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15 iOS 5 tips and tricks

iOS 5 will arrive October 12. You will undoubtedly have some questions about the new features, but hopefully these 15 tips and tricks will help you out.

Jason Cipriani Contributing Writer, ZDNet
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jason Cipriani
3 min read

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani

The time has finally come, and iOS 5 will be available to the general public October 12. During the last four months, we have been covering some of the key features of iOS 5 to ensure we were prepared to help you on the first day of iOS 5's release. Below you will find 15 tips and tricks to help you master iOS 5, and maybe even allow you to show off a bit to your friends.

Learn the basics

How to use the iPad's split keyboard on iOS 5
iOS 5 is set to bring a new split keyboard to iPad users, allowing for easier typing on the touch-screen device. We demonstrate how to use it in a video.

Get started with iMessage
Curious how iMessage is going to work? Want to know the ins and outs of the new messaging platform from Apple? Read our guide to find out.

Get started with iOS 5's Notification Center
The iOS alert system has always been rude, annoying, and pretty inconsiderate. No matter what you are doing, alerts would always interrupt you at the worst time. In iOS 5, Apple has redone the notification method of iOS, making it less of a hassle to deal with.

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Know your privacy

Control access to your Twitter account on iOS 5
As the iOS 5 beta builds have progressed, new features and options have been implemented. With the most recent round of updates, a new option to control which apps have access to your Twitter account has been added.

Control location access by system services
iOS 5 includes some new options that allow users to control which system services can access their location information.

Keep your Web browsing private on iOS 5
We take a look at the new Private Browsing feature in Mobile Safari.

Customize reminders and alerts

How to use the iOS 5 Reminders app
iOS 5 is full of new features, one of which is a Reminders app designed to help you stay better organized.

Set custom vibration alerts
iOS 5 allows users to set custom vibrations alerts for contacts in their address book. This video guide will show you how easy it is to create and set custom vibration alerts on your iPhone running iOS 5.

Create custom ringtones and alerts to use in iOS 5
Using GarageBand to make a ringtone (or alert tone for iOS 5) for your iOS device is easy. Best of all, it's a free way to get your custom ringtones on your device.

Manage photos

Natively edit photos on your iPhone or iPad
In the past, iOS users had to rely on third-party apps to edit their photos on the device. Soon, users will be able to edit photos directly in the Photos app on their Apple devices, with no need for most third-party apps.

Create photo albums
Separating photos into albums is a great way to organize your favorite, or perhaps least favorite pictures. iOS 5 now allows you to create, organize, and edit albums right on your device! Watch our video showing you how it all works.

Extras

Create and customize Autotext shortcuts
One of the new features in iOS 5 is called Shortcuts. Shortcuts allows you to set AutoText shortcuts for common words and phrases. Follow along as we show you exactly what it is, how add your own shortcuts, and how to use it.

Get rid of the weather or stock Widgets
Apple recently introduced a new Notification Center on iOS 5, fully equipped with weather and stock widgets. For some, these widgets may be nothing more than clutter. This simple guide will show you how to turn off one or both of the widgets.

View hourly weather forecasts
iOS 5 adds the capability to view the hourly weather forecast to the native Weather app; this video shows you where to find it.

Mirror iPad 2 on your TV with iOS 5, AirPlay
Apple is bringing iPad 2 mirroring with iOS 5 via Apple TV and AirPlay; we took the liberty of making a video about how to use it.