Learn how to perform instant unit and currency conversions and get live exchange rates using Spotlight search on your iPhone and iPad.
Spotlight search allows you to perform unit and currency conversions and get live exchange rates. This is a real time-saver; you don’t need to download any apps, and Spotlight is available right on the Home Screen.
You can use Spotlight to convert dollars to euros, feet to meters, pounds to kilograms, hectares to acres, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and much more. Follow along with us as we show you how to convert units and currencies in Spotlight search.
How to convert currencies in Spotlight search on iPhone
Pull down on any Home Screen or hit the Search button above the Dock to show the Spotlight interface. Now type the unit or currency you want to convert to the local one. For example, if you live in the United States and would like to convert 100 Euros to dollars, you would type in “€100” or “100 Euros.” There is no step 3; Spotlight immediately shows the converted value.
Spotlight determines the target unit based on your regional settings in Settings > General > Language & Region. You can also specify the target unit with queries such as “$100 to AUD,” which will convert a hundred bucks into Australian dollars.
Of course, you can use any combination of currencies, like “$100 to CAD”—just prepend the amount with a symbol for an instant conversion. And to get the current exchange rate instead, simply enter “1” as the amount (i.e., $1, €1, etc.).
How to convert units using Spotlight search on iPhone
Unit conversion works in much the same way. For example, “100cm in in” will convert 100 centimeters to inches. Conversely, “100cm in ft” will give you the result in feet, and so on.
Do more with Spotlight search
Spotlight on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac can solve math problems, and the ability to convert units and currencies without additional apps is a cherry on top. Speaking of which, live currency and unit conversion are also baked into the Messages app.
Powerful operators and various tags let you search with Spotlight inside apps, such as specific entries in the Contacts app. On the Mac, you can also exclude certain locations from being indexed by Spotlight search to improve performance.
Do you like this nifty Spotlight tip? If you know about other Spotlight secrets, share them with us and fellow readers in the commenting section down below.