Smartphone Tips

Want to capture something on your phone's screen? Try this

iPhone - Press and hold the Home button along with the Sleep/Wake button. You should hear a shutter click. The screenshot will appear in your Camera Roll or Saved Photos section.

Android - Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time. The image is saved to the "Captured Images" folder in your Gallery app. That only works in Android 4.0 and higher. For some Samsung Galaxy phones, hold the home and power off buttons at the same time.



Want to increase the font size to something a bit easier to see?
iPhone
Go to Settings>>General>>Accessibility and turn on Bold Text and Larger Text. You can choose either one or both, depending on your preferences. You will need to restart your phone for Bold Text to take effect.

Android
Go to Settings>>Accessibility. Under Vision, tap Font size and set it to Large. Some phones include an even larger 'Huge' option.


Want to have your phone read things out loud?
iPhone
Go to Settings>>General>>Accessibility and turn on VoiceOver. You will need to do some playing around to get used to it. For example you can touch and drag your fingers around the home screen to have it read what's there. Double tap to activate an app, while one tap will give you details about it. VoiceOver will read directions to you in Maps, have your camera tell you how many people are in your shot, and get spoken photo descriptions. You can also hand write notes and letters on the screen and have VoiceOver translate your messages into text for Mail and other apps.

Android
Go to Settings>>Accessibility and tap TalkBack. If you don't see it, you can download it from the Google Play store. Turn it on and your phone will read whatever you touch on the screen and incoming notifications. To perform a regular swipe gesture, you need to use two fingers instead of one. To adjust your TalkBack settings, go to Settings>>Accessibility and tap Text-to-Speech options. You can adjust the voice engine and speed rate. Then go to Settings and turn on Hands-free mode. This will tell you who is calling or messaging. (I tried this and it was so irritating, that I shut it off)

Want to control your phone camera with voice?
Android
Open the camera app and tap the gear to see the settings. Scroll down to Voice control and turn it on. Now you can take pictures with the commands, "Capture," "Shoot," "Smile" and "Cheese." If your phone doesn't have a built-in camera app with this feature, you'll need a third-party app like Say Cheese.