If you are new to iOS or are still learning, becoming familiar with the icons used throughout the operating system will help you navigate through apps and get a better grasp of functions and features on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Some icons are more intuitive than others, so we will provide you with a brief overview of the commonly used icons in iOS 7 and 8. As always, the best way to learn about your device is to play around and experiment with clicking on the various buttons and icons you are presented with as you use it.
Why Bother With Learning Icons?
Not only does Apple reuse icons in several apps and areas of iOS, they also encourage developers to adopt the same icons in their apps. This means that if you are familiar with the common icons in iOS, you will most likely recognize several in other apps you download. The proceeding list of icons does not cover every single one used in iOS, just the more-common ones. From sharing and deleting content to tweaking settings, these icons serve as shortcuts to a variety of features and functions on your device.
Icons in Control Center
Control Center was introduced in iOS 7 as a way to easily access commonly used settings and apps from anywhere on your device. To access Control Center, simply swipe up from the very bottom of your device's screen. You should see a menu that looks like this:
Flashlight
Clicking this icon will turn on the flash on your device's rear camera, allowing you to use it like a flashlight.
Clock
Clicking this icon will open the clock app on your device. This app contains a stopwatch, timer, alarm clock as well as the world clock where you can add the times of different cities and time zones.
Calculator
If you ever need to do some quick math, open up Control Center and click the calculator icon to open the calculator app. If you flip your device to the landscape orientation, you are presented with a scientific calculator.
Camera
This one is pretty intuitive. Clicking the camera icon opens the camera app. When you need to take a quick picture, accessing the camera app through Control Center can be faster than having to navigate to the app from your home screen.
Airplane Mode
Frequent fliers will like the convenience of turning on Airplane Mode from Control Center. Airplane Mode disables all cellular and WiFi connections while the setting is on.
WiFi
Many people will be familiar with this icon, which is the universal icon for WiFi. Turning this setting on or off will turn your device's WiFi on or off, respectively.
Bluetooth
Turning this setting on will enable your device to connect to Bluetooth-compatible devices such as headsets, Bluetooth speakers and wireless keyboards. Keeping this setting off will help preserve your device's battery life.
Do Not Disturb
Turning on this setting enables Do Not Disturb mode. This will keep your device connected to WiFi or cellular, but will block incoming notifications and calls. It is a good setting to turn on at the movie theater! Read here for more info about Do Not Disturb.
Orientation Lock
This setting will prevent your device's display from switching orientation when you rotate it. If your screen will not flip to either portrait or landscape mode, it is probably because you have accidentally enabled this setting. This is a good setting to have on while reading social network feeds while laying down in bed!
AirPlay
This setting is primarily only for those who own an Apple TV or AirPlay-enabled speakers. AirPlay is a way to wirelessly stream content (audio and video) from your device to an Apple TV or AirPlay speakers. If you do own an Apple TV, you can click this icon and select your Apple TV (both devices must be on the same network). Now, all audio or video played off your device will be streamed to your TV that is hooked up to your Apple TV. This icon is also present in many video apps that support AirPlay such as YouTube and the TED Talks app.
Audio Controls
Control Center also includes a media controller. Through these icons, you can pause, skip, rewind, fastforward and adjust the volume of audio playing through your device. Whether it is a song playing through the Music app or a video playing through YouTube, these controls allow you control media from anywhere on your device while it is playing.
Other iOS Icons
Add or Create
You will see this icon in several iOS apps. It means create or add new. For example in the Contacts app, clicking this icon creates a new contact card. In the "Albums" view of the Photos app, this icon creates a new photo album.
Upload or Share
This may be the most prevalent icon in iOS. The functions this icon provides vary with each application, but there are many commonalities. For example, in the Photos app, clicking this icon will give you several options for ways to share a specific photo, including email, Facebook, iCloud Photostream, Twitter and text message.
Compose
You will find this icon in several writing applications. It is the icon to create or compose a new piece of content. For example, in the Mail app, this icon creates a new email draft while in the Messages app, it creates a new conversation.
Bookmarks
This icon is specific to the Safari application and is used to access your bookmarks, which are shortcuts to websites you want to save for quick access. This icon does not create new bookmarks, it simply allows you to view the ones that have been previously created. To make a new bookmark in Safari, you would click the upload/share icon discussed previously.
Close or Delete
This is another intuitive icon. Clicking on this icon will close or delete content you are currently in. For example, this icon in Safari closes the current open tab.
More Information or Details
This icon appears in several different iOS apps. You will see several of these icons next to call logs in the "Recents" section of the Phone app. Clicking this icon in that environment opens the contact card for the individual who called you. If it is an unknown number, this icon leads you to an area where you can create a new contact card based on that phone number.
Download from iCloud
This app shows up primarily in the Music and Videos app. If you see this icon next to a song, movie or TV show, it means that that particular piece of content is stored in iCloud, but not locally on your device. You can click the title of the song or video to stream that content from iCloud or you can click on this icon to download that content directly to your device.
Change Camera Source
This icon is found in apps that allow you to take pictures. Clicking this icon will switch between the front and rear-facing cameras of your device.