Technologies

Use this hidden iPhone feature to drag-and-drop files, photos, links and text across your apps

The drag-and-drop feature on iOS 15 allows you to quickly send a link via text message or add a photo attachment to an email.

The release of iOS 15 finally brought drag-and-drop to the iPhone ($330 at Amazon) — a feature that’s been available on the iPad ($182 at Amazon) for several years now, thanks to iPadOS15’s various multitasking capabilities. However, it wasn’t one of the highlighted features when the big iPhone update released last year, which is why you may not be familiar with it.

With drag-and-drop on the iPhone, you can move seamlessly between apps to quickly upload photos, send links, share files and more. In a few seconds, you can quickly drag a dozen photos to send via text message or drop a link into an email. In the guide below, we’ll show you everything you can do with the new drag-and-drop feature on iOS 15.

How to drag-and-drop photos and videos on the iPhone

The first way you can use drag-and-drop on iOS is to move images from one app to another. Now, this feature works with any application that allows you to press down on an image to share it, like in Photos, Safari, Twitter and more. For this example, we’ll show you how to drag-and-drop from the native Photos application.

1. Open the Photos app.

2. In grid view, press and hold your finger down on a photo or video, until the quick action menu appears, and then move your finger around so that it floats under your finger.

3. If you want to add more photos to share, use your other finger to tap on any other photos or videos, which will automatically be added to the other photo underneath your finger.

4. Use your other finger to leave the application and navigate to where you want to drop the photo or video.

5. You’ll see a green plus sign on the corner of the photo or video if you can drop it off there.

6. Lift your finger to drop the photo and video.

For example, you could drag the photo into the Mail app, to add it as an attachment, or to the Messages app, to quickly send it via text.

How to drag-and-drop files on the iPhone

The files that live in your Files application, like a PDF, WAV, MP4 or PNG, can also be dragged out of Files and into other applications, like Messages or Mail if you want to share the file, or even another file organizer app if you’re trying to upload the file.

1. Open the Files app.

2. In icon or list view, press your finger down on a file until the quick-action menu appears, and then move your finger around without lifting it so that the file follows your finger.

3. Use another finger to leave the Files app and go to another app.

4. Wait until you see a green plus sign, which means you can drop it there, and then lift your finger to release the file.

If you’re already in the Files app, this is a faster way to share files via text or email.

How to drag-and-drop links on the iPhone

Like with photos, you can also drag-and-drop links from applications such as Safari, Calendar and more. Again, you must be able to press down on the link and have the quick action menu appear to be able to drag and drop it. Here’s how to do it from Safari.

1. Open the Safari app.

2. Press your finger down on any link, until the quick action menu appears, and then move your finger around so the link floats under your finger.

3. Use your other finger to leave the app and lift your finger to drop it elsewhere (only if you see a green plus sign).

You can drop links in other apps such as Messages, Mail, Notes, or any number of social media apps.

How to drag-and-drop text on the iPhone

Finally, you have the option to drag any highlighted text into another app.

1. First, find the text you want to drag-and-drop.

2. Use your finger to then highlight the text, as you would if you wanted to copy it.

3. Then press and hold down on the selection and move your finger around, without lifting it, until the text follows your finger around.

4. Use another finger to leave this app and then drop it elsewhere.

Although copy and paste might be a better (and even faster) option, you do have the ability to drag and drop text on iOS.

If you’re a visual learner, Frederico Viticci, editor-in-chief of MacStories, tweeted a screen recording of the process in June.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

For more, check out everything to know before updating to iOS 15 and everything we didn’t get in iOS 15.

Technologies

Google’s New AI Features Are Trying to Make Data Entry a Thing of the Past

More Gemini AI features will come to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The latest batch of Google updates to its workspace tools highlights AI’s promise to automate mundanity in the workplace. Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drive all have new AI-powered features, the company announced Tuesday. The one thing all these updates have in common? Gemini is using your files, emails and chats to give you relevant information, not random answers gleaned from the web.

These updates come as AI is playing a bigger role in our work lives, for better or worse. Agentic tools like Claude Cowork and coding assistants like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are more capable than chatbots and able to handle tasks announced independently. AI tools are also becoming more customized, with Google’s personalized intelligence rolling out across its platforms to help refine AI outputs to things that are relevant and useful for you. Google continues that trend with this new batch of Workspace updates.

New Gemini AI features in Google Workspace apps will cite their sources after each query. For example, if you ask Gemini in Google Docs to fill out an itinerary template, it will pull the information from your email, chats and files. The «sources» tab in the Gemini side panel will show you where it found the information it used, like your flight confirmation email and chats discussing dinner plans. Seeing where Gemini pulled its answers from is also how you’ll double-check Gemini’s work.

The most impressive new features are in Sheets, where AI can fill in the holes in your spreadsheets. You can describe what you want the AI to do with a simple prompt and avoid writing an exact formula. You can click on an empty cell, select the pop-up that says «Drag to fill with Gemini,» then highlight the cells you want Gemini to fill in. That deploys an AI agent to search the web to fill each cell with the necessary information.

For example, if you have a spreadsheet of the contact info for local companies, you can have Gemini search the web to fill in a the location, CEO and other publicly available information of each company. The tool aims to dramatically reduce the time needed for manual data entry. Gemini can also summarize, categorize and create charts with prompts alone.

You can also chat with Gemini in Sheets and have it scour your raw data to make custom reports and charts. No need for pivot tables if they confound you as much as they baffle me. One of the biggest uses of AI at work is helping create presentations.

In Google Slides, you can now tell Gemini in natural language what you want to appear on a slide, and it will create it, matching the style of your existing slides. You can also ask Gemini to edit your slides if you don’t want to waste time painstakingly moving design elements around the slide. The AI should fill the slides with relevant information based on your instructions and the work files it has access to, so you shouldn’t need to replace a bunch of filler text.

If you use Docs, Sheets and Slides through the Workspace account of your company, then you won’t be able to turn off AI features individually. The managing company is in control of AI access for users. Personal users can tweak their settings to limit Gemini. The new features are rolling out in beta now, in English only, to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers in the US, as well as some Google Workspace customers who are part of the Gemini Alpha testing program.

For more, check out the new cowork feature in Copilot and how to use Perplexity AI for deep research.

Technologies

Nintendo Switches Lanes, Sues US Over Tariffs

Mario wants his money back.

Tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump were struck down by the Supreme Court last month. Companies that were subjected to those fees, such as FedEx and Dollar General, have since sued the federal government, and Nintendo wants a piece of the action.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the US Court of International Trade on Friday, as first spotted by Aftermath. The complaint seeks refunds of tariffs Nintendo paid, plus interest, and asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful and stop the government from collecting them going forward.

«Since February 1, 2025, President Trump has executed the unlawful Executive Orders, imposing tariffs on imports from a vast swath of countries,» Nintendo said in the complaint.

When reached for comment, Nintendo of America confirmed the lawsuit.

«We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic,» Nintendo of America said in an emailed statement on Friday, March 6.

It’s unclear how much Nintendo paid in tariffs, and it did not state an amount in the lawsuit. While the Switch 2 was priced at $450 when it launched last year, and has stayed at that amount, Nintendo did increase the price of the original Switch and accessories for both consoles. Microsoft and Sony also increased the prices of their hardware and accessories last year due to tariffs.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6 to 3 that the sweeping tariffs Trump instituted last year exceeded his executive powers. Following the ruling, on the same day, Trump announced a new set of tariffs of 10% on imported goods that would last for 150 days, starting Feb. 24.

The decision on what to do with the collected tariffs — a reported $166 billion — has been left to the US Court of International Trade. Judge Richard Eaton told the US Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday, March 4, to refund the importers that were forced to pay tariffs, which is more than 330,000. On Friday, the CBP said it couldn’t easily issue tariff refunds because its system requires duties to be recalculated and refunds processed entry by entry. This process would involve tens of millions of transactions. The agency said it’s updating its systems and could start providing refunds by late April.