AssistiveTouch doesn’t get much attention since it’s tucked away inside the Accessibility menu. That’s a shame, because this little button can replace physical buttons, speed up common actions, and transform the way you use your iPhone.
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Effortless one-handed use
Using your iPhone with one hand isn’t always easy. Sure, you could rely on the Reachability feature to make it simpler, but constantly swiping to activate it can be a hassle. Plus, enabling Reachability lowers the screen, which means more scrolling than usual.
AssistiveTouch solves this problem beautifully. With just a single tap, you can open the Control Center, check notifications, adjust volume, or even trigger the Action Button. This means you don’t have to stretch your fingers to the top of the screen, which can be handy on larger models like the Pro Max.
What makes AssistiveTouch even better is its flexibility. You can place the button anywhere on the screen, so whether you’re holding your iPhone in the left or right hand, it stays comfortably within reach.
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Quick access to shortcuts
Everyone loves shortcuts, and AssistiveTouch puts your favorites right at your fingertips. By default, tapping the button gives you access to options like Lock Screen, Rotate Screen, Siri, and more.
But that’s not all. It’s possible to add more icons if you want. You can tap Customize Top Level Menu to add, change, or replace the default options. You can include shortcuts like Camera, Front Camera, Spotlight, Type to Siri, Shake, and more. Even actions that aren’t normally available, like Restart, can be added here.
AssistiveTouch also allows you to include your favorite accessibility features. Background Sounds, Live Captions, Vehicle Motion Cues, and more can all be triggered from the menu. This makes it easy to use these features without diving into the Settings menu or repeatedly opening Control Center.
The best part is the customization of gestures. You can set the AssistiveTouch button to respond to a double tap or a long press. For example, if you take a lot of screenshots, a double tap can be set to capture the screen. Similarly, a long press can be set to bring up Visual Intelligence or something else that you need frequently.
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Activate your favorite shortcuts automation instantly
Apple’s Shortcuts app is one of the most underrated tools on your iPhone. It lets you run entire sequences of actions without opening multiple apps or digging through endless menus. From sending a message and starting a playlist to adjusting settings or automating your smart home devices, Shortcuts can handle it all.
With AssistiveTouch, you can launch these automations instantly. Instead of opening the Shortcuts app every time, you can assign your favorite shortcut to a single tap, double tap, or long press of the AssistiveTouch button.
For instance, I have a Shortcuts automation that helps maintain a clipboard history on my iPhone. A quick double-tap on AssistiveTouch helps me run that automation and log whatever I’ve copied. That’s just one example—you can use the button to trigger any automation you rely on, whether it’s turning on smart lights when you get home, sending a quick text, or launching a playlist for your workout.
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A smart alternative to physical buttons
Using the physical buttons on your iPhone can be inconvenient at times. Maybe your phone is lying flat on a table, making the side button awkward to press. Or perhaps you’re holding your phone in one hand, but the button you need—say, the Action Button—is just out of comfortable reach.
Instead of depending on hardware buttons, you can perform nearly any action directly from the floating on-screen button. Whether you want to lock your screen, adjust the volume, take a screenshot, or even simulate a shake, all of these actions are just a tap away.
This is not only convenient, but if one of your iPhone’s physical buttons stops working, the AssistiveTouch button can act as a temporary replacement.
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Hiding the AssistiveTouch button when you’re not using it
As useful as the floating AssistiveTouch button is, it can sometimes feel like it gets in the way—especially when you’re watching a video, gaming, or simply want a cleaner look on your screen. Thankfully, there’s a clever way to keep it out of sight until you actually need it.
Back Tap is an iPhone feature that lets you trigger actions by double-tapping or triple-tapping the back of your device. You can use it to toggle the floating button on or off without diving into Settings every time.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and choose either Double Tap or Triple Tap. Then assign AssistiveTouch as the action. From now on, a quick tap on the back of your iPhone will make the AssistiveTouch button appear, and tapping again will hide it.
AssistiveTouch may not be the flashiest iPhone feature, but it is easily one of the most useful. The best part is how adaptable it is. You decide where the button sits, what actions it performs, and how it fits into your daily routine.