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The release of iOS 26 introduces the ultra-light liquid glass effect, a feature designed to enhance your iPhone's display with improved clarity, contrast, and customization options. This guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough to help you enable and optimize this feature, making sure a seamless and visually refined experience across your device. From lock screens to menus, the ultra-light liquid glass effect offers both aesthetic and functional benefits. The video below from iDeviceHelp gives us more details.

Why the Ultra-Light Liquid Glass Effect Matters

The ultra-light liquid glass effect is more than just a visual enhancement-it's a practical upgrade that improves usability. By enhancing screen clarity and contrast, this feature ensures better visibility in a variety of lighting conditions, including bright outdoor environments. Whether you're customizing your lock screen or navigating menus, the liquid glass effect delivers a sleek, modern aesthetic while improving readability and accessibility. It's a feature designed to make your iPhone not only look better but also work better for you.

Customizing Your Lock Screen for Maximum Impact

The lock screen is one of the most prominent areas where the ultra-light liquid glass effect truly stands out. To customize your lock screen and make the most of this feature:

Open the "Settings" app on your iPhone.

Navigate to "Lock Screen Personalization."

Adjust the clock's appearance to enable the solid white liquid glass effect.

This customization enhances readability while giving your lock screen a polished and contemporary look. The result is a lock screen that is both functional and visually appealing, setting the tone for the rest of your device.

Optimizing Display Settings for Better Visibility

To fully use the ultra-light liquid glass effect, it's essential to fine-tune your display settings. Follow these steps to optimize brightness and contrast:

Go to "Settings" and select "Display & Brightness."

Enable the tinted liquid glass option to enhance contrast, making text and icons more distinct.

Adjust the brightness slider to achieve optimal visibility in both low-light and bright environments.

These adjustments ensure that your screen remains clear and easy to read, regardless of the lighting conditions. The combination of enhanced contrast and adjustable brightness creates a display that adapts to your surroundings while maintaining a sharp and vibrant appearance.

Enhancing Accessibility with Liquid Glass

The ultra-light liquid glass effect also offers significant benefits for users who prioritize accessibility. By tweaking specific settings, you can further enhance the usability of your device:

Open "Settings" and navigate to "Accessibility."

Enable "Show Borders" to make buttons and interface elements more defined.

Activate "Increase Contrast" to improve visibility for users with visual impairments or those who prefer sharper displays.

These accessibility features ensure that the liquid glass effect is not just visually appealing but also functional for a wide range of users. Whether you need clearer buttons or sharper text, these settings allow you to tailor your iPhone's display to your specific needs.

Applying the Effect Across Notifications and Menus

The ultra-light liquid glass effect extends beyond the lock screen, enhancing the appearance of notifications, menus, and submenus. To apply this effect across your device:

Go to "Settings" and select "Notification Styling."

Customize the appearance of notifications with the liquid glass effect for improved clarity and readability.

Access "Menu and Control Center" settings to apply the effect across menus and submenus.

This creates a cohesive and visually appealing interface throughout your device, making sure that every interaction feels smooth and modern. By applying the liquid glass effect consistently, you can enjoy a unified design language that enhances both form and function.

Step-by-Step Guide to Enable and Optimize Ultra-Light Liquid Glass

To summarize the process of allowing and optimizing the ultra-light liquid glass effect, follow these steps:

Open "Settings" and navigate to "Display & Brightness."

Enable the tinted liquid glass option and adjust the brightness slider for optimal visibility.

Go to "Accessibility" and activate "Show Borders" and "Increase Contrast."

Customize the lock screen clock under "Lock Screen Personalization" to apply the liquid glass effect.

Enhance notifications and menus by adjusting settings in "Notification Styling" and "Menu and Control Center."

By following these steps, you can unlock the full potential of the ultra-light liquid glass effect, transforming your iPhone's display into a more adaptable and visually stunning interface.

Maximizing the Potential of Ultra-Light Liquid Glass

The ultra-light liquid glass effect in iOS 26 is a feature that seamlessly combines functionality with style. By customizing your lock screen, optimizing brightness and contrast, and using accessibility settings, you can create a personalized experience that caters to your preferences and needs. Additionally, applying the effect to notifications and menus ensures a cohesive design across your device. This feature not only enhances the visual appeal of your iPhone but also improves its usability, making it an essential part of the iOS 26 experience.

Uncover more insights about the iOS 26 liquid glass effect in the previous articles we have written.

Source & Image Credit: iDeviceHelp

Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.

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How to Enable Ultra-Light Liquid Glass on iPhone in iOS 26

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Discover how to enable and optimize iOS 26's ultra-light liquid glass effect for a stunning and functional iPhone display.

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How to Enable Ultra-Light Liquid Glass on iPhone in iOS 26

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How to add a restart button to iPhone Home and Lock Screen

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How to add a restart button to iPhone Home and Lock Screen

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Learn how to reboot your iPhone or iPad with just two taps on your Home Screen or Lock Screen so you can refresh the system quickly.

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How to Stop Apple Watch from Dinging While Charging

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How to Stop Apple Watch from Dinging While Charging

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Now that you know why your Apple Watch dings while charging, let’s go over how to stop Apple Watch from dinging while charging:

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Your iPhone is about to get a new privacy feature to protect your location data from prying eyes

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The iOS 26.3 update has a new Limit Precise Location feature designed to protect your privacy.

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Go through these tips to cut down the amount of local storage space Apple Music takes up on your iPhone or iPad.

The storage used by high-quality streaming and downloading on Apple Music can quickly balloon to several gigabytes. Once this happens, you may not have sufficient space left for taking pictures, recording videos, downloading new apps, and so forth. Therefore, it's important that you make some changes if you have an iPhone with base storage.

Restart your iPhone regularly

Switching your iPhone off and back on every few days can automatically clear unnecessary cache and offline data, keeping local storage space in check. I generally restart my iPhone every 4 to 5 days or sooner if something isn't working right, which happens often in iOS 26.

Saving songs for offline consumption takes up a lot more local iPhone space compared to streaming. So, if you have fast Wi-Fi or unlimited cellular connectivity, keep just a few of your favorite songs offline and stream the rest.

Turn off automatic downloads

Apple Music lets you enable automatic downloads, which saves every song for offline listening when you add it to your library. While handy for some, this feature can quickly eat up a lot of local space on your iPhone or iPad. So, head to iOS Settings > Apps > Music and turn off Automatic Downloads. You can still manually download songs that you want.

Set a lower download quality

Lossless audio consumes more data and takes up more local space when downloaded offline.

Unless you're a hardcore audiophile and use high-quality wired earphones/headphones, you'll notice no difference between Lossless audio and standard audio.

So, go to iOS Settings > Apps > Music and tap Audio Quality. If Lossless Audio is enabled, turn it off, or select Downloads and set it to High Quality (AAC 256 kbps).

Assign a storage limit for downloaded songs

iOS includes a handy Optimize Storage feature that automatically removes songs you haven't listened to recently when your iPhone runs low on space. However, it will still preserve at least 4 GB of music (about 800 individual tracks), so you continue to have some offline media. Go to iPhone or iPad Settings > Apps > Music > Optimize Storage to turn on this feature and set a minimum storage boundary.

Delete duplicate songs

Just like duplicate photos, contacts, and files, you may have duplicate songs in your Apple Music library. These can be the same tracks or another version of the same song (Live, Clean, Explicit, Acoustic, Lo-Fi, Cover, etc.).

If you have a Mac, use the dedicated duplicate cleaner built into the Music app. Thanks to Sync Library, songs you delete from your Mac will also be removed from your iOS device.

But if you only have an iPhone or iPad, follow these steps instead:

Open the Music app and tap Library > Songs.

Tap the three dots menu button at the top and select Title to sort all songs by name (A to Z or Z to A).

Now, browse through your library, and if you see the same song more than once, delete the version you don't want to keep.

Get rid of music videos

Video files can take up significant space on your iPhone or iPad. Go to the Library section of the iOS Music app and tap Music Videos to see if you have downloaded some clips. Then, remove the ones you have already watched or no longer want to rewatch.

Free up Apple Music cache

There are easy ways to clear Apple Music cache on Mac and Android. But on iPhone and iPad, you can delete the cache only by doing one of these things:

Delete and reinstall the app

And finally, if your Apple Music app size has exceeded several GBs, and you don't know where to start, the quickest option is to delete the app altogether, which will remove all downloaded songs and also clear any cache and local files.

After you delete the app, restart your iPhone and then download the iOS Music app again from the App Store.
These are some of the most practical ways to reduce the amount of local storage space taken up by Apple Music on your iPhone or iPad. Which of the above tips will you be using?
Also, check out: 50+ tips to free up storage space on iPhone and iPad

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How to reduce the space taken by Apple Music on iOS

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Go through these tips to reduce the amount of local storage space Apple Music takes up on your iPhone or iPad.

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How to reduce the space taken by Apple Music on iOS

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How to Stop iPhone from Switching Audio from Headphones to Speakers - iOS Hacker

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Are you tired of seeing your iPhone automatically switch audio from your headphones or AirPods to a Bluetooth Speaker or Car Audio? In this guide, we will

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How to Stop iPhone from Switching Audio from Headphones to Speakers

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iOS 26’s Photos app has a helpful new feature for events: Here’s how it works

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iOS 26’s Photos app has a helpful new feature for events: Here’s how it works - 9to5Mac

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At WWDC25, Apple introduced a few new capabilities to the Photos app for iOS 26. Most notably, it reintroduces a…

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Use Boolean operators (OR, AND, or NOT) to narrow down or broaden your search results in Finder to quickly locate the right files.

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How to use OR, AND, or NOT to narrow down file search on Mac

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Transform your iPhone: Ultimate guide to custom Home Screens, widgets and icons

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You can customize your iPhone Home Screen’s theme, icons and widgets like never before. Here’s how to do it, with examples for inspiration.

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Transform your iPhone: Ultimate guide to custom Home Screens, widgets and icons

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Block all YouTube ads with the best Safari extension ever [Awesome Apps]

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Block all YouTube ads with the best Safari extension ever [Awesome Apps]

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Vinegar blocks all YouTube ads and restores features like playing videos in the background and picture-in-picture on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

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iOS users can install the full spectrum of top VPNs. Here’s how to make them work for you.

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How to add family members to your Apple Account

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How to add family members to your Apple Account

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Learn how to add your spouse, kids, and family members to Apple’s Family Sharing to share purchases, manage parental controls, and more.

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The 8 best apps to identify anything using your phone’s camera

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Point, shoot, and know. It’s really that simple.

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The 8 best apps to identify anything using your phone's camera

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Create a safe, age-appropriate iPad setup for your kid by configuring Family Sharing, Screen Time limits and more.

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10 Hacks Every Apple Watch User Should Know

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10 Hacks Every Apple Watch User Should Know

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Your Apple Watch can do a lot more than tell you the time and track your workouts. You can customize everything including the widgets, activity rings, and alarm sounds.

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This Mac superpower lets you copy text from any PDF [Pro Tip]

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Trying to copy text from a PDF can be a nightmare. But the Mac has Live Text, a secret trick up its sleeve to make it dead simple.

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This Mac superpower lets you copy text from any PDF [Pro Tip]

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When you need to video chat and they don’t pick up the phone, you can send a FaceTime voicemail to someone that they can watch later.

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This Mac superpower lets you copy text from any PDF [Pro Tip]

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Trying to copy text from a PDF can be a nightmare. But the Mac has Live Text, a secret trick up its sleeve to make it dead simple.

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This Mac superpower lets you copy text from any PDF [Pro Tip]

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4 Clever Uses For Your Old Apple TV - BGR

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Your old Apple TV can still be put to good use if you’re replacing it with another device. Before you donate it, try these simple ideas to make it useful again.

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Hate iPhone’s new ‘slide to stop’ alarm? Get the old button back.

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You don’t need to use the iPhone’s new slide to stop gesture for alarms. Here’s how to quickly and easily deactivate it.

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Hate iPhone's new 'slide to stop' alarm? Get the old button back.

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is there a way to combine apple services to save money? are there any web sites that do a good job of breaking this down?

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is there a way to combine apple services to save money? are there any web sites that do a good job of breaking this down?

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Yes, combining Apple services through Apple One can save money, especially for households or individuals using multiple Apple services. Apple One bundles several services—such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, Apple Fitness+, and Apple News+—into a single subscription, which is typically cheaper than subscribing to each service individually. There are three plans available: the Individual plan ($16.95/month), the Family plan ($22.95/month) for up to five members, and the Premier plan ($32.95/month) that includes additional services like Apple Fitness+ and 2TB of iCloud storage. The Family and Premier plans allow sharing among up to five people, making them particularly cost-effective for families.

In addition to Apple One, other strategies can help save money. For example, the Apple Music Voice plan is available for $5/month but is limited to Siri-enabled devices. Students can get Apple Music for $6/month, and the Family plan for Apple Music offers unlimited access for up to six people at $15/month. Bundling services through Apple One can also provide significant savings compared to individual subscriptions.

Several websites provide detailed breakdowns of Apple One and related savings strategies. Wired offers a comprehensive overview of Apple One, including its pricing, included services, and value proposition. Pocket-lint explains how to use Family Sharing to share subscriptions and save money, highlighting which services are shareable and how to set it up. GoSplit provides a platform to share and split the cost of Apple One subscriptions with others, even outside of family groups, by managing payments and account details. These resources can help users understand how to consolidate and optimize their Apple service subscriptions for maximum savings.

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Yes, combining Apple services through Apple One can save money, especially for households or individuals using multiple Apple services. Apple One bundles several services—such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, Apple Fitness+, and Apple News+—into a single subscription, which is typically cheaper than subscribing to each service individually[7]. There are three plans availabl…

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How to use continuous background music recognition on iPhone

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How to use continuous background music recognition on iPhone

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Use Auto Shazam to have Shazam continuously listen for songs in the background and identify them, even if you exit it or lock your device.

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Make calls more personal: Your guide to creating custom iPhone Contact Posters

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How to make a killer contact poster.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Contact Posters let you customize how your Apple contact card looks to other people when you call them. If they have your contact info in their address book, your customized Contact Poster will appear on their iPhone's screen.

Done right, Contact Posters look great - way better than the old thumbnail images that preceded them. Plus, it's really easy to turn an ordinary picture into a gorgeous-looking Contact Poster that makes a real impact.

And once you set one up, everyone with your matching phone number and/or Apple Account will see your chosen contact picture and personalized Contact Poster.

I'll show you how to set one up; the process might look familiar if you've set up a custom Lock Screen.

How to create a Contact Poster on iPhone

Introduced in iOS 17, Contact Posters turn your iPhone contact card into a shareable bit of self-expression. Rather than displaying a default thumbnail, you can choose and customize a photo, Memoji or a classy-looking monogram that shows up on someone's screen when you call them.

This guide will walk you through how to pick the perfect portrait, add filters, tweak colors, choose fonts or go full Memoji - and once you tap "Done," your customized Contact Poster becomes the image that pops up whenever you reach out.

They're more than cosmetic, though. Contact Posters transform the bland incoming call screen into a personal, expressive calling card. Contact Posters give you a way to project professionalism, personality or a bit of style before you even say "hello."

Create one for yourself, and everyone you call can see the image you choose, with all your customizations. And if your friends drop the ball and can't be bothered to make one for themselves, you can make one for them.

Table of contents: How to create an iPhone Contact Poster

Choose a Contact Poster style

How to edit a Photo Contact Poster

How to make a Memoji Contact Poster

How to make a Monogram Contact Poster

Instantly swap your contact info

More iPhone customization features

Choose a Contact Poster style

To make a Contact Poster, open the Contacts app (or go to the Contacts tab of the Phone app, where you'll find your contact card at the very top). Tap My Card and tap on Shared Name & Photo. Tap the Poster tab at the top.

You can create three kinds of Contact Posters: Photo, Memoji or Monogram. I'll run through how each of these work.

How to edit a Photo Contact Poster

Tap on one of the suggestions under "Photos" as a starting point, or tap the New Photo button to the left to choose one.

This interface looks very similar to creating a custom iPhone Lock Screen. You pick a photo - preferably a vertical one - from your library. Photos taken with Portrait mode work great because your phone can easily separate you from the background to apply color effects. Just don't crop yourself out of a group photo - everyone can tell when you do that.

Next, it's time to edit your photo so it looks great. Swipe left and right between various filters on the image to help separate your face from the background. You can tap on the color circle in the bottom right to pick an accent color.

Then, tap on your name at the top of the screen to customize the font, color and weight. With two fingers, you can zoom and drag the picture around on the screen to achieve the perfect position that works with the other elements of your custom Contact Poster.

Tap Done when you're satisfied.

How to make a Memoji Contact Poster

If you don't want to present an actual picture of yourself, you can use the Memoji Contact Poster. Pick a Memoji from the list - one of the stock animals or one you created of yourself. (Read our how-to: How to make a great Memoji.)

You can pick a preset face - winking, tongue out, thumbs up, etc. - or capture an expression from your own face. A few of the Memoji presets show torsos and arms. While these look marginally less weird than the floating heads, I find the poses a bit awkward.

As before, you can customize the background color of the Contact Poster and the color of your name. Tap Done to save your changes.

How to make a Monogram Contact Poster

Want something that's more typeface and less of your face? With the Monogram option, you enter simply your initials - up to three characters - and pick a color. The font of your initials that appears front and center on the Monogram Contact Poster matches whatever you set for your full name up top.

When creating a Monogram Contact Poster, you have a limited font selection - even fewer than with the custom Lock Screen feature. You can choose from the system font, a rounded version, a condensed version and a nice serif font. If you're pretentious enough to make a monogram of your name, just go ahead and use the fancy serif font.

Tap Done to save your changes.

Instantly swap your contact info

Once you're finished, you'll see your freshly created Contact Poster in a few different places. If you meet someone new, you can hold your phones together to quickly exchange contact info using NameDrop - and you'll see each other's Contact Posters. (You can also start SharePlay using the same feature.)

When you get a phone call from someone you know, if they have a Contact Poster set up, you'll see it on a beautiful new incoming call screen.

Contact Posters may not have taken off in the same way that custom Lock Screens and Home Screens have, but a nicely made one will always impress.

More iPhone customization features

iPhone customization has taken some big steps forward in the last few years. Home Screen widgets opened the floodgates with iOS 14 in 2020. Using apps like Widgetsmith, people could create aesthetic, cutesy and highly personalized Home Screens. Two years later, Lock Screens got a major upgrade with iOS 16. Apple built in loads of awesome styles, with plenty of features to make your photos look unique.

Here are some other ways to customize your iPhone.

You can fully customize your iPhone's Home Screen. Place icons anywhere on the screen. Fans of dark mode can now enjoy alternate dark mode icons. If you have a color theme you want to match, you can tint icons to any hue you want.

You can edit the buttons in the iPhone's Control Center. You can add loads of toggles and buttons, including those from third-party apps. You can resize some buttons to make them more prominent, and you can arrange your controls across multiple pages. In one fluid motion, you can swipe down to activate Control Center and continue swiping down to scroll through your pages.

StandBy mode turns your phone into a smart display when it's sitting on your desk, your nightstand or the kitchen counter.

Customize your iPhone's Lock Screen with a bunch of widgets, aesthetics and styles. You have loads of fonts, colors, styles and themes available.

We originally published this how-to on creating iPhone Contact Posters on June 14, 2023. We updated it with the latest information on September 25, 2023; June 3, 2024; and December 3, 2025.

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Make calls more personal: Your guide to creating custom iPhone Contact Posters

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Contact Posters let you customize how your contact card looks to other people when you call them from your iPhone.

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How to ping your lost Apple Watch from your iPhone

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How to ping your lost Apple Watch from your iPhone

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You can ping a lost Apple Watch from your iPhone. The reverse has always been one of the best uses of an Apple Watch.

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How to stop your AirPods from switching between devices

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If you’re trying to listen to podcasts or music on your phone, it can be annoying when your AirPods keep switching to other devices.

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How to stop your AirPods from switching between devices

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How to see iPhone Live Activities on car’s screen in iOS 26

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Learn how to get active Live Activities from your iPhone apps on your car’s display when using wired or wireless CarPlay in iOS 26.

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How to see iPhone Live Activities on car’s screen in iOS 26

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How to take Scrolling Screenshots on iPhone: Step-by-Step Guide

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Limited Apps support Apple’s native Scrolling Screenshot feature.

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My 5 favorite tricks in Apple's new Preview app - and how I use them on my iPhone

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My 5 favorite tricks in Apple’s new Preview app - and how I use them on my iPhone

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The Preview app on iPhone is pretty impressive. Here’s which features have won me over so far.

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With Apple’s digital car key in Wallet, your iPhone connects to your vehicle via NFC, letting you unlock and start your car just by tapping your phone.

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You Can Store Your Car Keys On Your iPhone - Here's How

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Learn about your options to turn off all text, app, and call notifications or distractions when you're on an important phone call on your iPhone.

While browsing the Apple Community forum, I came across an interesting question: a person asked about turning off app notifications when they are on a phone call.

Now, it does make sense to have no sound or visual disturbances when you're on an important phone call, such as a job interview or talking to a special someone after a long time. Secondly, the new notifications can also cause confusion when you're taking notes during a phone call.

Because of these reasons, you may want to turn off all alerts during a call on your iPhone. Now, the good news is that it's really easy to do this manually, and the bad news is that there isn't yet a way to automate it, even in iOS 26. We'll tell you about what works and what doesn't.

Turn on DND when on a phone call

The best, easiest, and frankly the only practical way to disable all notifications when you're on a phone call is to open Control Center from the call screen and tap the crescent moon icon to activate Do Not Disturb (DND).

DND will mute all text and app notifications so you can have a distraction-free calling experience. Apple also encourages you to turn on DND when you're sharing your iPhone screen on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Telegram, or other video calls, so the people you're sharing your screen with can't read the contents of your text or sensitive app alerts.

The next crucial thing to keep in mind is that once you end the call, return to Control Center and turn off Do Not Disturb. If you forget to do so, you may miss important phone calls, texts, and app notifications.

Aside from DND, you can also turn on silent mode during a phone call. This will mute sound for new notifications but still show them temporarily as banners at the top of your iPhone screen.

Turn off banner notifications and sounds of disturbing apps

Imagine your work or personal life involves spending hours on phone calls, and there are a few gaming or unproductive apps whose notifications disturb you constantly. To tackle this, simply go to iPhone Settings > Notifications > app > and turn off Allow Notifications or turn off Sounds and Banners.

Similarly, if you get disturbed by a person or group chat, go to Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram, or the concerned texting app and mute them.

Turn off call waiting

When you're on a phone call, and someone else calls you, their call will appear as waiting on your screen. While this is helpful for most people, if you think otherwise, you can turn it off from iPhone Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Waiting.

Disable Hold Assist Detection

Hold Assist is a new iOS 26 feature that lets your iPhone wait on hold for you during a customer care call. Once the live agent (i.e., a human support staff) joins your call, your iPhone will alert you to get back to the call.

Your iPhone can understand the waiting music on such calls and show a banner to activate Hold Assist. If you don't want to get this visual alert, go to iOS 26 Settings > Apps > Phone and turn off Hold Assist Detection. Remember that even after turning it off, you can still enable Hold Assist when needed by tapping the three dots icon on the phone call screen.

What doesn't work

Lastly, here are some things that don't work to silence app notifications when on a phone call.

1) The Automation option inside the stock Apple Shortcuts app is one of the most powerful features that's often overlooked. We have covered several tutorials related to this. Unfortunately, as of iOS 26, there isn't a way to build an automation that puts your iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode when you're on a phone call, and turns DND off once the call ends.

2) The 'Set a Schedule' option for Do Not Disturb and other Focus modes allows you to activate that said Focus automatically at specific times, locations, or app launches. So, you can set it to activate DND when you open the Phone app. But that's not useful because when you pick up an incoming call or make a call, the call interface itself is technically different from the Phone app (screenshot below). Hence, DND or other Focus will turn off automatically, defeating the purpose.

3) I couldn't build an effective iOS shortcut nor find one on the web that silences alerts when you're on a phone call.

4) Lastly, there isn't anything yet in the iOS Phone or FaceTime app settings that auto-mutes all alerts during phone calls.

So, you're pretty much limited to manually turning on Do Not Disturb before going on an important call or during one. And after the call ends, you must remember to turn DND off, else you'll miss useful app notifications, texts, and phone calls.

Also, check out: 15 new features added to the iPhone Phone app in iOS 26

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How to disable all notifications when on a call on iPhone

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Learn how to turn off all text, app, and call notifications and distractions when you're on an important phone call on your iPhone.

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How to disable all notifications when on a call on iPhone

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Stop texting passwords! There’s a safe, easy way to share them on iPhone.

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Stop texting passwords! There’s a safe, easy way to share them on iPhone.

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You can share passwords on iPhone automatically with your whole family, so you don’t need to let everyone know every time a password changes.

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How to Save Photos Captured Via Messages Camera (or Not)

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Taking photos by opening your Camera app directly from your Messages app is a quicker way to share something with the person you are chatting with. This version of the Camera app is a lot more basic with fewer features, so the photos won't be as good as regular ones. This is why some people don't want them to auto-save to their Photos Library, but others do-I'll let you decide.

Why You'll Love This Tip

Declutter your photo library by not autosaving photos you take directly via the Messages app.

Save room on your iPhone storage by only saving the photos you wish to keep.

Decide Which Photos to Keep from Messages Camera Feature

System Requirements
This tip was performed on an iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 26.1. Find out how to update to the latest version of iOS.
When you snap a photo using the Camera app directly from your Messages app, you'll get an easy-to-share photo that you might not want in your photo library. Or maybe you do. For more tips iPhone tips, don't forget to check out our free Tip of the Day newsletter. I'll teach you how to toggle this feature on or off based on your preference.

Open Settings.

Tap Camera.

Scroll to the very bottom and toggle on Save Captures to Photo Library.

If you toggle this off, you will still have the option to save the photo you took from the text thread, it just won't happen automatically.

Now you know how to choose if the photos you take via the Messages app get automatically saved in your Photo Library or stay in your text thread without cluttering up your phone. This is a fun trick to help you customize your iPhone based on your personal preferences.
Top image credit: The-DesignStudio / Shutterstock.com
Olena Kagui is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life. In the last 10 years, she has been published in dozens of publications internationally and won an excellence award. Since joining iPhone Life in 2020, she has written how-to articles as well as complex guides about Apple products, software, and apps. Olena grew up using Macs and exploring all the latest tech. Her Maui home is the epitome of an Apple ecosystem, full of compatible smart gear to boot. Olena's favorite device is the Apple Watch Ultra because it can survive all her adventures and travels, and even her furbabies.

Learn about Olena

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How to Save Photos Captured Via Messages Camera (or Not)

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Taking photos by opening your Camera app directly from your Messages app is a quicker way to share something with the person you are chatting with. This version of the Camera app is a lot more basic with fewer features, so the photos won't be as good as regular ones.

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How to use digital IDs in Apple Wallet & where they are supported | AppleInsider

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With visionOS 26 and later, you can add prism values from your prescription to adjust the displays in Apple Vision Pro.

The Digital Prism Correction feature is only for those with prism values in their vision prescription from an eye-care professional. You'll need your prism values to complete setup. Not all prism prescriptions are supported. 1

This feature is available only in the U.S. and U.S. territories. 2

Setting up this feature resets any eye-comfort adjustments that you've made to your Apple Vision Pro displays. You can make eye-comfort adjustments again after setup, if needed.

Your Apple Vision Pro needs visionOS 26 or later. Learn how to update visionOS.

Open Settings in your Apple Vision Pro, then tap Eyes & Hands.

Under Displays & Optical Inserts, tap the more buttonmore button next to your ZEISS Optical Inserts. If you don't use ZEISS Optical Inserts, tap the next to Default Displays.

Tap Add Prism Prescription. The prism setup window appears, and all other content is hidden. You can cancel setup at any time and return to your Apple Vision Pro view by double pressing the Digital Crown.

The setup window asks if prism values are part of your prescription. Press the Digital Crown to select Yes, Prism Is in My Prescription. Or rotate the Digital Crown to select No, Prism Is Not in My Prescription. If you select No, the setup process ends.

Which type of prism values are in your prescription? Select Base or Angle.

Select an eye to start with: Right Eye - OD or Left Eye - OS.

If your prescription has Base values, select Base In (BI) or Base Out (BO) to add any relevant values for the eye you selected. Then select Base Up (BU) or Base Down (BD) to add those values if they're in your prescription. If your prescription has Angle values, set the angle in degrees to add any relevant values for the eye you selected.

Do the same for your other eye, if needed.

Select Confirm when you're finished adding prism values.

Apple Vision Pro asks you to look at a series of dots and tap each one to complete the eye setup. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Open Settings in your Apple Vision Pro.

Tap Eyes & Hands.

Under Displays & Optical Inserts, tap the more button next to the ZEISS Optical Inserts or the Default Displays that you added prism values to.

Tap Update Prism Prescription or Remove Prism Prescription.

When you let another person use your Apple Vision Pro with Guest User, they can use the Digital Prism Correction feature if they've set up the feature before on another Vision Pro and saved their setup information to their iPhone or iPad.

Your guest's prism values will be applied to your Apple Vision Pro when they use their iPhone or iPad to start a Guest User session. When the Guest User session ends, your Vision Pro returns to your settings.

Contact Apple Support if you need help with the Digital Prism Correction feature in Apple Vision Pro. If you have questions about your vision prescription, consult an eye-care professional.

The Digital Prism Correction feature supports prism prescriptions up to 7.75 Prism Diopters (PD) in the horizontal and/or vertical direction - i.e., base-in (BI), base-out (BO), base-up (BU), and base-down (BD) - and the equivalent range in polar direction (0-359°), per eye.

America Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Use Digital Prism Correction in Apple Vision Pro - Apple Support

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With visionOS 26 and later, you can add prism values from your prescription to adjust the displays in Apple Vision Pro.

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Learn how to enhance dialogue in Apple Podcasts on the iPhone and iPad to boost voices, reduce noise, and enjoy clearer spoken audio when listening to your favorite shows.

The Enhance Dialogue feature from the built-in TV app has leaped onto the Apple Podcasts app on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. With it turned on, voices won't be muffled or drowned in background sounds and audio effects. If you stumble upon a podcast episode where it's difficult to hear spoken words clearly, then this is for you.

Utilizing computational audio, the Enhance Dialogue feature isolates voices and amplifies spoken words, making it easier to hear the host and their guests.

The Enhance Dialogue feature is only available in the Apple Podcasts app on iPhone and iPad, running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. It isn't available on Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, or HomePod. Furthermore, it won't work when you use AirPlay on your iPhone or iPad.

Turn on Enhance Dialogue for clearer audio podcasts

Launch the built-in Podcasts app on your iPhone or iPad, and play any show.

Pull up the Now Playing screen to access all playback controls.

Tap the 1x playback speed button and select Enhance Dialogue in the menu.

The Podcasts app will now process audio to make the voices clearer, but you may not notice a discernible difference for some shows. When Enhance Dialogue is turned on, a small dot (.) will appear below the playback speed button (1x).

Enhance Dialogue remains turned on when switching to another episode or show, meaning it works as a global setting. However, I would have loved it if there were a per-show Enhance Dialogue setting. For example, while I do want the voices amplified a bit for talk-heavy shows like Huberman Lab or Lex Fridman Podcast, I don't need extra processing when enjoying something like CLUBLIFE by Tiesto.

If Apple Podcasts isn't your first choice...

While the vocal boost enabled by Enhance Dialogue is new to the Apple Podcasts app, similar features have been available in third-party apps for some time now.

Overcast, arguably one of the best podcast apps for iOS devices, has a Voice Boost option to make the voices clearer. Similarly, Pocket Casts allows you to turn on the Volume Boost toggle to make the audio louder and easier to hear.
Which shows do you hear regularly? And will you be using this new vocal booster feature? Share in the comments below.

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What is Enhance Dialogue in Apple Podcasts and how to use it?

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Learn how to enhance dialogue in Apple Podcasts to boost voices, reduce noise, and enjoy clearer audio when listening to episodes.

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Emoji are a great way to add some fun to your messages, and according to Emojipedia, there are 3,790 emoji. But there's no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. If you have Genmoji on your iPhone, though, you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in December, the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable . The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don't have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max or a device from the iPhone 16 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.
Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. as a preferred Google source.
How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

Then, type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don't have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

In the iOS 26 beta, you can also combine and use emoji to create others, rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions. That means you can combine the grinning face with sweat (😅) and the football (🏈) to create an emoji that describes most Cincinnati Bengals fans during football season.

Using emoji in Genmoji is part of the iOS 26 beta so only developers and beta testers can use it for now. It's possible that Apple could adjust Genmoji before the final version of iOS 26 is released this fall -- the week after Tuesday's Apple event, based on my prediction.

For more iOS news, here are my first impressions of the beta version of iOS 26, how to enable call screening in the beta and all the new features Apple said it will bring to your device later this year. You can get an early view of the upcoming iPhone features with our iOS 26 cheat sheet.

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With worldwide government regulations increasingly cracking down on what content is available, and various streaming services increasingly locking content behind geographic paywalls, more and more people are turning to VPNs.

Setting up a VPN used to be complicated, but in the last decade, the process has become incredibly streamlined. Here's how to set up and use a VPN on your iPhone.

What is a VPN for?

A VPN is a virtual private network. VPNs act as a private encrypted tunnel for all network traffic. This means even your internet service provider cannot see what websites you are visiting, when using a VPN to browse the web.

Traditionally, using a VPN was all about privacy and security. More recently, people use VPNs to shield their actual location and appear as if they are another part of the world, to avoid local content restrictions.

For instance, you can use a VPN to access streaming services that are normally unavailable in your region. Similarly, VPNs have become very popular in the United Kingdom lately following the introduction of new laws that force websites to hide content with adult themes, unless users verify their identity. Rather than doing the identity checks, people are using a VPN to appear as if they are visiting from outside of the UK, and that means none of the restrictions are applied.

Choose a VPN app for iPhone

To use a VPN on iPhone, you first need to choose a VPN provider. VPN providers typically vary in server locations, speed, and how much they charge, but they mostly all do the same thing. Here's some recommended options to choose from:

Once you have signed up for an account with one of the providers above, download the company's corresponding app from the App Store onto your device. Log in to your account inside the app. The quick-access VPN settings in the system are now available.

Before enabling the VPN at the system level, use the app to configure service-specific features. This includes things like choosing your virtual location. So, if you are actually in the US but trying to pretend to be from Algeria, select an Algerian server in the app UI.

Most apps also have automatic options for 'Fastest connection' if you don't care about the geographic masking, but just want to improve your device security.

How to enable VPN on iPhone

With a VPN app installed, open the Settings app on your iPhone.

A VPN row will appear in the first group of settings in the list on the home page of the Settings app.

Switch the VPN toggle from off to on.

When enabled, a VPN indicator will briefly appear in the status bar. Open Control Center to see the VPN icon later to confirm the VPN service is still active.

You can now use your iPhone like you normally would. All internet traffic will be routed through the VPN service, ensuring all traffic is obscured and masked from prying eyes.

You may need to force-quit and relaunch apps like Reddit in order for the geographic detection to take effect. For example, Reddit now hides the 'Anonymous Browsing' mode if it sees the user is coming from the UK. But if you turn on your VPN with your country server set somewhere else, then force-quit and relaunch the Reddit app, the 'Anonymous Browsing' feature is available again.

You can disable the VPN at any time by going back into Settings and turning off the VPN toggle. You can also explore advanced functionality in the dedicated VPN provider app.

Typically, you won't want to use a VPN all the time because they offer slower connection speeds than if you were directly connecting to your home broadband. But iOS makes it very convenient to configure a VPN service, and toggle it on and off only when you need it. As long as the app remains installed on your device, the VPN toggle will persist in the Settings app.

If you are wanting to frequently stream high-resolution video or other bandwidth-intensive tasks using the VPN, you may want to try other providers or try other servers. Performance varies wildly depending on how much you pay and where you are connecting to.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

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