iPhone owner baffled by ‘annoying’ mystery dot on screen – it’s actually a hidden feature that unlocks time-saving hacks
APPLE fans are learning about another surprise feature that has been hidden in plain sight on their iPhones for years.
Some iPhone users may have noticed a small opaque dot surrounded by a thick black outline floating somewhere on their phone screen.
The dot is no error — it’s actually a shortcut to accessing Apple’s suite of AssistiveTouch technology options.
When clicking on the dot, users can easily head to the notification center, control settings, or other customized destinations.
The option can sometimes get enabled on a device by mistake, causing annoyance to unsuspecting people.
One iPhone user complained about the dot in a recent Reddit post, where they asked other users to explain how to get rid of it.
“How do I turn this annoying floating dot off on iPhone,” bsodmike (u/bsodmike) titled a recent post in the iPhone thread (r/iphone).
“It’s been enabled on my sister’s phone. She must have turned the thing on,” they explained.
They called the feature “annoying” and asked for help finding a solution.
The Reddit community swiftly helped solve the problem.
“Accessibility Go to settings and use search, ‘Accessibility’ I think it’s called Assistive Touch. It’s there,” one person responded.
Other Apple fans said they had dealt with the problem before too.
“Ohh yeah…. that dot,” a user commented.
“I was searching for ‘bloody floating dot,’ the original poster wrote with laughing emojis after learning about their mistake.
DESIGNED TO BE CUSTOMIZED
Apple’s AssistiveTouch feature is intended to help users customize iPhones to meet their specific needs.
You can use the option to lock your screen, restart your device, adjust volume, use multi-finger gestures, or replace pressing buttons with just a tap.
Other menus and controls that can be added include:
- Control Center
- Notification Center
- Spotlight
- Home
- App Switcher
- Speak Screen
The ‘floating dot’ that flummoxed users can actually be dragged around the screen to be placed wherever is most convenient for the user.
Tapping on the button once opens the AssistiveTouch options menu, and clicking outside the menu closes the option.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
HOW TO USE APPLE’S ASSISTIVETOUCH
AssistiveTouch can be activated on your iPhone in a few different ways.
You can head to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch, then turn on AssistiveTouch.
The option can also be activated by telling Siri to “Turn on AssistiveTouch.”
Finally, iPhone users can try going to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut, then switching on AssistiveTouch.