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iPhone trick: How to copy and paste text and images from your photos

Safety is a selling point of Apple’s latest offering. The iPhone 14 has improved car crash detection and even emergency SOS via satellite. Tap or click here for instructions on sending an emergency text when you have no signal. It could save your life.

With the new iPhone came a new operating system. iOS 16 introduced new safety features and cool updates like the ability to unsend texts and lock screen switching.

The new OS enhanced two iPhone tools: Live Text and Visual Lookup. You can now do much more with the objects, people and texts found in your photos, videos and images from the web.

Use Live Text to copy, look up or translate text from photos and videos

Live Text was introduced with iOS 15, allowing you to capture the text in pictures and copy it as easily as text from a message, web page, note or document. This tool also lets you look up text on the web or translate it right then and there.

Live Text got some enhancements with iOS 16, so you’ll need to update to get the best use out of it. You’ll also need an iPhone XR/XS or newer to use Live Text.

You can use Live Text from an existing photo, the Camera app or the web.

Use Live Text from your camera roll:

Open the Photos app and select an image containing text.
Tap and hold on any word and you’ll get a menu. Drag around all the words you want or tap Select All, then tap Copy.
- You can also tap the text selection button on the lower right of your screen to highlight text before copying it.

Open another app and tap on the screen to Paste the text you just copied.
Tap Look Up to find the highlighted text on the web.
Tap Translate to translate the text.

Use Live Text from your camera:

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This genius iPhone trick will save you time texting

It is hard to imagine that the world record for typing the alphabet on a mobile phone is only 3.5 seconds. Taking that one step further, a Brazilian teen set a new Guinness World Record for fastest texter in 2014 when he typed a 25-word message in under 19 seconds.

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Cheap phone-free cameras

I love having a really good camera on my phone, but I don’t always want my phone with me. That’s why I’m glad cameras still exist — and they’re totally back in with the younger crowd.

Disposable: Kind of surprised they still make disposable cams but also thrilled they do. I used to love giving Ian one of these when he was a kid and seeing what he’d captured. Maybe I’ll give this one to Barry! It’s 16% off ($14.29).
35mm: For a reusable option, you can’t beat the price of the Sprite 35‑II from Ilford ($23.99). Lightweight and light on the wallet. Don’t forget the film!
Digital: The marketing copy on this baby: “Shoot decent images with ease.” Love the honesty. A decent digital camera! Nab it now for 20% off ($39).

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Use AI to prep for interviews: Open your favorite AI chatbot, then copy and paste the job description. Ask it to break down the key details and responsibilities. Next, have the chatbot act as your interviewer.

Clone your voice in 15 minutes

Open/download audio

A new iPhone feature can make a copy of your voice. Could scammers use it for deepfakes? A German company will freeze your body for over $200,000, hoping to bring you back to life later. Plus, Taco Bell brings AI to the drive-thru, and be wary of fake Facebook stores.

Smart idea: Android 15 is going to include Desktop mode. In this demo video, you can see multiple apps running side by side with some clunky window snapping (hey, it’s in beta). Sounds snazzy, and Apple will probably copy it within five years.

A pristine copy of Super Mario 64, released in 1996, is the most expensive video game ever sold. Did the cartridge sell for … A.) $1.6 million, B.) $1.1 million, C.) $500,659 or D.) $221,812?

Find the answer here! →

$1.25 per issue

For a Popular Science magazine in 1978. Old editions like this one were loaded with cigarette promos, limited-run cars like the Jeep Honcho and DIY kits for early home computers like the Sol-20. I always get a kick out of ‘70s ad copy. They just don’t write them like they used to!

Better AI prompts: For creative work, tell AI to write for a certain reading level. For the general public, that’s around an eighth-grade level. (No one needs to struggle to read your marketing, website or email copy.)

Which movie holds the record for the most expensive sealed, original VHS tape ever sold? Is it … A.) “The Goonies,” B.) “Back to the Future,” C.) “E.T.” or D.) “Ghostbusters”?

Find the answer here! →

Quick sharing tip: Want to share a specific section of a webpage? In Google Chrome, highlight the text, right-click your selection and choose Copy link to highlight. Paste in that link, and it’ll send your recipient right to that spot.

You have my Word: Now, any text you copy and paste in Microsoft Word will automatically match the font, size and color of your existing document. Nice! Prefer the old way? Go to File > Options > Advanced > Cut, copy, and paste > Pasting from other programs, and choose Keep Source Formatting.

YouTube trick: There might be a good reason you need a solid screenshot of a single frame of a YouTube video. Now, it’s easy to do. Pause the video, right-click on it and select Copy video frame. Sweet! Just paste it into a chat, image editor or document.

Copy and copy and copy and paste and paste and paste: Don’t get stuck with just one item on the Windows clipboard. Open Settings, then pick System > Clipboard to enable clipboard history. To get to the history, hit Windows key + V on your keyboard.