iOS & iPhone How-Tos
How To: Silence Annoyingly Loud Emergency Alerts on iPhone Without Disabling Them Completely
Wireless emergency alerts help warn mobile phone users of imminent threats to life or property, such as extreme weather and natural disasters. These alerts target affected geographic areas and come with a loud sound scary enough to make you want to turn off emergency alerts altogether on your iPhone, but there's a way to keep emergency alerts without the ear-splitting, intrusive sound.
How To: Quickly Find the Conversations with the Most Photos and Videos in Your iPhone's Messages App
There's a quick way to see who you or somebody else has been chatting with the most in the Messages app for iOS and iPadOS. More specifically, it shows which conversations have the most attachments, such as photos and videos, giving you an idea of which chats are the most active visually.
How To: Tired of Contacts Showing Up in Your iPhone's Share Sheet? You Can Hide Some of Them or Remove Them All
If you're sick of seeing some of your contacts' faces in the sharing menu every time you share photos, apps, webpages, or other content on your iPhone, or if you want to keep nearby eyes from sneaking a peek at the people you frequently share things with, you can make some or all of them disappear.
How To: 6 Valuable iPhone Features That'll Make You Wish You Didn't Live in the US
You may think your iPhone has all the features you could ever need or want, but that may change once you discover the features and services you're missing out on by residing in the United States.
How To: 8 Hidden Ways to Make the Apple TV App on Your iPhone Even Better
Whether you subscribe to Apple TV+ or not, the TV app on your iPhone is a great place to watch movies and TV shows. On the surface, it looks like a pretty straightforward app, but hidden features are lurking in the shadows that can enhance how you use it.
How To: 15 New Features Hiding in Your iPhone's iOS 16.6 Software Update
Apple just released its iOS 16.6 update for iPhone on July 24. When you install the new software, it may look like there's not much to it since Apple doesn't include any features in the release notes beyond "important bug fixes and security updates," but a few new features are hiding within.
How To: Lock All Your Apps Behind Face ID or Touch ID to Keep Friends and Family from Snooping Around
There is no default option on iOS 16 or iOS 17 to lock your apps behind Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode authentication. However, a clever, easy-to-implement workaround will protect your sensitive apps from nosy friends and family temporarily using or looking at something on your iPhone.
How To: The Volume Trick You Never Knew You Could Do on Your iPhone
There's a world of hidden features on your iPhone just waiting to be explored, and one of them is hiding in plain sight right in front of you. You likely see it multiple times a day after performing a routine action without ever thinking twice about what else it can do, and you're not the only one.
How To: 23 Things Your iPhone's Volume Buttons Can Do Besides Volume Adjustments
The volume buttons on the side of your iPhone can do more than just adjust the volume levels for media, ringers, alerts, Siri, and other sounds and voices. You can use them to perform different actions in certain apps and even create custom actions using the Shortcuts app. It's not exactly button mapping, but it's as close as you'll get without jailbreaking iOS.
How To: 8 Ways to Call Emergency Services on Your iPhone When You Can't Dial 911 Manually
Your iPhone has a safety feature that makes it easier to call 911 in the U.S. and other emergency services abroad. Instead of fumbling with your iPhone's dialer, you can call someone for help in various ways — with or without your hands.
How To: The Most Important Photos App Feature You Should Be Using on Your iPhone or iPad
Your iPhone has a powerful feature that can keep your secrets hidden from other people, and you'll never have to worry about sharing or showing someone something embarrassing or incriminating ever again.
How To: 7 Things Hiding in Your iPhone's App Icons You Probably Haven't Noticed Yet
Apple likes hiding things in its software, including secret apps, hidden iMessage effects, status bar customization, nameless icons, and red screen mode, but some of its best Easter eggs are right in front of you on the Home Screen.
How To: iPhone Fold or Flip? Here's Everything We Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable Smartphone
Now that Vision Pro, Apple's mixed reality headset, has been announced, Apple can free up some R&D resources to commit to its upcoming foldable iPhone, which has been rumored for just as long as Vision Pro has. Will it be a flip-style or a larger foldable? Let's see what all the industry experts and Apple leakers have to say.
How To: Unlock the Secret Emoticon Keyboard on Your iPhone
Emoji have taken over the world, so there's a good chance you regularly use (or overuse) emoji on your iPhone's keyboard just like everyone else. But before emoji were popular, there were emoticons, short for "emotion icons" — and iOS has a secret emoticon keyboard just waiting for you to unlock.
How To: Everything We Know About the iPhone 15 Series Models Coming This Fall
Apple's iPhone lineup has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, captivating the world with each new iteration. As we eagerly anticipate the iPhone 15 series release, rumors, leaks, and speculations about the highly anticipated 2023 models are at full steam.
How To: Download and Install iOS 16.8 on Your iPhone to Try New Features First
Apple's iOS 16.6 software update for iPhone was released on July 24, with iOS 16.7 following on September 21. While Apple is currently focused on improving iOS 17, we may see iOS 16.8 pop up. When it does, you can try out all the upcoming new features as long as you're OK with running beta software on your iPhone.
How To: iOS 16.5 Has 19 New Features and Changes for iPhone You Won't Want to Miss
Apple has a few exciting surprises for you in its latest iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 software updates. Released on Thursday, May 18, version 16.5 includes new features, bug fixes, and security patches, and there are even hints of some big things coming in future software updates for iPhone and iPad.
How To: Apple News Has 8 Big Updates on iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 — Here's Everything That Changed
Of all the new features and changes on iOS 16.5, the Apple News app has the most, and there are a few big ones that will change the way you read stories. Some updates even affect Apple News on iPadOS 16.5; the most significant ones apply to both free users and Apple News+ subscribers.
How To: Discover Nearby Concerts and Music Venues with Apple Maps and Apple Music on Your iPhone
Whether you're staying in your hometown for the weekend or traveling to a nearby or faraway city, live music is always a great option for entertainment — but finding decent music or a good music venue isn't always easy. With new features added to two of its core apps, your iPhone just made it easier to do both.
How To: 6 Home Screen Hacks for Your iPhone Apple Won't Tell You About
Apple offers many ways to customize the Home Screen on your iPhone, from adding widgets and scheduling rotating wallpapers to hiding apps and entire pages. But some of the best ways to customize your Home Screen are options Apple won't even tell you about, either because they haven't become official features yet or because Apple is OK with the workarounds.
How To: Never Lose Another Game with Your iPhone or iPad's Hidden Cheat Mode — Here's How It Works
Gaming just got easier, thanks to Apple. A secret feature on your iPhone or iPad makes it so much easier to beat that level or opponent you can't seem to defeat, and it can even help you learn to play a new game faster.
How To: FaceTime's Latest Trick Lets You Play Games with Family and Friends on Your iPhone During Calls — Here's How It Works
Whenever you're on a FaceTime call, you can use SharePlay on your iPhone or iPad to screen share, watch TV or movies together, work out with each other, and even listen to the same music at the same time. SharePlay also recently received a new skill that turns FaceTime into a portable gaming platform.
How To: Your iPhone Has a Secret Button That Can Run Hundreds, Even Thousands of Actions — But You Have to Unlock It First
An invaluable button on your iPhone can do hundreds, even thousands, of amazing things, but most iPhone users don't even know it exists. You can't push it. You can't click it. You can't press it. But it's the largest button on your iPhone, more powerful than the versatile Side button, and it's hiding in plain sight.
How To: 7 Screenshot Secrets for iPhone You Need to Start Using When Capturing Your Screen
The screenshot tool on your iPhone can come in handy in various ways, but it may be even more helpful than you realize. So if you thought you knew everything there was to know about your iPhone's screenshot tool, it's time to put your knowledge to the test.
How To: This Hack Lets You Use Custom Names for Newly Captured Screenshots on Your iPhone
Apple's screenshot feature is a near-perfect tool for saving images of your iPhone's screen to keep for yourself or share with others. But iOS is missing one thing that would make it almost flawless: a way to rename your screenshots from their original IMG_1234.PNG file name.
How To: 7 Hidden iPhone Apps You Didn't Know Existed
Your iPhone has hidden apps that work behind the scenes to filter SMS messages, trust computers, deal with payments, test ads, and perform other actions. You won't find any of them in your App Library, but there are tricks you can employ to unlock and use some of these secret apps.
How To: Use LED Flash Alerts on Your iPhone So You Never Miss Another Notification Again
Ringtones and text tones can be annoying, so my iPhone is almost always set to vibrate on silent mode. Unfortunately, that causes me to miss phone calls and text messages when the device isn't in my hands or pockets. While I hate missing alerts, I'm still reluctant to switch to ring mode — and that's where another iOS and iPadOS feature helps out.
How To: You're Taking Screenshots Wrong — Here Are Better Ways to Capture Your iPhone's Screen and Why You Should Be Using Them
You may know the traditional way to take a screenshot on your iPhone, but it may not be the best action for your needs. There are faster ways to capture an image of your iPhone's screen, methods for capturing overlays and other elements that won't show in regular screenshots, and even options for blocking screenshot thumbnail previews from appearing.
How To: Create Custom WhatsApp Stickers for Your Chats from Almost Any Image on Your iPhone
WhatsApp has a new sticker-making tool in the iPhone app that lets you create custom stickers directly in chats using your own images, eliminating the need to rely on third-party apps to make them.
How To: Unlock iOS 16.4's Hidden Skin Tones for the Pushing Hand Characters in Your Emoji Keyboard
Apple pushed out 31 new emoji with iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, but it somehow forgot to add ten of those — all skin-tone variations for the new leftward and rightward pushing hand characters — to the iOS keyboard. Here's how to unlock and use them.
How To: Apple Music Subscribers Just Got a Massive New iPhone Feature
A massive new feature just hit Apple Music, and it's the biggest thing to happen to Apple Music since Apple Music was even a thing.
How To: Get the Page-Turning Curl Animation Back in Apple Books for iPhone and iPad
A new software update for iPhone and iPad fixes a major Apple Books issue that upset users when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 were first released last September. If you've fled Apple Books because of that blunder, it's safe to return.
How To: iOS 16.4 Has 53 New Features and Changes for iPhone You Won't Want to Miss
Apple's iOS 16.3 update for iPhone had impressive new features, but iOS 16.4 might impress you even more.
How To: Your iPhone Just Got 31 More Emoji — Here Are All the New Characters and Variations
We haven't seen an emoji update for iPhone since iOS 15.4, which gave us 112 new emoji characters, but that's finally changed with the release of iOS 16.4. Here are all the new emoji you get after installing the latest software update.
How To: Safari Finally Has More Dark Mode Powers for Your iPhone
Not all websites are created equal, and that's why Safari doesn't apply Dark Mode to each webpage you visit during your iPhone's system-wide dark appearance. But in Safari's latest update, Apple gives its web browser more power to automatically apply Dark Mode to specific website content without having to use extensions like Noir.
How To: Apple Music Is Adding a Huge New Feature Next Week
A massive new feature is about to hit Apple Music next week. Anyone can check it out, but only Apple Music subscribers through an Individual, Student, Family, or Apple One plan can take full advantage of the new perk that's been years in the making.
How To: If You Wear Headphones with Your iPhone, You Need to Know About This
There's an iOS feature that benefits many users, but it's absolutely vital if you wear AirPods or other headphones models connected to your iPhone. A large number of iPhone users don't even know about it, especially since it's disabled by default and hidden deep in the system settings.
How To: Turn Memoji Stickers into Memoji Wallpapers for Your iPhone's Lock Screen and Home Screen
One of the new wallpaper options on iOS 16 lets you create emoji backgrounds for your Home Screen or Lock Screen. However, Apple didn't include support for Memoji wallpapers — but that doesn't mean you can't have them.
How To: Your iPhone Finally Has a Feature That Macs Have Had for Almost 40 Years
Apple had a version of this feature on its Mac computers for almost 40 years, so why did it take Apple over 15 years to finally add it to iPhone?
Emoji Better: 9 Emoji Tricks Most iPhone Owners Never Knew Existed
If you think you know everything there is to know about using emoji on your iPhone, think again. You may be aware of a few of these tricks, but I'm confident there's at least one or two here that you overlooked or never thought possible. Feel free to prove me wrong.