Drag and drop between apps has been available on the iPad for several years but only recently available on the iPhone in iOS 15. Cross-app drag allows you to drag things like documents, text, and images between apps.
You no longer have to rely on the traditional copy-paste gesture.
How to Drag and Drop Text Between apps on the iPhone
- Launch the app with the text you wish to copy to another app. Select the text.
- Long -press on the selected text and hold the selection with your finger. The text will begin to hover and adhere to your finger, so you can now drag it around the screen.
- Now, use another finger to swipe up from the bottom of the screen and head into the app that will accept this text. You can either use App Switcher or App Library
- Navigate to the preferred location and drop the text. In this example I’m using Safari to Evernote.
How to Drag and Drop Documents
Using the same technique as above, you can drag and drop audio files, video clips, or PDFs from one app to another.
How to Drag and Drop Images
Dragging and dropping images on the iPhone is just as easy as on the iPad.
- Select an image or images. Tap and hold until image hovers over the screen, keep holding the first image and tap on other images to add them.
- Using another finger, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to navigate to the destination app from the App Switcher or App Library.
- Drop the selected images in the location of choice.
How to Drag and Drop Screenshots
Dragging and dropping Screenshots are slightly different.
- Capture your Screenshot by pressing and holding the power button and volume up button simultaneously. Drag and drop supports the selection of multiple items so that you can move more than one Screenshot at a time.
- Press and hold the thumbnail in the bottom left corner of the screen. Wait until the white frame around the screenshot thumbnail disappears.
- Now, use another finger to tap the app you want to drop the Screenshot in. Navigate to the desired location and drop the screenshots.
That’s all there is to the iPhone’s new drag and drop gestures. Nevertheless, it’s exciting to see some iPad features move over to the iPhone.
Bonus Tip: How to Rearrange Multiple Apps Using Drag and Drop
This trick works on both the iPhone and iPad. This allows you to rearrange apps on your Home Screen using drag and drop instead of moving them one at a time.
NOTE: if you have a particular order in which you want to arrange your app, the app you pick first will end up in the far-right position. When you select the other apps, you’ll want to choose them in reverse order of the positions you want them to hold, left to right.
Example: If you’re selecting four apps, the fourth app you choose will be positioned on the far left, while the 3rd selected will be the 2nd app, and so on.
- Tap and hold the app icon whose positions you want to change.
- Tap the additional app you want to move. Remember to tap them in reverse order, Left to Right.
- Drag these apps to the page or folder you want them to reside and drop them.
Conclusion
Using the drag and drop method is like copy and paste on steroids. Plus, it’s pretty cool! Let me know in the comments if you’re willing to give it a try.
