We've put together a number of tips and tricks to help you get the most of out of Apple's 2017 iPhone X, especially if you have a Face ID iPhone for the first time. 

Got one of this year's models? Then check out the best Apple iPhone XS and XS Max tips and tricks instead. Got an older Touch ID iPhone? Then check out our iPhone 7 or 8 tips, too.

Commands and gestures that replace the home button 

How to take a screenshot on the iPhone X: With no home button, you can't simply press it and the volume button to take a screenshot any more. To take a screenshot on the iPhone X you have to press the side button - which was previously the power button on Touch ID iPhones - and the volume up together.

How to wake the screen: Rather than pressing the home button to wake the screen you can now tap anywhere on the iPhone X's OLED screen to wake the display and see what notifications you have. Unlike Touch ID, you can still look at the lock screen while the iPhone is unlocked.

How to open Control Center on the iPhone X: You can access Control Center at any time by sliding down from the top right-hand side of the screen from the battery icon.

How to go back to lock screen notifications: You can see what notifications you've got at any time by swiping down from anywhere from the top of the screen between the far left to the far-right edge of the "notch".

How to jump between apps to multitask: There are a couple of ways of doing this. If you are on the home screen you have to do a swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then pause. Depending on how fast your swipe will depend how far up the screen you get, but when you do, the apps that you've got open will appear to the left hand-side for you to scroll through in the App Switcher.

The other way to do it is: in an app swipe left to right on the small black or white bar at the bottom of the screen as if it's a scroll bar in a web browser. This will take you to the next app you've got loaded.

How to force quit apps: Follow the instructions above to access the App Switcher (swipe up slowly from the bottom of the screen then pause) and then press and hold on any app. Now tap on what looks like a red "no entry" sign and the app will force close.  

How to access Apple Pay: Apple has moved the double tap of the home button command for accessing Apple Pay on the lock screen to double tapping the side button on the iPhone X at any time, in a similar way you double tap the side button on the Apple Watch.

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How to slow down the double click needed for Apple Pay: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility, and then scroll down to side button. Here you can select between default, slow, or slowest if you're having trouble clicking quick enough to action Apple Pay.

How to use Siri without voice command: Long press on the side button to access Siri without saying "Hey Siri".

How to turn off your iPhone X: To turn off your iPhone X, long press the side button and either volume button, then swipe to turn off the smartphone.

How to quickly use the flashlight/torch from the lock screen: Rather than swiping down on the Control Center to press on the flashlight icon, you can use 3D Touch to simply press the flashlight icon on the lock screen. A long press turns the torch on, another turns it off.

How to quickly go to camera app from the lock screen: You can still swipe from right to left to reveal the camera, or you can now 3D Touch the camera icon in the same way you can the flashlight icon. Doing so reveals the camera for you to snap a picture.  

How to force restart your iPhone X: If your iPhone is frozen you can force it to turn off by pressing and quickly releasing the Volume Up button, then pressing and quickly releasing the Volume Down button, and then pressing and holding the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

How to make an SOS on iPhone X: You can trigger SOS on iPhone X by pressing and holding the side button and either volume button for 6 seconds to call emergency services. Optionally, you can also initiate SOS by rapidly clicking the side button five times. 

The five-click option can be enabled under Settings > Emergency SOS > Also Works with 5 Clicks. 

How to bring the top of the screen into reach without the home button: Previously a gentle double tap of the home button would bring the top of the screen within reach. Without a home button it's a different action on the iPhone X.

You now have to do a short swipe down motion at the bottom of the screen. The feature is off by default, so to turn the Reachability feature on go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Toggle on Reachability.

Face ID tips and tricks

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How to turn off the iPhone X's need to require attention for Face ID: You can add an extra layer of security to Face ID by making sure you have to look at the phone to unlock it. It's on as default but you can turn it off if you aren't fussed.

To do so go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Turn off "Require Attention for Face ID".

How to turn on Attention-Aware Features for Face ID: The TrueDepth front facing camera can be set to check for attention before dimming the display or in the case of a phone call, lowering the volume of alert. This is really handy if you're reading a long article on the web, or staring at the phone preparing to answer it.

To make sure it's turned on, or to turn it off, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Toggle "Attention-Aware Features".

How to control which features Face ID unlocks: Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Toggle on or off what you want Face ID to control. It can be used to unlock the iPhone, Apple Pay, iTunes and App Store purchases, Safari AutoFill and other apps like your banking apps or Twitter.

How to reset Face ID: If you find that you've completely changed and Face ID isn't working how you wanted it to, you can reset it completely and start again.

To do so go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Tap on Reset Face ID. There are no warning steps, but if you do press it by mistake it only takes a few seconds to set it back up again.

How to send an Animoji: Go to iMessages, press on the on iMessages App logo next to the camera icon, and then press on the monkey icon (second image in the row). You can either select an Animoji from the small list of faces on the left hand side of the screen or scroll up from the grey arrow above the Animoji face to reveal bigger pictures of all the Animoji available.

Once you've selected the Animoji for you, press record. Remember it records audio too. You can send Animoji to anyone, even those on Android, not just iPhone X users.

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Apple iPhone X camera tips and tricks

How to record in 4k 60fps with the iPhone X: The Apple iPhone X is capable of recording video at 4k 60fps, but it's not on by default. To turn it on go to Settings > Camera > Record Video > Change from 1080p at 30fps to 4k at 60fps.

How to take a Portrait selfie: The iPhone X features a TrueDepth front facing camera, an upgrade on the previous FaceTime HD camera, which now means you can take Portrait photos, something that was only previously available on the iPhone Plus models.

To take a Portrait Selfie, go to the camera app, swipe right to Portrait Mode and then press the camera icon with an arrow on it in the bottom right of the screen. Smile.

How to take a Portrait Lighting photo: The iPhone X also features, like the iPhone 8 Plus, a feature called Portrait Lighting. Still in beta, it can non-destructively apply different lighting effects to your photos as if you're in a studio.

To use the feature, go to Portrait Mode on the camera, then swipe left to right through the choices. There is Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono. You can edit the effect after you've taken a Portrait photo if you want to change your mind.

How to apply Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure effects: Go to Photos, pick a photo you want to change the effect on and then swipe up to reveal a list of Effect options. You'll also find information here about the place it was taken, any related pictures, and Photos from this Day.

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iPhone X Control Center and Notification tips

How to check your battery percentage on the iPhone X: You can no longer see the battery percentage at a glance at the top of the screen like you used to be able to. You can however still check your battery percentage by swiping down from the top right-hand side of the screen in the Control Centre.

How to show Notification previews: By default, the iPhone X will only show you notification previews when the iPhone is unlocked, however you can change this for individual apps or for all apps.

Go to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews. Here you have a choice of Always, When Unlocked, Never. If you want to individually change the settings for different apps, find the app you want, tap to see its settings and then scroll down to the bottom. You can then select the same Show Preview settings here.

How to customise the Control Centre: Apple gives you a default preset array of options in the Control Centre, but iOS 11 allows you to customise it. To customise the Control Centre on the iPhone X, go to Settings > Control Centre > Customise Controls. Here you can select which shortcuts you want. Options include Notes, Low Power Mode, and Stopwatch.

How to get extra controls in Control Centre: Many of the shortcuts in Control Centre use 3D Touch to give you extra shortcuts. A long press on the Camera icon will give you a shortcut to different camera modes for example, while a long press on the flashlight icon will let you set the power of the light.

iPhone X general tips

How to turn off True Tone: True Tone is Apple's screen technology that lets the display automatically adapt to ambient lighting to make colours appear consistent in different environments. It's a great bit of tech, but if you want to turn it off to go Settings > Display & Brightness > Toggle True Tone on or off, depending on your preference.

How to check the password of your favourite services or websites: Go to Settings > Accounts & Passwords > App & Website Passwords. If Face ID is turned on it will unlock when you look at the iPhone X, otherwise you can use your Passcode.

How to turn off Do Not Disturb while driving: Do Not Disturb while driving is good, but you might want to turn it off if you are the passenger, or you are on a train - it can't tell the difference.

To turn it off, go to Settings > Do Not Disturb > Activate. You can then choose to have it always turn on, only when connected to car Bluetooth, or Manually when you say so via the Control Centre.