Discovering an Unfamiliar iPhone Movement: An Effective replacement for AirDrop
Going Beyond the Basics with Your Apple Gadgets
Think you've mastered your Apple devices? Well, think again! There's a treasure trove of features hidden beneath the surface, and one of those under-the-radar tricks could make your life way easier. As MacRumors pointed out, this nifty gesture is perfect for sharing photos and videos across your devices, and it might even edge out AirDrop in some cases.
The trick is simple, yet ingenious: Open a photo or video, then use your thumb, index, and middle finger to perform a pinch-in gesture on the image. If you've done it right, you'll see a "Copy" pop-up at the top of the screen (you might also dismiss the image, but as long as you've copied it, you're good to go). You can copy text or images in the traditional way as well - by highlighting text or long-pressing on an image, then tapping "Copy."
Once you've got your media copied, you can paste it where you need it, be it text field or another device. To do that, use a pinch-out gesture instead of pinching in. But the real magic happens when you take advantage of Apple's Universal Clipboard, which lets you copy and paste items across devices. So, you could copy a photo on your iPhone and paste it on your Mac, or copy a video from your iPad and land it on your iPhone (unfortunately, this gesture doesn't work on Mac, even those with trackpads).
Here's the catch: For this to work, your devices need to be linked to the same Apple Account and connected to the same wifi network with Bluetooth enabled. To make it happen, enable Handoff on all devices. You can find it in Settings > General > Airplay & Continuity > Handoff.
Give it a shot the next time you need to move a photo or video from one device to another. Forget AirDrop or texting yourself - this method might be faster, and you'll save yourself a few steps. Plus, once you've copied the media, it'll be ready and waiting where it needs to go. Win-win!
Unlocking the Power of Universal Clipboard
Steps to Use the Three-Finger Pinch Gesture:
- Copy Media on iPhone/iPad
- Open a photo or video on your device.
- Use three fingers (thumb, index, and middle fingers) to perform a pinch-in gesture on the image.
- When done correctly, a "Copy" notification will appear briefly at the top of the screen.
- Paste on Another Device
- Ensure both devices are linked to the same Apple ID and have Universal Clipboard enabled. This feature allows for seamless copying from one device to another.
- Switch to the device where you want to paste the photo or video.
- Open the app where you want to place the media.
- Use a three-finger spread-out gesture to paste the copied content, or tap "Paste" from the menu.
Advantages Over AirDrop:
- Quick Sharing: Once copied, you can immediately paste the media on another device without selecting a recipient or waiting for AirDrop to connect.
- Simplicity: There's no need to open a specific window or initiate sharing from a menu – just copy and paste across devices effortlessly.
- Flexibility: Unlike AirDrop, you can place the media directly into any app where you can paste images.
- Discovering a hidden feature in Apple gadgets can simplify your life significantly, such as the three-finger pinch gesture for sharing photos and videos across devices, potentially replacing AirDrop in various cases.
- This gesture involves opening a photo or video, then performing a pinch-in gesture using thumb, index, and middle fingers to copy the media.
- Once copied, the media can be pasted onto any required text field or another device using a pinch-out gesture, taking advantage of the Universal Clipboard feature on Apple gadgets.
- To make this work, your devices must be linked to the same Apple Account, connected to the same wifi network with Bluetooth enabled, and Handoff should be enabled on all devices.
- By using the three-finger pinch gesture and the Universal Clipboard, you can move photos or videos between devices more efficiently than using AirDrop or texting yourself, offering a win-win solution for smartphone users familiar with tech and gadgets.
