iOS 13
How To: This Trick Makes It Easier to Type on Your iPhone with One Hand
We're beyond the days where iPhones fit perfectly in most hands. The iPhone 11 Pro is still a bit big for many people, and the 11 Pro Max is truly massive. If you're having trouble typing out your thoughts without using two hands, know that there's a quick way to make one-handed typing possible on any iPhone.
How To: Enable One-Handed Typing on Your iPhone's Stock Keyboard
Apple introduced third-party keyboards back in iOS 8, and swipe-input options like Gboard, SwiftKey, and Swype made typing on an iPhone one-handed much easier. Even better, apps like Word Flow moved the keyboard to the side of the iPhone, so there was less thumb-stretching. Well, ever since iOS 11, Apple has had its own option for better one-handed typing in the stock keyboard.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.6.1 for iPhone, Adds Bug Fixes for Exposure Notifications, Thermal Management & Automated Storage
Apple just released iOS 13.6.1 for iPhone today, Wednesday, Aug. 12. The update is the latest public update for iPhones since iOS 13.6, which Apple released 28 days ago.
News: iOS 13.2 Fixes the Biggest Issue with iPhone's Video Camera
When it comes to shooting video, the iPhone is often considered the best in the biz. That certainly didn't change with the release of the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, who each sport the best video cameras the smartphone industry has to offer. That said, there's always been something truly irritating about Apple's camera app, something the company finally fixed in iOS 13.2 and later.
How To: Stop Photos from Automatically Creating iCloud Links When Sharing Images & Videos from Your iPhone
If you use iCloud Photos, Apple's iCloud link feature is meant to make sharing multiple photos and videos faster and easier, but it's not as great as you might think. Luckily, there's a way to stop your iPhone from creating them automatically, as long as you're running iOS 13 or later.
How To: Share Your iPhone Photos & Videos with a Disappearing Link That Expires Automatically
The way you share a group of photos and videos on your iPhone is pretty simple; just select a few items, then choose a service or platform to send them through. Simplicity isn't always the best option, though, and in this case, there's a better way than letting those files send or upload individually, one by one.
How To: Scan Laundry Care Symbols with Your iPhone to See How You're Actually Supposed to Wash Clothes
When it comes to washing clothes, the laundry symbols on your tags might as well be hieroglyphics. They're difficult to interpret, easy to forget, and even easier to ignore. But if you don't want to ruin expensive designer clothes, blankets, and other fiber-based materials, you need to figure out the meaning behind those tiny icons. Thankfully, your iPhone can help out.
How To: Stop Getting Those Annoying 'Share Your Name & Photo' Alerts in iMessage Threads on Your iPhone
Your iPhone comes with a feature that allows you to share your name and photo with anyone you iMessage in Messages. It's a useful feature if you want people to see a customized name or fun image that you pick, but seeing all those "Share your name and photo" alerts in conversations can get real annoying quickly. There's a way to stop that from happening, thankfully.
How To: Disable This Wi-Fi Option on Your iPhone to Increase Security & Prevent Unresponsive Apps & Webpages
You're out and about, and nothing on your iPhone will load. A glance at the settings shows a saved Wi-Fi network with full bars that your iPhone had connected to automatically, but you're not getting any internet. If you've experienced this, you're not alone, and there's something you can do about it. You'll even increase privacy and security on your iPhone in the process.
How To: Can't Find Night Mode on Your iPhone? Here's Why
Apple might not have been the first to add a night camera mode to its suite of smartphones, but it's pretty impressive nonetheless. With "Night" mode, your iPhone can shoot photos with incredible detail in some horrendously dark lighting conditions. But when you open up your new iPhone to try it out, you might be wondering how you turn it on.
How To: Use These Gestures to Shoot Video Without Ever Leaving Photo Mode in Your iPhone's Camera App
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't hit the "record" button in time, you could miss it. That's why, starting in iOS 13, on select iPhone models, you can start recording a video without having to switch out of Photo capture mode. So you can avoid blowing the perfect video when it matters most, and then go right back to taking pictures without skipping a beat.
How To: Do This to Start Your Day with a Favorite Song, Not an Obnoxious iPhone Alarm Sound
Why are you still waking up to an annoying alarm clock sound on your iPhone? It's 2020, not 2011. That's almost a decade since you were limited to a strict set of default tones. Yes, your iPhone has a ton of tones by now to choose from, but you could be waking up gently to your favorite slow song, or jolting awake by the harsh sounds of metal ringing in your ears to get pumped for the rest of the day.
How To: Set Apple Music Songs as Alarm Sounds on Your iPhone So You Don't Hit Snooze Anymore
Don't like how Apple's default Radar ringtone — or any other tone — wakes you up in the morning? Then don't use them as your alarm sound. Instead, use your favorite song to get you out of bed. Whether you enjoy an acoustic tune or a heavy, energetic jam, you can choose any Apple Music song you want, or any track in your personal Music library, to get you going each day.
How To: Apps & Services May Have Access to Your Apple Music & Media Library — Here's How to Check & Revoke Their Permissions
Third-party apps on your iPhone must ask for your permission to access your library in the Music app. Some will even want to get access to your Apple Music account. If you no longer use the apps, you shouldn't be letting them have access anymore. It's easy to hunt them down, and doing so might even show some apps you can't even remember giving any permissions to.
How To: Disable COVID-19 Exposure Notifications on Your iPhone
In iOS 13.5 and later, developers can create and release contact tracing apps for iPhone, which could help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. With these apps comes COVID-19 exposure notifications, which you may or may not want to receive. If you don't want to get these alerts, you can disable them.
How To: You May Be Sharing Your iPhone's Location with Other People — Here's How to Stop It
Sharing your iPhone's real-time location can be very useful when you want family and friends to know where you're at or your estimated time of arrival. By doing so, they can track you when you can't or don't want to update them manually. Depending on how you shared your location, however, they might still be able to track your exact coordinates after the initial share.
How To: Disable Location Access to All Your iPhone Apps So You Can Be Wiser About Permissions Going Forward
Many apps on your iPhone want to use your location, most of which are for valid reasons. But some apps can function perfectly fine without location permissions, while others have no business even requesting it. If you want to be more selective about which apps and services you give away your coordinates to, the best thing you could do is start from scratch.
How To: Improve Audio Quality in Voice Memos on Your iPhone to Get Better-Sounding Files
Lossless quality isn't for everyone. If you can't distinguish between lossless audio and other formats, you probably but don't need it. But if you're a musician who's sharing ideas with bandmates or a journalist interviewing people for a video, you might want the best possible quality, which is what lossless offers. And you might not know it, but the Voice Memos app on your iPhone supports it.
How To: YSK That You Can Mute Live Photos So Nobody Has to Listen to Them
Live Photos are a great way to relive moments beyond a simple still image since you get up to 1.5 seconds of video before and after the shot. Of course, your iPhone doesn't just capture motion during a Live Photo — it also records audio. And that audio portion may not be something you want to share.
How To: Your iPhone Can Switch to Dark & Light Modes Automatically When the Sun Sets & Rises
Apple's Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later offers a cool, comfortable viewing experience on your iPhone. You may prefer the dark theme all day long, but if you like to use it only at night, it's not very convenient to switch it on and off daily. But there's a setting that lets you set it and forget it, so you never have to do it manually again.