do, the keyboard will slide up to the middle of the screen.

To move the keyboard back to the bottom of the screen, tap and hold the keyboard button again, then select Dock.

Look for shortcuts at the top of the keypad

Recently, I wrote a tip detailing how to bold, italicize or underline text in the body of an iOS Mail message by selecting the text and then tapping the BIU button—a handy trick, but on an iPhone, you need to tap a few times to reveal the button.

Keep an eye out for handy shortcut buttons at the top of the iPad’s keyboard.

On an iPad, the process is much easier thanks to the shortcuts sitting at the top of the keypad. When you’re using the iOS app, for example, you’ll find the BIU button sitting in plain sight, near the top-right corner of the keyboard, along with buttons that’ll let you add attachments, snap photos, and undo your most recent keystrokes.

Switch to the Notes app, and you’ll see different shortcut buttons at the top of the keyboard: in this case, buttons that let you draw freehand, change fonts, and add checkmark boxes.

Keep switching apps to discover more shortcut buttons along the top of the iPad keyboard.

Move the cursor or select text with two fingertips

Want to put the iPad’s cursor precisely where you want? One way is to just tap the screen wherever you want to cursor to go, but there’s also another way.

You can move the iPad’s cursor with more precision by swiping the keypad with two fingertips.

Hold two fingertips on the iPad’s keyboard until the letters on the keys disappear, then swipe your two fingertips around the keyboard. When you do, the cursor will move in the same pattern as your fingertips.

Next, try this: tap and hold the keypad with two fingertips again, but pause for a few seconds until you see the text-selection handles appear near the cursor. Once that happens, move one fingertip to drag the text selection box around.

Use two apps at once

The iPad will be getting some fancy multitasking features thanks to iOS 11, including the ability to drag and drop text, images, files and more from one window to another. That said, you don’t have to wait until this fall to use two apps at once on your iPad.

If you’re lucky enough to own a newer iPad, you can use two apps at once with the Split View feature.

If you have a relatively new iPad (such as the iPad Pro, the fifth-generation iPad, the iPad Air 2, or the iPad Mini 4), you can put two apps on the same screen using a feature called Split View.

Here’s how it works: within any app, swipe in from the right side of the screen. When you do, the previous app you were using will squeeze onto the screen, right next to the app you’re currently using.

Just keep sliding the divider until you’ve sized the two windows just the way you like, or swipe down from the top of the right-side app to switch to a new app. When you’re ready to close Split View, drag the divider back to the right side of the screen.

Sneak a peek at another app

Unfortunately, Split View won’t work on older iPad models like the original iPad, the iPad 2 or 3, the first iPad Air, or the first two iPad Mini models.

Got a slightly older iPad? You can still peek at one app while using another with Slide Over.

That said, if you have at least an iPad Air or the iPad Mini 2, you can still do a little multitasking courtesy of iOS’s Slide Over feature.

Again, swipe in from the right side of the screen to reveal the last app you were using, then swipe down from the top of the screen to switch apps.

Unlike the more robust Split View feature, the Slide Over window will only fill about a third of the screen, and it only lets you use the app that’s in the Slide Over window. As soon as you tap the original app you were using (which remains dimmed on the left side screen), the Slide Over window will disappear.

Put more apps in the app dock

Once iOS 11 arrives this fall, you’ll be able to summon the iPad’s app dock just about anytime you want, even when you’re working in an app. Pretty neat, but even while we wait for the iOS 11 rollout, the current iPad app dock has a nifty trick up its sleeves.

You can fit as many as six apps into the iPad’s app dock.

As it turns out, the app dock on the iPad can hold up to six apps, not just four (as on the iPhone). Just drag more apps into the dock, and the others will scoot out of the way.

Also, don’t forget: you can add web shortcuts and app folders to the dock, not just app icons.

Swipe with four or five fingers to switch apps

On the iPad, you don’t have to double-tap the Home button each time you want to switch apps. Instead, you can use a four-finger (or five-finger, if you like) gesture to open the App Switcher, the screen that shows all your open apps. There’s also another four-finger gesture that’ll let you switch directly from one app to another.

Want to switch directly from one app to another? Try swiping the screen with four fingertips.

First, try this: within any app, swipe up with four fingertips at once. When you do, you’ll arrive at the App Switcher screen, just as if you’d double-tapped the Home button.

Here’s another trick: again, within an app, swipe right with four fingertips; doing so will switch you directly to the last app you were using. You can also swipe left to switch to a more recent app.

Last trick: within in app, try pinching the screen with four (or five) fingertips; when you do, you’ll return to the home screen.

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Add some emphasis to your text

Want to give the words in your mail message some extra zing? If you like, you can italicize, bold and underline any selected text within your message.

The iOS Mail app lets you bold, italicize or underline words in the body of your message.

Just tap a word, tap the Select button in the black bubble to reveal the text selector, then drag the little black handles until you’ve selected all the words you want to modify.

Next, tap the BIU button in the black bubble above the selected text. (You may need to tap the arrow on the right side of the bubble to reveal the BIU button). Now, go ahead and tap Bold, Italic, or Underline.

Recover an accidentally deleted iOS Mail message

So, you’re rapidly deleting messages by swiping them in your iOS Mail inbox, when suddenly you trash a message you didn’t want to delete. Sound familiar?

Accidentally delete a mail message? Just shake your iPhone to reveal the “Undo Trash” pop-up.

Well, you could try poking your way around your various Trash folders to find the accidentally deleted message, or try this: just shake your iPhone.

When you do, an “Undo Trash” pop-up will appear. Tap the Undo button, and the message you mistakenly deleted will reappear in your inbox.

Note: Is the “shake-to-undelete” trick not working? Tap Settings, General, Accessibility, Shake to Undo, and make sure the switch is turned on.

Mark up attachments and sign PDFs

Got a PDF attachment in an iOS Mail message that you need to sign? Instead of printing the PDF, signing it, scanning it, and sending it back, you can sign the PDF directly on your iPhone or iPad.

Just open the message, tap the PDF, then tap the Markup button (the one that looks like a little toolbox) at the bottom corner of the screen.

Once you’ve traced your signature, just drag it where you want it to appear, then drag the handles to resize it.

Next, tap the signature button (in the bottom right corner), then follow the prompts to trace your signature (which will be saved for future use).

Once that’s done, your signature will appear on the PDF, surrounded by a thin box with handles on each corner. Tap and drag the signature to move it, then tap and drag a handle to resize the signature.

Adding signatures to a PDF isn’t the only thing the Markup tool can do. You can also draw lines, circles and arrows (just tap the Draw button), add captions or text (tap the Text button), or even add a magnifying glass to zoom in on a detail.

All finished? Tap the Done button, and the iOS Mail app will put marked-up PDF in a new Reply message.

Get an alert whenever a “VIP” sends you a mail message

If you’re like me, you don’t want to get an iOS notification each and every time you receive a new message in the iOS Mail app. Instead, you’d only like alerts when someone important—a loved one, a boss, or anyone else in your inner circle—sends you a message.

You’ll never miss a mail message from your boss again once you’ve added him to iOS Mail’s VIP list.

The trick: adding your most important contacts to your iOS “VIP” list. Once you do, you’ll get special VIP notifications whenever people on your VIP list send you mail messages, meaning you can (if you like) safely turn off Mail notifications for everyone else.

Open the Mail app, then tap the Back button in the top-left corner of the screen until you arrive at the mail Mailboxes screen.

Next, find the VIP mailbox (if you don’t see it, tap Edit, then make sure the starred VIP mailbox is checked), then tap the little “i” next to it.

Finally, tap Add VIP, then start adding contacts from your contact list.

Once you’ve added some new VIPs, tap the VIP Alerts button, then customize your VIP notifications. You could, for instance, change the alert tone for your VIPs, change the style of the alert (to, say, an Alert that must be manually cleared), or allow VIP notifications to appear on the iOS lock screen.

Get alerts when people reply to a specific e-mail thread

If you want to know the moment someone replies to an important e-mail conversations—anything from “Let’s do dinner!” to “Year-end review”—there’s an easy way to do it.

Tap “Notify Me” to get alerts whenever someone responds to a specific e-mail thread.

From right to left, swipe the message thread for which you’d like to get alerts. Next, tap More, then tap Notify Me.

A “Notify Me” confirmation will pop up on the screen; tap it to start getting notifications when anyone responds to the thread.

To turn the alerts off, just swipe the message from right to left again, tap More, then tap “Stop Notifying.”

To customize the type of alert you’ll get when someone replies to the e-mail thread, tap Settings, Notifications, Mail, Thread Notifications.

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Read on for four more things that’ll fit in the Android or iOS app dock, starting with…

1. App folders [iOS and Android]

Creating an app folder on your iOS or Android home screen is easy: just tap and hold one icon and drag it on top of another.

Nice, but here’s an even better trick: you can, if you wish, put folders in the app dock.

Wish you could add your favorite website to the app dock? No problem.

The folder should slide smoothly into place, perfect for accessing your favorite collection of apps from any of your swipable home screen.

2. Web site shortcuts [iOS and Android]

Both iOS and Android devices let you save shortcuts to oft-visited web sites to your home screen. For iPhone and iPad, you just open a web site, tap the Action button (the square one with the upward arrow), then tap Add to Home Screen. For Android, open a site in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu button, then tap “Add to Home screen.”

When you do, the shortcut will look just like a regular home-screen icon—and it’ll even act like one, too.

Want proof? Go ahead and drag that web site shortcut into the app dock. It should settle in quite nicely.

Adding a favorite contact to the app dock is easy—if you have an Android phone, that is.

3. Contact shortcuts [Android only]

Bad news, iPhone and iPad users: iOS still won’t let you create home-screen shortcuts for your contacts. One day, perhaps, Apple will see the light of day when it comes to this particular missing feature. Until then, this particular tip is just for lucky Android users.

Anyway, got a shortcut for a favorite contact sitting on your Android home screen?

You guessed it: drag it into the app dock for one-tap calling and texting to your bestie, no matter which of your various home screens you’re viewing.

You can add home screen widgets (like this “Directions” one for Google Maps) to your Android phone’s app dock.

4. Widgets [Android only]

In addition to contact shortcuts, Android users can also add app widgets—such as the “new document” widget for Google Docs, or “directions” for Google Maps—to their home screens, and if the widgets are small enough, they can be tucked into the app dock.

To add a widget to the app dock, tap and hold an empty spot on the home screen until the Widgets button appears. Tap the button, then find a small (“1 x 1”) widget and drag it directly into the dock.

Have more clever uses for your iOS or Android app dock? Post ’em below!

Note: This updated and expanded tip was first published in August 2014.

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Now, if you’re not keen on the idea of you—or anyone else, including perfect strangers—speed-dialing your contacts from your locked iPhone, I don’t blame you.

But if you’re looking for the fastest way possible to call or FaceTime your most-dialed contacts, give this tip a try. And actually, you can disable speed dialing from your iPhone’s lock screen, although doing so may entail some sacrifices on your part.

Where to find the “Today” view

First, you’ll need to install a new widget in the Today view—you know, the panel of widgets that shows you the weather, your upcoming calendar events, traffic conditions, and the like.

Once you add the Favorites widget to the Today view, you can move it up or down by dragging the three-line handle.

To get to the Today view, go to your home screen, then swipe from left to right. (You may have to swipe repeatedly if you have multiple home screens.) You can also get to the Today panel by swiping down from the home screen to reveal the iOS Notification Center, and then swiping from left to right.

Once you’ve arrived at the Today screen, scroll all the way down and tap the Edit button; doing so will take you to the Add Widgets screen.

Add the “Favorites” widget to the Today view

Next, scroll again until you find the Favorites widget, tap the green “+” button next to it, then tap Done. When you return to the Today screen, you’ll see the new Favorites widget—complete with icons for four of your favorites, or tap Show More to see up to eight—sitting at the bottom. (To reorder your widgets, tap the Edit button again, then drag the three-line handles next to each widget you want to move.)

To speed dial a contact, just tap a contact in the Today widget—much easier than having to jump to the Phone app and tapping the Favorites tab.

You may want to block the Today panel from your iPhone’s lock screen before installing the Favorites widget.

But remember, even after you lock your iPhone, you—or, as I mentioned before, anyone else—can still swipe from left to right on the lock screen, then tap a contact in the Favorites widget to call them.

Keep strangers from speed dialing your contacts from your locked iPhone

OK, but what if you love the idea of being able to speed dial your favorites, but don’t want strangers making calls from your locked iPhone?

If so, you can block access to the Today view—including the Favorites widget—when your iPhone is locked, although doing so means losing access to all your other Today widgets on the lock screen.

The trick? Tap Settings, Touch ID & Passcode, go to the “Allow Access when Locked” section, then flick off the Today View switch.

Bonus Tip

If you have Message or Mail favorites (that is, favorites for which you chose Message or Mail rather than Call or FaceTime), you can also one-tap those from the Favorites widget. Unlike one-touch phone and FaceTime dialing, you can’t send one-tap text or mail messages unless your device is unlocked.

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Read on for four reasons to make the switch, starting with…

1. It’s easy to install a new third-party keyboard app for your iOS device

If you’re worried that switching to a new keyboard app on your iPhone or iPad is a task for an expert—it’s not. Installing a new keyboard on your iOS device is actually easy; believe it or not, the most time-consuming part is waiting for the keyboard app to download from the App Store.

Installing a new iOS keyboard app is as easy as picking a keyboard from the list.

Once you’ve downloaded a third-party keyboard app (my favorites are below), just tap Settings, General, Keyboard, then Keyboards. Next, tap Add New Keyboard, tap the name of your new keyboard under the Third-Party Keyboards heading, and…well, that’s pretty much it.

The next time the iPhone or iPad keyboard appears, you’ll see your newly downloaded keyboard. To switch back and forth between your new keypad and the standard iOS keyboard, tap the key with the little globe. If you like, you can compare third-party keyboard apps by installing multiple keyboards at once; you can then cycle through them using the globe key.

To remove a keyboard from the list, tap Edit at the Keyboards screen, tap the red dot next to the keyboard you want to remove, then tap Delete.

Just tap the little globe key to switch between your installed keyboards.

In case you’re wondering, “deleting” a keyboard only removes it from your list of active keyboards; you’re not really trashing anything unless you actually delete the keyboard app from the iOS home screen. Also, rest assured: it’s impossible to delete the stock iOS keyboard (labeled “English” or whatever your native language is). If you ever want to get a “deleted” keyboard back, tap Add New Keyboard on the Keyboards screen.

2. There are lots of great third-party keyboard apps available

There’s no shortage of worthwhile keyboard apps on the App Store, and best of all, most of them are free. And generally speaking, the only time you’ll need to fork over any cash is if you want an optional extra, like a snazzy new keyboard design.

Among the top third-party keyboards: Gboard, a keyboard with Google that boasts built-in web, image and GIF search; Word Flow from Microsoft, which comes with a nifty one-handed typing mode; GO Keyboard, offering dozens of eye-catching keyboard themes; and SwiftKey, which was among the first keyboards to try predicting your next word as you type.

In case you’re wondering, Gboard is my current favorite keyboard app for iOS, but you should try as many alternatives as you can; after all, they’re (mostly) free.

3. You might become a better typist

You can only type so fast when you’re tapping one key at a time, and all that tap-tap-tapping can get pretty tedious over time. If you have an open mind, many third-party keypads have clever tricks up their sleeves that’ll make touchscreen typing both faster and fun.

A third-party keyboard named Swype offers a theme with number and symbol shortcuts on the main letter keys.

Keyboards like Gboard, SwiftKey and Word Flow all boast an essential feature commonly known as “gesture” or “glide” typing. In a nutshell, gesture typing lets you type by swiping from one key to another, meaning you only lift your fingertip from the screen between words. Gesture typing takes getting used to, of course, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be swiping out words faster than you could ever type them.

Other keyboards have their own unique tools that can help make you a better typist. Gboard, for example, lets you move the cursor by swiping back and forth on the spacebar, handy for making precision edits. Word Flow has a one-handed mode that curves the keyboard toward your left or right thumb. Swype, a 99-cent iOS keyboard app, has a theme that puts shortcuts for numbers and common symbols (like “@,” “$” and “&”) in the corner of letter keys; just tap and hold a key to type the number or symbol.

4. You can customize the look and feel of your keyboard

Tired of the bland design of the standard iOS keyboard? Most third-party keyboard apps offer a series of “themes” that’ll change the look of your iPhone or iPad keypad. You’ll usually find a keyboard’s theme settings by launching the keyboard app from your iPhone or iPad home screen.

Some keyboards (like Gboard) let you create your own keyboard themes using pictures from your iOS camera roll.

Some themes are as simple as a light or dark, while others offer different colors or eye-catching designs.

You may even be able to create your own keyboard theme using images from your iOS camera roll. Just keep in mind that some themes will require in-app purchases.

Bonus tip

Many third-party keyboards will ask you to enable a “Allow Full Access” setting during the setup process. What’s that all about?

Basically, the Allow Full Access setting lets the makers of a given keyboard take a peek at your typing, enabling them to learn from your habits and (supposedly) do a better job of predicting what you’re about to type.

Is that a privacy concern? You bet, and you can read my take on the whole issue here. The bottom line is that the best keyboard developers will keep your usage data anonymous, and they’ll also take pains to ignore sensitive data like passwords and credit card numbers.

That said, if you don’t want anyone looking over your shoulder while you type, you can always leave the Allow Full Access setting off, although you’ll potentially have to settle for iffier text predictions.

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Hi Vin! Yep, you sure can. Indeed, the markup tool for iOS is unsurprisingly similar to the one that’s now build into the Photos app for Mac. All you need to know is where to find it to make your iPhone screenshots dazzle.

Getting Started

If you try to draw an arrow or a speech bubble, iOS will suggest a more polished shape.

First, open the picture you want to edit in the Photos app, then tap the Edit button (the one with three sliders) at the bottom of the screen. Next, tap the More button (the circle with three dots in the middle), then tap the Markup button.

Now, go ahead and start drawing on your photo. You can sketch freeform if you like, or the Markup tool will suggest shapes if you try to draw an arrow or a speech bubble. If you choose a suggested shape, you can change it by tapping and dragging the little handles at the ends and in the middle.

You can pick from eight different colors in the palate just beneath the image, while the three-line button to the right lets you change the thickness of your touchscreen brush.

You can drag the little green handle to boost the magnification.

Next to the paintbrush button at the bottom of the screen is a magnifying glass tool, good for zooming in on specific details in your photo.

Tap the button, then drag the magnifying glass anywhere in the picture. You can also boost the size of the zoomed area by dragging the blue handle, while the green handle boosts the magnification.

Last But Not Least…

Tap the Text button to add text or captions to your snapshots. Once you tap the Text button, the word “Text” will appear in a box; tap and hold “Text” to select it, then start typing.

Don’t forget that you can change fonts and text sizes.

Don’t forget to tap the Font button (“aA”) to change fonts or boost/shrink the size of the words, and yes, the color palate can be applied to any text that you type.

When you’re all done with your arrows and photo captions, tap the Done button—and don’t worry, you can always go back and edit your scrawls, even after saving your iPhone screenshot.

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The trick? Poking around a bit in the iOS editing pop-up—you know, the one that appears when you tap and hold to select text.

Tap the BIU button to bold, italicize, or underline text in an email message.

Open the iOS Mail app, tap the Compose button, then tap out some text in the body of the message. Next, tap and hold a word, tap Select, then drag the tiny little blue handles to highlight the words you want to edit.

You should now see a small black pop-up in the Mail app with a series of editing buttons on the top, such as Cut, Copy, and Paste. If you’re using an iPad, you’ll also see a button marked BIU; on an iPhone, you’ll need to tap the arrow on the right side of the pop-up until the BIU button appears.

Once you tap the BIU button, three new buttons will pop up: Bold, Italics, and Underline. Tap one, two, or even all three of the buttons you want, and presto!

Bonus tip

A little bold, italics and underlining can do wonders for your Mail signature. When in the mail app, just tap Setting, Mail, Signature to start experimenting.

Looking for more iOS tips? Click here!

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Now, you probably already know that if the worst happens, you can always try to track your stolen iPhone with Find My iPhone, and that you can use the essential iPhone-finder app to lock your handset remotely, make it chirp a shrill “I’m here!” beep, or even wipe it clean.

What you may not know, though, is that the “lost mode” feature in Find My iPhone (which you can access from iCloud.com on the web, or from any iPhone or iPad with the Find My iPhone app installed) does a series of clever things that’ll help keep thieves from raiding your iOS device, as well as make it much more likely that your missing iPhone or iPad gets found again. Among them…

1. It’ll completely lock down your missing or stolen iPhone or iPad

As you may have guessed, tapping the “lost mode” button in Find My iPhone will instantly lock your missing iPhone or iPad, but it actually goes a few steps further than your device’s standard sleep state.

Once your missing iPhone or iPad is in “lost mode,” access to the Control Center panel—and, most importantly, the Airplane Mode button—will be disabled.

For one thing, “lost mode” disables Notification Center access from the lock screen, ensuring that anyone who’s got your missing device can’t see previews any incoming messages, emails, or any other alerts.

Even better, it disables lock-screen access to Control Center, the handy control panel that you can flick up from the bottom of the screen. Why is turning off Control Center so important? Because if left on, Control Center could let a thief put your stolen iPhone into Airplane Mode, cutting off all wireless access and rendering Find My iPhone useless.

“Lost mode” will also deactivate Siri, the chatty personal assistant that (depending on your settings) can be turned on from the lock screen. Last but not least, the lock-screen shortcut for Wallet (which, if you’re an Apple Pay user, contains all your digital credit card information) will be disabled, too.

Note: If you wish, you can preemptively disable lock-screen access for Notification Center, Siri, Wallet, and Control Center. For Control Center, tap Settings, Control Center, then flick off the Access on Lock Screen setting. For Notification Center and Siri, tap Settings, Touch ID & Passcode, find the Allow Access when Locked heading, then turn off the switches for Today View, Notifications View, Wallet and Siri.

2. It’ll disconnect your credit cards from Apple Pay

Let’s say the bad guys manage to crack your iPhone or iPad passcode (which, hopefully, is a little tougher to guess than “0000” or “1234”) and make their way into your device. That’s a bad situation, no question, but “lost mode” has a trick up its sleeve to keep your digital wallet safe.

iOS will automatically disconnect your credit cards from Apple Pay once you activate “lost mode” on your iPhone or iPad.

The moment you put your device in lost mode, iOS will remove your credit cards from Apple Pay, essentially emptying the plastic out of your virtual wallet. Once your stolen iPhone or iPad has been found or replaced, you can easily reactivate your credit cards for Apple Pay use.

3. It’ll keep bad guys from turning it off

Since “lost mode” automatically deactivates Control Center and the Airplane Mode button, an enterprising thief might try another method of throwing Find My iPhone off the scent: by simply powering off your stolen iPhone or iPad.

Well, sorry thieves. In addition to locking down your iOS device, “lost mode” will also disable the power button. That means your stolen iPhone or iPad will stay on and continue transmitting its location until its battery finally dies, which brings us to…

4. It’ll put your stolen iPhone or iPad in “low power” mode

The moment your put your iOS device in “lost mode”, iOS will automatically turn on its “low power mode” feature, which dims the screen and turns off most app background activity, all in the name of keeping your handset’s battery alive as long as possible.

Your iPhone or iPad’s “low power mode” feature will immediately switch on once “lost mode” is enabled.

But what happens when the battery in your iPhone or iPad finally does die? Here’s “lost mode’s” final trick…

5. It’ll transmit your iOS device’s location one last time

With its dying breath, your stolen iPhone or iPad will send out a final ping to Find My iPhone, revealing its location in the moments just before its battery goes out for good.

You’ll need to check whether “Send Last Location” is enabled on your device, though. Tap Settings > iCloud > Find my iPhone (or iPad), then make sure the “Send Last Location” setting is turned on.

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iOS 10’s new Bedtime feature will ask you a series of questions before setting up your nightly sleep schedule.

You’ll find iPhone bedtime in the revamped Clock app once you install iOS 10 on your iDevice. The feature only takes a new minutes to set up, and once it’s enabled, it can log how many hours of sleep you’re getting each night.

Note: As of this writing, iOS 10 has only been out for a week or so, and as usual I suggest you hold off on installing it until at least the first bug-squashing patch arrives. I haven’t run into any problems so far, but better safe than sorry.

Let’s Get Started

To get started with iPhone Bedtime, launch the Clock app and then tap the Bedtime tab. When you do, Bedtime will ask you a series of questions, such as when you want to wake up, which days of the week you’d like an alarm, how many hours of sleep you need each night, and when you’d like your bedtime reminder (anytime from an hour before to right at bedtime).

Once your sleep and wake times are set, you can change them by tapping and dragging the highlighted hours.

You’ll also get a chance to choose from nine alarm tones, from the soothing “Early Riser” to the energizing “Bright-Eyed.” Thankfully, the jarring “Alarm” tone isn’t an option.

Once you’ve answered every question, you’ll arrive at a clock face with your sleep hours highlighted in orange. Just tap and drag the sleep and wake times to change your sleep schedule, or tap the Options button to tweak your initial Bedtime settings.

As the days and nights go by, iPhone Bedtime will do its best to track how much sleep you’re actually getting. If your iPhone is sitting still on a bedside table, Bedtime will assume you’re getting some shuteye, while an iPhone-connected wristband or similar sleep tracker will give you an even better idea of whether you’re getting enough restful sleep.

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