This clever iOS 14 hidden feature will make your life easier

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Apple's iOS 14 will finally let you add captions to your photos

ios 14
(Image credit: Apple)

While Apple duly ticked off the big improvements coming to iPhone and iPad users with iOS 14 during last week’s official unveiling, eager users have been finding their own improvements not flagged during the company keynote. And one of these fixes an issue that iPhone users have had for some time.

Now iPhone users can add captions to their photos directly from the handset. Previously, this was something that could only be done via the Photos app on Mac, but now people can write descriptions immediately, without waiting for pictures to sync.

While this may sound like a minor addition, writing a short description of photos makes a big difference, because the data is indexed for use with the Photos search interface. In short, tracking down certain shots should be that bit easier, as long as you’ve been diligent with your captioning.

How to add a caption to photos in iOS 14

Adding a caption is fairly straightforward, as MacRumors explains. Just tap a photo to see it full screen, then swipe up to access the caption field. Tap the field, write your caption, press enter and it’s saved. 

It's little ‘quality of life’ changes like this that should make your iPhone more pleasant to use. And we can see why Apple didn't have time to announce this feature. iOS 14 packs a ton of other features, from widgets for the home screen and a redesigned Siri redesigned to picture-in-picture mode and App Clips – Apple’s answer to Google’s Instant Apps.

All of this will be coming in iOS 14, due out as a public beta in July and as a final release this fall. If you really can’t wait that long, here's how to download the iOS 14 beta for developers right now. But we wouldn't recommend running the software on your primary device.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.