Using an iPhone isn’t difficult, but it might be if you’re using it for the first time, especially if you’ve moved from an Android phone. This is primarily due to the huge difference in user interface between the two operating systems. And when it comes to taking screenshots, you have more options than just using the hardware buttons.
If you’re new to the Apple ecosystem and have just received an iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max, it can take a while to complete the most basic tasks, such as switching between apps, forcing them to restart, and turning off your device. get used to. Perhaps the most important thing any iPhone owner should know is taking screenshots.
There are at least eight ways to take screenshots of your iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max. Most of the methods will show you a short flash of light on the screen, followed by a click sound (if it’s not in silent mode), which means a screenshot has been taken. Most will also result in a thumbnail appearing in the lower left corner. Clicking on this thumbnail will open the screenshot editor where you can crop, scale, edit and share your screenshot.
Hardware buttons
On all variants of the iPhone 13 and all previous iPhones with Face ID, the default method for taking a screenshot is to press and release the side button and volume up buttons at the same time. Keep in mind that you must quickly press and release both buttons or you will end up in the Power off screen, Medical ID (if set), and Emergency SOS, which also disables Face ID.
Siri
Let’s say you’re driving and can’t safely take a screenshot. In this case, you can use Siri, the iPhone’s virtual assistant, to take a screenshot for you. If listening for “Hey Siri”is enabled in your Siri settings, all you need to do is say “Hey Siri, take a screenshot”or “Hey Siri, take a screenshot.”
Alternatively, if “Press the side button for Siri”is enabled in Siri settings, you can long press the side button to activate Siri and then say “take a screenshot”or “take a screenshot.”
Another way is to use “Type to Siri”, which you can turn on in Settings -> Accessibility -> Siri. As the name suggests, this lets you type Siri instead of giving it a voice command. Press and hold the side button to activate the Siri type, type “screenshot”and press “done”.
Using Type to Siri to take a screenshot.
Back Press
Back Tap is a great accessibility feature that Apple introduced in iOS 14 and still offers in iOS 15. This tool allows you to perform various actions by simply double or triple tapping on the back of your iPhone and you can choose which actions you want to perform with everyone.
Pressing Back is disabled by default on all iPhone 13 series models. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Touch -> Back to enable it. Select Double Tap or Triple Tap, then select Screenshot from the list of system options. When you need to take a screenshot, double-tap or triple-tap the back of your iPhone, depending on what you have installed.
Labels
Starting in iOS 14.5, the “Take Screenshot”action was added to the Apple Shortcuts app, and it’s still in iOS 15 for all variants of the iPhone 13 series.
To create a screenshot shortcut, go to My Shortcuts under Shortcuts, tap the plus (+) to start a new workflow, tap Add Action or tap the search bar, then find and select Take Snapshot screen.”Then add the action “Save to photo album”, which is necessary, otherwise the shortcut will not do anything with the screenshot taken.
You can also choose an action other than Save to Photo Album, such as Save File, which lets you put the screenshot somewhere in the Files app instead.
After that, change its name to whatever you want, which will also be the keyword or phrase you will use with Siri to activate the shortcut. Siri is one of the most useful ways to use a shortcut, so make sure you change the name from “Take Screenshot”since that Siri phrase already exists, as shown in option 2 above. This is a great opportunity to make a shorter Siri command like “Shot”. You can then use that Siri command with Hey Siri, the side button keyboard shortcut, or Siri input.
In the shortcut editor, tap the settings icon at the top and you have other options to activate the shortcut such as “Add to Home Screen”, “Show on Shared Sheet”and “Get What’s on Screen”. However, they are all rather useless as they limit what you can take a screenshot without adding other actions to the shortcut, such as a timeout period.
It would be better to assign it to Back Tap as shown in option 3 above. There are three critical differences between the system “Screenshot”in Back Tap and your shortcut. First, the thumbnail will not be displayed in the lower left corner. Second, you can change the album in which the screenshot appears if you select something other than Recent. It will still show up in the Screenshots folder, but you can also make it show up in a different album. Third, you can choose your own save location other than Photos.
- More Info: Take a Screenshot on Your iPhone Without Annoying Thumbnail Preview
Voice control
There’s another way to take a screenshot on iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, or 13 Pro Max hands-free: voice control. This accessibility feature has been available since iOS 13 and allows you to use your voice to control your iPhone. You can switch between multiple apps, use a secret voice command to unlock your iPhone, and use it to take screenshots.
Voice control is disabled by default. To turn it on, go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Voice Control and turn it on (there are other ways to turn it on). Once enabled, you will see a blue speakerphone icon next to the time in the status bar. Now all you have to do is say “take a screenshot”and your iPhone will immediately take a screenshot.
AssistiveTouch
Your iPhone 13 series model has AssistiveTouch, which can make it easier for some users to perform various functions, including taking a screenshot. Option 1 above requires you to press multiple hardware buttons at the same time, but you can use AssistiveTouch in a variety of ways.
If you want to triple-click the side button to use AssistiveTouch, go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Accessibility Shortcut and make sure there is a blue checkmark next to AssistiveTouch. Make sure only AssistiveTouch is enabled. Otherwise, pressing the side button three times will prompt you to select a function. Selecting only one item in the list saves an extra step.
To access the AssistiveTouch menu, press the side button three times and a circle will appear on the screen. Tap this circle, go to “Device”-> “More”, then select “Screenshot”.
That’s not all. If you want to save even more time, you can set it up so that you can either tap the AssistiveTouch icon once, double-tap it, or press and hold to take a screenshot. For example, if you choose double tap, all you have to do is double tap on the AssistiveTouch circle and it will take a screenshot.
Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Touch Screen -> Assistive Touch to set it up. Turn it on if it’s off and under Custom Actions you’ll see “Single tap”, “Double tap”and “Long press”. Select one to see a list of features you can assign to it, then select Screenshot.
If you don’t want to always leave AssistiveTouch enabled, you can add it to Control Center. Go to “Settings”-> “Control Center”and make sure “Ease of Access Shortcuts”is enabled. You can then swipe down from the top right to access the Control Center and tap on the accessibility control. As such, you don’t always have to go into Settings or use the triple-click shortcut to toggle it on and off.
Screen mirroring
Another way to take a screenshot of an iPhone 13 series model is to use a Mac computer. When you swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone’s screen to open the Control Center, you’ll see a Screen Mirroring button (two window panes) to the left of the brightness adjustment column.
Screen Mirroring allows you to see your iPhone’s screen on your Mac. After you click the button, you will be prompted to connect to your computer. Click on the name of your macOS computer and you’re done.
Now it will mirror your iPhone screen on your Mac. Because it’s only screen mirroring, you won’t be able to control your iPhone from your Mac, but you can take a screenshot using macOS. To do this, press Command-Shift-3 or take a screenshot on a Mac as usual. You will hear a click and the screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
Unfortunately, you’ll most likely see black bars on the top and bottom or sides of the screenshot, which you’ll probably want to trim later. However, it will allow you to take screenshots of some screens that you might not be able to take otherwise, such as when the screenshot thumbnail appears. You can use Command-Shift-4 to use the selection tool for more targeted screenshot borders.
To turn off screen mirroring, open Control Center on your iPhone, tap the Screen Mirroring button, and select Stop Mirroring.
Quick Time Player
If you want to record your iPhone screen without annoying red bubbles, using QuickTime Player on your Mac is a good choice. It’s also a good option for taking screenshots, and unlike Screen Mirroring (option 7 above), you can take them without huge black bars.
However, like Screen Mirroring, it helps you take screenshots of items on your iPhone screen that don’t appear in normal screenshots, such as the screenshot thumbnail or the AssistiveTouch icon on the screen.
Connect your iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, or 13 Pro Max to your Mac using a Lightning to USB or Lightning to USB-C cable, depending on the ports on your Mac model. If you see “Unlock iPhone to use accessories”on your iPhone, unlock iPhone with Face ID. You may also need to “trust”the computer; if so, tap “Trust”on your iPhone and enter your passcode.
Then open QuickTime Player on macOS and click File in the menu bar and then New Video Recording. Your Mac will most likely show the image from your camera, so switch to your iPhone by clicking the drop-down icon next to the record button and choosing your iPhone’s name.
You can then adjust the size of the QuickTime window on your iPhone screen like any other app window in macOS, affecting the resolution of the screenshot.
To take a screenshot, use the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-5, move the camera image into the QuickTime Player window so that it is selected, hold down the Option key and left-click (or control-click the trackpad). This will take a screenshot similar to the one on your iPhone. If you don’t hold Option while taking a picture, you will get a shadow around the image.
You can also use Command-Shift-4 to take a more focused screenshot with the selection tool. However, no matter how you take the screenshot, make sure that the QuickTime controls are not displayed in the window, otherwise they will appear in the screenshot.
Screenshots are saved to the desktop by default, but you can click Options in the screenshot menu that appears after pressing Command-Shift-5 and then choose a different location. You can also disable the floating thumbnail and add a timer from here.