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Ten hidden controls of the iPhone headphones

The iPhone headphones (or any headphones with a mic and remote) can control your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch in up to 10 different ways.

Sharon Profis Vice President of Content
Sharon Profis is a vice president of content.
Sharon Profis
2 min read

It's never too late to discover that those boring, all-white headphones Apple threw in with your iPhone can do a lot more than adjust the volume.

In fact, any headphones that include a remote (or have a remote adapter attached) can be used to control your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch in up to 10 ways.

Thanks to this post by Business Insider, here are all the ways you can use your headphones as a remote controller, allowing you to perform useful functions without taking your iDevice out of your pocket.

Watch this: 10 hidden controls of the iPhone headphones

  1. If you're listening to music, toggle pause or play by tapping the center button once.
  2. To fast-forward a song, tap the center button twice and long-press on the second tap.
  3. To rewind a song, tap three times and long-press on the third tap.
  4. To skip a song, double tap.
  5. To go to the previous song, triple tap.
  6. If you have an incoming call, tap the center button once to answer. Tap again to hang up.
  7. To ignore an incoming call, long-press the center button. You'll hear two beeps to confirm that the caller was sent to voice mail.
  8. If you're on the phone and you get a new call, tap the center button once to switch calls. To end that new call, hold the center button down for 2 seconds.
  9. You can achieve supersteady shots by using your headphones as a shutter release. Tap the volume-up button to capture a photo.
  10. For iPhone 4S owners: prompt Siri by long-pressing the center button.