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Here’s how to add a virtual home button to your iPhone X

Published Nov 6th, 2017 9:36PM EST
iPhone X
Image: Chris Smith, BGR

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The iPhone X is without a doubt the most exciting new iPhone release we’ve seen in years. And with good reason, the iPhone X features a brand new edgeless OLED display, a best-in-class camera, Face ID and much more. From what we can ascertain thus far, demand for the iPhone X appears to be even stronger than many people anticipated. In fact, the excitement surrounding the iPhone X launch was so strong that we even saw a return of large throngs of people queuing up outside of Apple retail stores on launch day and throughout the weekend.

Notably, the general consensus surrounding Face ID is that the feature works exactly as advertised. Indeed, many people are of the mind that it even works more seamlessly than Touch ID. That said, not everyone is a fan of change, and if you find yourself loving the iPhone X display but otherwise aren’t yet ready to let go of the home button, there’s a workaround you can implement in iOS 11 that will provide you with a digital home button on the screen.

Now to be clear, the workaround pre-dates iOS 11 and is actually designed as an accessibility feature to be used by people who have trouble using a physical home button. Still, if you’re curious in checking it out, here’s how you do it.

Start out by opening up the Settings app. From there, go to General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch. When toggled on, you’ll see a virtual home button — signified by a white dot — that can be placed anywhere on the screen for your tapping convenience. It’s certainly not a feature most people will want to take advantage of, but on the off chance it might be of some help to you, it’s nice to know that it’s there.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.