One thing to consider is High Efficiency (HEIF/HEVC encoding) vs Most Compatible (jpeg/H.264). The former will have smaller file sizes, but may have to be converted to be read on some systems. The option is found in Settings:Camera:Formats, and specifies the one format used for Most Compatible. The High Efficiency setting has a range of options for recording formats.
I’m old, so I tend to do a fair amount of calling to various stores or doctors, etc. Being able to get to contacts or recents or favorites quickly is nice, and having it in the dock means it’s there no matter what home screen I’m on.
A phone, when set to use 5G, is not restricted to 5G use. I’ve got mine set for 5G, but whenever I’m in an area without coverage, it automatically falls back to LTE without my having to do anything. Why give up on any possibility of faster speeds by restricting your phone to a slower technology?
Currently using a $16 Onn case from Wally World along with a screen protector from a Pelican case that deteriorated over a couple of years on my 12 ProMax. It’s transparent, has MagSafe and has survived several accidentAl drops over the last year.
Check these instructions on the Apple website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201196
In Settings there is a Notifications section, where you can adjust how notifications appear and if they make noise or not—this can be configured for each app on the phone.
Keyboard size is limited, but there are apps available so you can check and see if any of them will meet your needs.
Again, in Settings, look at Sounds & Haptics, where you can turn off Keyboard Feedback, select ring- and text-tones and other system sounds.
There are a bunch of keyboard shortcuts, like pressing and holding the space bar will allow you to move your text cursor anywhere in the typing field. If typing a number in the middle of alphabetic characters, you can press the 123 button and slide your finger to the number you want and release, which will type the number and return you to the alphabet. If you hold down the 123 button, you can type several numbers, and when you release the 123 button it’ll go back to letters. This works in reverse if you’re typing number and need letters (by holding down the ABC button). Long pressing on letters/characters will show characters with diacritics, such as accents or ümlauts or dashes or ellipsis, etc.
In the calculator, turn the phone to landscape to get a scientific calculator.
From the lock screen, you can swipe left to open the camera. In the camera, you can take pictures using the volume buttons—works in portrait or landscape mode. Hold down the buttons to take bursts or videos. If you used wired earbuds plugged into the lightning port (3.5mm jack with adapter, too) you can use the volume buttons on the earbuds as shutter buttons so you can prop the phone and take pictures without jarring the phone.
When the phone is unlocked, swipe down from the middle of the screen to get a search screen. You’ll see some apps guessed at, but you can start typing to find apps on the phone, app suggestions from the App Store, or website suggestions.
Volume Up and Power button simultaneous = screen shot capture. Touch the resulting image and you can edit it (with limits), leave it alone and it saves to Photos.
Power button 5 times rapidly defaults to an emergency call, but can be changed in Settings to give the option of shutdown or emergency call. This also stops Face ID, requiring a passcode to open the phone.
Control Center is available by swiping down from the top right corner. Can toggle Airplane mode, WiFi or Bluetooth on or off, and control AirDrop. Long press the box for more options. There are more options that can be added to Control Center in the Settings app.
I haven’t played with Shortcuts, but that’s probably worth looking at.
Bad experience with Android. It was early, but carrier wouldn’t update the OS, apps just kept getting bigger because they had to work with more phones, and because of that I had to drop apps due to memory issues—this was before apps could be stored on additional memory. Didn‘t want to have to keep buying new phones. Also permission issues and frequent malware.
With iPhones, the OS is stable, is kept updated for at least five years at no cost; using it stays consistent, it works with other Apple products; apps tend to be safer and work longer; it suits my needs.