Hand-drawing on a screen is always hit-and-miss, and annotations usually end up looking scribbly and a bit, well, terrible.

This iOS 16 trick will make them look amazing and professional.

OK, take this photo of my morning coffee, and let's say I want to annotate it.

Also:iOS 16: How to get the most out of your iPhone's new lock screen

My coffee (badly) annotated.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

It looks a bit terrible, doesn't it? (Actually, it took me several attempts to get annotations that looked that good!)

But we can make it a lot better. 

Here's how.

• Step 1: Go into Photos and find the image you want to edit.
• Step 2: Tap Edit.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

• Step 3: Tap the pen icon.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

• Step 4: Pick a drawing tool to get going.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

• Step 5: Draw the shape you want to make as usual. Don't lift your finger off the screen.
• Step 6: Once you've finished, keep holding your finger on the display, and iOS 16 will magically transform your arrow or shape (we'll get to what works in a moment) into a smooth, professional one!

Here's what the process looks like:

Super tidy annotations.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Also: iOS 16 has a hidden Photoshop-like feature. Where to find it and how to use it (and why you're going to love it)

As for what shapes seem to work, here's what I've found:

• Straight line
• Arrow
• Circle
• Ellipse
• Triangle
• Square
• Pentagon

There are probably more waiting to be uncovered, and Apple will likely improve this feature over time. I'd really like it to be able to make handwriting look better!

While there are other ways to annotate photos and diagrams -- I useTechSmith's SnagIt for most of my work -- for people who want a simple, no-cost solution, this is definitely worth trying out. 

See also

How to better organize text messages on your iPhone, thanks to iOS 17How to transfer data from Android to an iPhone: 2 simple and fast waysHow to turn on 80% charging limit on the iPhone 15 to save battery healthHow to leave a FaceTime voice or video message when your call goes unanswered

• How to better organize text messages on your iPhone, thanks to iOS 17
• How to transfer data from Android to an iPhone: 2 simple and fast ways
• How to turn on 80% charging limit on the iPhone 15 to save battery health
• How to leave a FaceTime voice or video message when your call goes unanswered