The New iPhone OS4 Shortcuts, Features, and Settings

Apple just released iOS4 for the iPhone and iPod touch, and now that you've downloaded and upgraded to the much-hyped iDevice update, here's a look at the new shortcuts, settings, and features you'll need to know—and want to use.

The New Shortcuts

On a little device with just one button and no major forms of interaction beyond tapping a screen, shortcuts can be serious timesavers. Here are the new shortcuts in iOS4 you'll want to know:

Hold then drag-and-drop to create app folders: You can now create folders to store and organize the apps on your iPhone's home screen, particularly handy if you're a bit of an app junkie. To create a folder, tap and hold any icon on the home screen until they all start wiggling. Then drag and drop any application on top of another to create a folder with those apps together.

Double-tap home for quick app switching: The quick app switching shortcut pulls up your most recently opened applications whenever you double-tap the home button. Then just tap on any app you want to quickly switch to it without going back to the home screen. Note: You'll need at least an iPhone 3GS or later generation iPod touch to use multitasking. Photo via Gizmodo

Hold to kill background apps: Currently in iOS4, if an application supports multitasking, it'll run in the background by default—kind of a strange choice, considering Apple asks you to confirm push notifications for apps. What this means is that as more apps start supporting background processing, you may end up with a ton of apps running in the background that you don't really need or want running. To remove an application from running in the background, just pull up your quick switch drawer (double-tap the home button), then tap and hold on an app (like you do when you want to delete an app from the home screen until you see a red minus sign (-) on the corner of the app's icon. Tap it to kill the app.

Swipe to the left in the app drawer for iPod controls: For some quick app-switching access to simple iPod controls, double-click the home button to bring up the app switcher, then swipe to the left for pared down iPod controls. Note: 3GS and above only.

The New Features You'll Want to Use

These are the handy new iOS4 in-app features you'll want to get familiar with:

Unified inbox: If you access multiple email accounts from your phone but you'd prefer to be able to read through them in one unified stream, Mobile Mail now has a unified "All Inboxes" feature that does just that.