New iPhone? Here’s how to turn it on, find apps, and other fun features

by James · January 6, 2023

New technology can be overwhelming.

There are things to tap, things to slide, and lots of buttons, or in some cases, no buttons at all.

Here’s what every new iPhone user needs to know about their new device.

Table of Contents

The basics

First, how does this thing turn on?

Press and hold the button on the right side of the device to turn it on.

If you have an older model, the button may be on the top of the device.

The power button can also be called the shutter button.

A quick press will lock the screen and prevent you from accidentally sending meaningless texts or phone calls to unknown numbers when you put it in your bag or pocket.

To take a screenshot of something on your phone, press the lock button and the volume up button at the same time. To see this in action, check out this video.

After turning on your new iPhone, go to the Settings app. This is what looks like a gear.

Here you can customize the settings of your phone and apps, such as notification settings, connect your phone to WiFi, change the font size, customize ringtones, and more.

To turn off the phone, press and hold the power button and one of the volume buttons at the same time. Then swipe when prompted.

App-y clock

New phones only come with built-in apps like Phone, Messages, Calendar, and Weather.

If you want to add more apps to your phone,

Open the App Store
Search the app you want or browse the categories in the store
Tap on the app to learn more about it, view app images, and read reviews
Tap the “get” button to download the free app
If the app costs money, tap the price
If prompted, confirm the download or purchase

The downloaded application will appear in the next available space on the home screen.

You can move apps around on the home screen and organize them into folders.

To move apps, press one of the apps until they all start to wiggle. Then drag it to where you want it.

You can move multiple apps at once. To do this, press down until it wobbles. While tapping an app, tap additional apps you want to move.

Once you’ve selected them all, drag them to where you want them.

To create a group, hover over an app you want to group it to until a folder is created. Simply add more apps by dropping them into the folder.

Fun features

iPhones have useful and unexpected features that not everyone knows about.

Did you know that your iPhone includes:

Most iPhones have this shortcut on the home screen.

You can access the flashlight and adjust the brightness in the control center.

On most iPhones, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to access Control Center.

To adjust the brightness of the flashlight, press the flashlight icon in the control center and adjust it up and down accordingly.

Measuring and leveling ability

Just search for “measurement” or “level” on your iPhone using search and follow the on-screen instructions.

It can read text through the camera

Point the camera at any text, such as a menu or sign, and press the symbol that looks like a split square with lines inside that appears inside the camera.

This highlights the text and allows you to select, copy, paste and translate it.

Just point your camera at the QR code and tap the pop-up link.