You’ve used the drag-and-drop feature on iPads and Mac computers. It’s intuitive, effortless, and easy—you simply drag an item from one place and drop it into another.
But did you know you can also drag and drop on your iPhone? Yes, your iPhone has many hidden features beyond what you might realize, like scanning documents and, of course, drag and drop.
This feature lets you effortlessly move emails into reminders, photos into notes, website links straight into your calendar, and more—all with a simple drag-and-drop.
Drag and drop isn’t just about convenience; it’s a productivity game-changer that can streamline your workflow and help you accomplish more in less time.
This guide will show you how to drag and drop on your iPhone. We’ll walk you through the easy steps to get started and reveal a few ways this feature can transform how you use your iPhone.
How to Drag and Drop on Your iPhone
Here’s a quick rundown of the steps to use the drag-and-drop feature on your iPhone.
Note: While this guide focuses on dragging multiple emails from Mail to Reminders, the steps remain largely the same for using other files or apps on your iPhone.
1. Select an item: Tap and hold on to the item you want to drag (such as an email, contact, image, etc.).
2. Lift and wiggle: Once the item lifts up, slightly move your finger around to see a preview.
3. Add more items (optional): Tap additional items with another finger. You’ll see a badge that indicates the number of selected items.
4. Switch to the target app: While still holding the item(s) with one finger, use another finger to navigate to the app you want to drop the item(s) into.
5. Drop the item: Find the location where you want to drop the item(s) in the target app. A green plus sign will appear to indicate a valid drop zone. Release your finger to drop the items.
It might take a moment to get used to this trick since it requires two hands and a bit of patience. However, it becomes second nature after a while.
Bottom Line
This is all there is to it. You can drag and drop text, photos, links, videos, documents, audio files, PDFs, and more.
While not all third-party apps support drag and drop, you can effortlessly use it on all native iOS apps.
Let me know your thoughts on this feature. Do you see yourself using it in the future, or will you limit yourself to copy and paste?
