iPadOS 16
How To: The Trick to Using Your iPhone's Portrait Mode in Other Photo and Video Apps
Your iPhone's Camera app isn't the only place you can use Portrait mode for selfies. An easy-to-miss feature built right into iOS lets app developers leverage Apple's powerful Portrait mode effect in their own apps, so you can add a shallow focus effect to photos and videos when using the front-facing camera in FaceTime and apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Zoom.
How To: iOS 16.2 Has 39 Huge Changes You Need to Know About Before Updating Your iPhone
Apple's latest big software update includes an entirely new Apple app, a controversial change in the TV app, better Siri control, an improved Shortcuts app, interesting Safari upgrades, Apple Music Sing, and more. Keep reading to see what iOS 16.2 has to offer your iPhone.
How To: Take Full Control Over Siri's Audible Responses on Your iPhone for Silent or Spoken Replies When You Need Them
Apple's iOS 16 update changes the way Siri speaks responses, defaulting to a more "automatic" solution that lets your iPhone decide when it should or shouldn't talk out loud. That may sound like a good thing, but it makes it harder to keep Siri quiet when you only want muted responses. Thankfully, a new iOS update gives you back some control.
How To: Apple Books Has 10 New Shortcut Actions on iOS 16.2 That Finally Let You Automate E-Book and Audiobook Tasks
When iOS 16.0 was still in early beta testing, Apple teased us with a slew of new Books actions in the Shortcuts app, but none of them materialized in iOS 16.0 or 16.1. That changes with Apple's latest software update for iPhone.
How To: Keep Your Night Vision Sharp with the iPhone's Hidden Red Screen
Night Shift, Dark Mode, Reduce White Point, and Zoom's Low Light Filter all help reduce the harmful effects on your body's clock that bright iPhone and iPad screens have at night. But there's another option on iOS and iPadOS that turns your entire display red, and it's useful for so much more than just late-night browsing in bed.
How To: Use Your iPhone or Apple Watch as a Remote Control for Your iPad Using This Hidden Built-in Feature
There's a hidden feature on iOS that will turn your iPhone or Apple Watch into a remote control for your nearby iPad or other Apple devices — and it's nowhere near as complicated as Switch Control.
How To: Spotlight Search Just Got Even More Amazing on Your iPhone with These New Updates
If you haven't been using Spotlight Search on your iPhone, we've got ten reasons for you to start. Apple's made some significant improvements to the search interface available on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and it's more useful than ever.
How To: Your iPhone Can Scan Images to Identify and Show Information About Art, Insects, Landmarks, Plants, and More
When you take a photo of something interesting, like a landmark, piece of art, animal, or plant, there's a good chance you'll also want to know more about that something than just what you see in the frame. When this happens, you can take advantage of Apple's content recognition service for iOS and iPadOS without having to install any third-party apps.
How To: Seamlessly Transfer a FaceTime Call to Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac Without Disconnecting It
One advantage to using Apple's ecosystem is Continuity, which allows you to move files, media, and tasks seamlessly between all your Apple devices. It even lets you use one device to help with actions on another, like unlocking your Mac with your Apple Watch or using your iPad as a second display. Now, things are even better with Continuity with Handoff's new FaceTime functionality.
How To: Your iPhone's Contacts App Is More Powerful Than Ever with These Killer New Features
In the past, Apple never really put much work into its Contacts app for iPhone, making the tool much less useful than its Mac and iCloud counterparts. But now the Contacts app for iOS is a force to be reckoned with. Packed with new features (some hidden), it's finally good enough to beat all of the third-party contacts apps that previously reigned supreme.
How To: 15 Hidden iMessage Features for iPhone You Probably Didn't Know About
There are many things Apple doesn't tell you about its products, and that's definitely the case when it comes to its Messages app. Hidden features lurk in your SMS and iMessage conversations just waiting to be found, and we've unearthed some of the most secret ones.
How To: Explore Freeform, Apple's New Digital Whiteboard for Brainstorming, Collaboration, and More
When you need to take notes, sketch out projects, brainstorm with others, create mood boards, or map out ideas without constraints, look no further than Freeform, Apple's new collaboration-friendly digital whiteboard.
How To: Your iPhone Has 25 New Accessibility Tools You Shouldn't Ignore
While it's not usually the first thing everyone looks at after installing a new iOS software update, I'd give the new accessibility features on your iPhone priority attention because there are some highly valuable tools that even users without disabilities can enjoy.
How To: Your iPhone's Safari App Includes a Hidden Feature Every Web Browser Needs — And No One Is Talking About It!
Safari has a major new feature for your iPhone, something that will change how you share, receive, and interact with links — and nobody is talking about it. The feature works on the latest iOS software, as well as the latest iPadOS and macOS versions. Still, you won't find any information about it in Safari's app or settings, so it's pretty hidden if you haven't seen it by accident yet.
How To: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 16.1's Changes for Shortcuts
The latest iPhone update introduces big features like Live Activities and Clean Energy Charging, but those aren't the only things you'll notice different on iOS 16.1. If you build your own shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, there are a few things you'll definitely want to know about the new software. It's not a massive feature drop as with iOS 16.0, but they are important changes.
How To: 26 Big iPhone Features and Improvements on iOS 16.1
It hasn't been long since Apple released iOS 16.0 with over 350 new features, but iOS 16.1 just came out with even more cool updates for your iPhone. While some of the recent upgrades were expected, others are somewhat surprising — and there's even one that you may not even think was possible.
How To: Sick of Yellow Links in Notes? Make Them Any Color You Want with These Hidden iPhone, iPad, and Mac Settings
If you're tired of the default yellow link colors in your Notes app, which I find hard to look at in light mode, there's a way to change them to another color on your iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac running iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and/or macOS Sonoma 14 and earlier.
How To: The Best Features in Your Notes App's Latest Update for iPhone
If you use the Notes app on your iPhone and haven't updated to the newest software yet, you're missing out on some pretty valuable upgrades that improve smart folders, note security, collaboration, and more. So what are you waiting for?
How To: Safari Snuck in a New Feature on Your iPhone That Makes an Old Tool Even More Useful on Webpages
There's a new hidden Safari feature for your iPhone, one that makes it even easier to find words, numbers, phrases, and other text on a webpage.
How To: Edit iMessages So Nobody Can See the Edit History
Apple lets you edit iMessages in the Messages app on iOS 16 and later, but everyone in the chat can see all the edits between the final and original text. Thankfully, there's an easy workaround to stop that from happening when you only want them to see the last message and nothing else.