Most iPhone users should be familiar with the Apple Headphones with Remote and Mic. Heck, they’ve come with every iPhone purchased since the beginning. But, did you know you can do some cool things with them?
Every iPhone purchased in the past few years has come with a pair of Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic. The mic portion of the headphones of course includes Volume Up (+) and Volume Down (–) buttons—but what many people don’t know is that the headphones also have an unmarked button in the center.
The button is in the indentation between the “+” and “-” buttons. Tekserve lists 8 cool tricks you may or may not know that you can do with the three buttons. And all of them can be pulled off without ever having to take your iPhone out of your pocket!
1. Activate Siri – Just press and hold the center button, and Siri will be engaged and will be awaiting your command.
2. Snap a photo – If you’re in the iPhone’s native Camera app, you can take a photo by pressing the Volume Up (+) button. OK, for this one you may want to take the phone out of your pocket before doing it, unless you are actually trying to take a photo of the dark side of your pocket. Oh, and it only works with the native camera app, not third-party photo apps.
3. Play/Pause a Song or Video – Simply press the Center Button once to Play/Pause your current audio.
4. Skip to the Next Song or Chapter – Just press the center button twice quickly, like a double-click on a mouse.
5. Fast-forward/Rewind – To fast forward, press the Center Button twice and hold the second press. To rewind, press the Center Button three times and hold on the third press. When you release the Center Button it will resume playing.
6. Answer and End Phone Calls – When you get a phone call, just press the Center Button once to answer the call. Press the Center Button again to end the call.
7. Decline Phone Calls – Ignore an incoming phone call by holding down the Center Button for roughly two seconds. After you release the button, two beeps will let you know the call has been declined.
8. Switch Phone Calls – Press the Center Button once to switch between the current and an incoming/on-hold call. You can also end your current call and switch to another call by holding down the Center Button for two seconds. You’ll hear two beeps after the release of the button to let you know that the first call has ended.
