iOS 12 Tips & News « iOS & iPhone

How To: Use FaceTime's Group Chat on Your iPhone to Talk to More Than One Person at a Time

FaceTime has been pretty much the same ever since Apple added support for cellular networks back in iOS 6 (FaceTime itself was released in iOS 4), though they did add "official" support for audio-only calls in iOS 7. But the one feature everyone has been wanting ever since then — group video calls — has evaded us, but it's coming very soon.

How To: Unlock the Hidden Weather Lock Screen Widget in iOS 12 on Your iPhone

There are a lot of things that make iOS great, but lock screen widgets are not among them. If you want more information on your lock screen other than the date, time, and notifications without having to swipe to a sidebar of widgets, you'd normally look toward Android. However, iOS 12 aims to shake that up a bit with a secret Weather widget for the lock screen — not for the Today view.

How To: Turn Your iPhone's Auto-Brightness Off in iOS 12

If you're not a fan of your iPhone's ability to adjust screen brightness by itself, you've probably turned off auto-brightness on multiple occasions in the past. All you would do is go to your "Display & Brightness" settings and toggle it off, but that's no longer the case in iOS 11 and iOS 12 — whether you have an iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR or any older supported iPhone.

News: 100+ Coolest New iOS 12 Features You Didn't Know About

The next big iOS version for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch was revealed by Apple at WWDC 2018 and dropped for everyone on Sept. 17, 2018, less than a week after Apple revealed the new iPhone lineup. We've rounded up all the big picture items and secret features and changes we could find so you know exactly what to expect when updating to iOS 12 on your iPhone.

News: 30 Privacy & Security Settings in iOS 12 You Should Check Right Now

With all of the personal information it contains, Apple added plenty of security measures to your iPhone protect you and your device from unwanted access. In iOS 12, there are several changes to help keep your device even more secure and private, and the update built on previous improvements to ensure your data stays safe.

How To: Downgrade iOS 12 Back to 11.4.1 on Your iPhone

Apple's goal with iOS 12 is to smooth out the problems with its famously flawed predecessor. Of course, change isn't for everyone, and by iOS 11.4.1, Apple had a pretty stable thing going. If you're not digging all the bugs and new features included in iOS 12, here's how to downgrade your iPhone back to iOS 11.4.1.

How To: Download & Install iOS 12 on Your iPhone

Apple's latest mobile operating system for iPhones, iOS 12, was released to everyone Monday, Sept. 17, and it's the same exact build that developers and public beta testers received as the "golden master" on Sept. 12, the day of Apple's 2018 special event. Install it to start taking advantage of the 100+ features iOS 12 has to offer right now.

How To: Measure Real-World Objects with Your iPhone in iOS 12

Thanks to Apple's ARKit 2.0 augmented reality framework in iOS 12, we now have a "Measure" app built right into our iPhones that can measure real-world objects. No more physical tape measure or ruler. No more guessing. Just whip out your iPhone, open the app, put your camera, and get measurements. Before you do, however, there are a few things you'll want to know.

How To: Instantly Share Wi-Fi Passwords from Your iPhone to Other iOS 12 Devices Nearby

When you don't know the password to a Wi-Fi network at a friend's house or coffee shop, you have to ask for it to save cellular data on your iPhone. If the hotspot's owner can actually remember the password, good luck putting it in on the first try. If they don't remember, then you might have to use cellular data. Thankfully, this whole process has gotten much easier in newer iOS versions.

How To: Hide Folder Names on Your iPhone for Good

I hate folder names, especially the one Apple shoves down our digital throats. On a computer, they make total sense, but on my iPhone, it's just more clutter on the home screen. You can tell what folder is what just by looking at the app icons within it, so why are we forced to label them? Technically, we're not, since there is a workaround in iOS 12 to make those labels disappear for good.

How To: Fix the 'Software Update Is Required to Connect to Your iPhone' Warning on Your Mac

If you're currently running macOS 10.11 or higher on your Mac and connect your iPhone to sync with iTunes, you may get an alert saying that "a software update is required to connect to your iPhone." Here's everything you need to know about what that means, how to update your system, and what to do if updating doesn't work.

How To: Unlock Apple's 'Dark Mode' in iOS 12 for iPhone

Apple gave us the ability to invert colors on the screen a very long time ago. Then they gave us grayscale mode in iOS 8, Night Shift in iOS 9, and the red screen filter in iOS 10. While the long-awaited "Dark Mode" has yet to materialize, iOS 11 and iOS 12 both have a decent placeholder for it you can use on your iPhone.

How To: Use the Shortcuts App on Your iPhone in iOS 12 for Custom Siri Actions & More

One of the most exciting additions to iOS 12 for iPhones is called Shortcuts, a tool integrated with Siri to help you get things done faster. While there are a few recommended shortcuts available to you in Siri's settings in iOS 12, the Shortcuts app brings the functionality of Workflow to Siri so you can build your own custom actions or select from the gallery of available shortcuts.

How To: Create Your Own Shortcuts in iOS 12 to Get Things Done Faster with Siri

Apple is putting their Workflow acquisition to use with the new Shortcuts feature, integrated right into Siri. It allows you to connect commonly-used actions to a phrase that you activate with Siri. In addition to some of the other speed improvements in iOS 12, Shortcuts helps streamline your mobile experience.

How To: Use Animoji & Memoji in FaceTime Video Calls on Your iPhone X

Apple's doubling down on AR features in iOS 12. The iPhone's augmented reality framework got a major overhaul with ARKit 2.0, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. While the updated API tools will help developers make better interactive apps, there's another new AR feature that regular users will enjoy: Animoji in FaceTime.

How To: Disable the 'Unlock iPhone to Use Accessories' Notification in iOS 11.4.1 & Higher

If you're on iOS 11.4.1 or iOS 12 and go more than an hour without unlocking your iPhone, an "Unlock iPhone to Use Accessories" message will appear whenever you connect your iPhone to a computer or other device that tries to use the Lightning cable's data lines. This is to protect you, but it can be annoying if you have no reason to believe that law enforcement or criminals will have access to your iPhone.

How To: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 12's New Battery Stats for Your iPhone

With iOS 12, Apple is making up for mistakes from the past, with iPhone batteries being no exception. The new update builds upon both battery health and performance throttling tools introduced in iOS 11.3 by offering users more information about your iPhone's battery usage than ever before.

How To: Access Your Photo Library in Messages for iOS 12 to Send Already Taken Pics & Vids

Ever since 2009, you could send a photo or video that you've already taken right from the Messages app on your iPhone. You would just tap on the camera icon next to the new message box, then choose either to take a new one or select one from your library. If you're running iOS 12, that's no longer the case, but that doesn't mean the capability is gone entirely.

News: Apple Just Broke Its Update Cycle Record with iOS 12 on the iPhone 5S

With each year that we anxiously await Apple's next big version of iOS, there comes the sad reality that the eldest iPhones will not continue to receive support. That's not the case with iOS 12, however, as the software is compatible with all iPhones currently running iOS 11, going back as far as the iPhone 5S.

How To: Access Your Screen Time Usage Stats Faster in iOS 12 for iPhone

Apple's digital health initiative in iOS 12 includes Screen Time, a settings menu that shows you how much time you spend playing games, reading news, and whatever else it is you do. This menu also lets you schedule downtime away from your iPhone, set time limits for your apps, and more. While this is all great, it's hidden inside the Settings app — but there's a faster way to access this data.