Hot iOS & iPhone How-Tos
How To: Batch Editing Photos and Videos on Your iPhone Just Got Way Easier
Your iPhone's Photos app just got a major new feature that lets you edit multiple photos and videos simultaneously. That means you no longer have to try and remember all the adjustments made in one image or video to try and get the same look in another photo or video.
How To: Your iPhone's Mail App Finally Has the Feature Outlook and Other Email Clients Had for Years
One of Apple's most prominent iOS 16 features lets you unsend iMessages, but those aren't the only things you can take back. Your iPhone's Mail app also has the Undo Send feature, and unlike the Messages app, you can even customize the amount of time you have to stop an email before it's too late.
How To: This Little-Known Gesture Will Change How You Use Maps on Your iPhone
You can double-tap most maps on your iPhone to zoom in, and tap once with two fingers to zoom out. And I'm sure you're more than familiar with the pinch gesture for zooming. But there's an even better way to zoom in and out on maps, and you can do it with one hand tied behind your back.
How To: Upgrade Safari on Your iPhone with These Powerful Add-Ons
You may use Safari on your iPhone or iPad to open links and browse the web, but there's so much more it can do for you. On updated software, you can implement third-party Safari extensions in your browser that go above and beyond content blocking, sharing, and performing basic actions.
How To: This Color Hack Makes Certain Contacts Stand Out in Your iPhone's Mail App
A little-known setting on your iPhone gives you the power to change the color of certain contact names and email addresses when drafting an email. Customizing the color works well for visually separating contacts at a glance, and it can even help you from sending an email to the wrong person.
How To: Apple Maps Has 12 New Features in iOS 16 You Need to Know About
While the Maps app hasn't received as big an update in iOS 16 as Books, Messages, Photos, and Weather did, there are still quite a few exciting new features to enjoy on your iPhone.
How To: Switching Between Typing and Dictation Has Never Been Easier Thanks to iOS 16
Apple's dictation tool for iPhone is a useful hands-free way to enter text without typing anything manually. While its transcriptions aren't always precise, it's better than having to type out long messages, emails, and notes by hand — and it just got a significant improvement in iOS 16.
How To: Apple Just Made Its Controversial iMessage Editing Tool in iOS 16 Less Problematic
Apple's controversial iMessage-editing feature in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS 13 Ventura is now less likely to be abused by malicious users.
How To: Get iOS 16's Live Weather Lock Screen Wallpaper on Your iPhone in iOS 15
Apple's bringing big changes to your iPhone's lock screen in iOS 16, and one of those changes lets you pick an always-updating wallpaper for your local weather conditions. If you don't want to wait until the fall for the stable iOS 16 version and don't want to install any iOS 16 betas, you can still get an always-updating weather wallpaper for your lock screen on iOS 15.
How To: 7 Things You Need to Know About iOS 15.6 for iPhone, Which Includes Over 35 Security Patches
After nearly two months of beta testing, Apple is finally pushing the iOS 15.6 software update to all iPhone users. While it's not as feature-rich as the iOS 15.5 or iOS 15.4 that came before it, there are still a few things you'll want to know about it.
How To: Watch YouTube Videos Using Picture in Picture on Your iPhone or iPad
Apple has given third-party developers access to Picture in Picture on iPad since iOS 9 and, more recently, on iPhone since iOS 14, but YouTube has been one of the few not to support the feature outside of Safari or premium memberships. Thankfully, that's no longer the case if you live in the U.S.
How To: Get Apple's Very First iPhone Wallpaper on Your Home or Lock Screen
When the very first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs in 2007, it sported a clownfish wallpaper throughout the keynote presentation — a wallpaper that never actually ended up on any iPhone models. Now, 15 years later, it's finally made its appearance in the latest iOS 16 beta. If you don't want to run beta software, you can still download the wallpaper for whatever iOS version you use.
How To: 5 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Install iOS 16 on Your iPhone Just Yet
You may be tempted to install the iOS 16 developer beta on your iPhone to try all the exciting new features it has to offer, but it may be a good idea to wait if you only have your personal iPhone that you use every day.
How To: Downgrade iOS 16 Beta to iOS 15 or Revert iPadOS 16 Beta to iPadOS 15
Beta software can be exciting because you get to experience cool new features before most other people. But it can have unwanted consequences such as bugs, UI glitches, and horrible battery life that'll make you wish you never installed it. If that sounds like you with iOS 16 beta or iPadOS 16 beta, you can downgrade to iOS 15.5 or iPadOS 15.5 for a more stable user experience.
How To: Remember These Popular App Store Games? They're Still Alive to Play Today
The App Store has been around for almost 14 years now, and during that time, we must have seen over a million games come and go and stay and expand. But only a tiny fraction of those games have become blockbuster sensations because of the mighty App Store's reach on iPhone and iPad, and many of the first big hits are still alive today for you to relive the good ol' days of mobile gaming.
How To: 15 Important Features and Changes in the iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 Updates
Apple's latest iPhone and iPad software, iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, became available on May 16, so you can download and install it right now if you haven't already. While there aren't as many new features as iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 had, there are a few big ones in the U.S. you'll want to know beyond Apple's minuscule "About this Update" information in the "Software Update" menu.
How To: The Trick to Managing iCloud Contact Groups Right from Your iPhone (Since Apple's Contacts App Won't Let You)
You can view and hide iCloud contact groups on your iPhone, but Apple won't let you create or delete groups or add or delete contacts from any groups unless you're on a tablet or computer. Why Apple refuses to add a group management tool to Contacts on iOS is anybody's guess, but there is a workaround you can use instead.
How To: Send Full-Screen Memoji Explosions in iMessage Chats from Your iPhone or iPad
A simple trick in the Messages app for iOS and iPadOS can make your iMessage conversations more fun for you and your recipients by sending a full-screen blast of any Memoji sticker you choose.
How To: iOS 15.4 Has a Cool Hidden Mail Feature That Helps Clean Up Your Folder Mess
Apple's iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates have a pleasant surprise for iCloud Mail users and everybody that use the Mail app as their primary email client for AOL, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other third-party email services.
How To: 43 Cool New iOS 15.4 Features for iPhone — App Updates, Hidden Changes, and More!
Apple's iOS 15.4 update for iPhone is out after 46 days of beta testing, and it has some exciting features you won't want to miss. Here's everything you need to know about the new software.
How To: This Is Siri's New Gender-Neutral Voice in Apple's iOS 15.4 for iPhone
The last time the English language for Siri received new voices was in iOS 14.5, and there was one new male and one new female selection, bringing the total to four available options. In the iOS 15.4 update, there's a fifth one, and it may work better as a gender-neutral middle ground between the low-pitched male voices and high-pitched female ones.
How To: Face ID Works with Masks Now So You Can Unlock Your iPhone Faster
It's 2022, and the coronavirus pandemic is still going strong, meaning many people still wear masks. If that's you, unlocking your iPhone with Face ID is still very inconvenient when donning a face covering — until now.
How To: See All 112 New Emoji Characters in iOS 15.4 That Just Hit Your iPhone
The latest set of emoji characters, Emoji 14.0, was approved on Sept. 14, 2021, less than a week before iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 hit supported iPhone and iPad models. There wasn't any time to get any new emoji into iOS 15.0, but they're out now in the iOS 15.4 update. So get ready for "Melting Face," "Biting Lip," and "Troll," to name just a few.
How To: Get the iPhone SE 3 and Green iPhone 13 Wallpapers for Your Phone's Background
At its March 8 event, Apple showed off the new green iPhone 13 and alpine green 13 Pro models, as well as the third-generation iPhone SE with 5G. Each comes with new wallpapers, and you can get all of them on your phone right now.
How To: Apple's New iPhone SE with 5G Available for Preorder Starting at $429
Apple announced the long-rumored iPhone SE with 5G capabilities on Tuesday, March 8, and the preorder and release dates are just around the corner.
How To: Earn Free Money, Stocks, Crypto, Gift Cards, and Other Cash Rewards on Your iPhone
With all the time most of us spend on our phones each day, wouldn't it be great if we could get rewarded for our addiction? Well, we can, thanks to various iPhone apps out there that can help us make a quick buck, earn cash back, donate freebies to charity, get complimentary cryptocurrency or stock, and receive other types of rewards.
How To: Prevent Autocorrect Fails with This Hidden iPhone Trick
Auto-Correction only improves with time, but after 15 years of continuous development by Apple, it's still nowhere near perfect on the iPhone. However, a few hidden features in iOS can help avoid or mitigate future autocorrect failures, one of which warns you every time it's about to make a word change.
How To: Is iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, or Any Other Apple Service Down? Use These Tools to See Status Interruptions and Outages
It can be very frustrating: You open your Messages app, send an iMessage, and then see that dreaded red exclamation point or horrible green SMS bubble. At this point, you may be curious whether it's just your iPhone or whether iMessage is broken for everyone, but how do you find out?
How To: Make Notifications on Your iPhone Appear Exactly When You Want Them To
Apple unrolled an array of nifty iPhone features in iOS 15. One of the more valuable updates lets you group all your untimely notifications and view them throughout the day at only the times you choose.
How To: 20 Big iOS 15.2 Features You Need to Know About for iPhone
With the holidays right around the corner, it's easy to miss a big software update on your iPhone, and by that, I mean iOS 15.2, which was pushed out Monday, Dec. 13. There's a surprising amount of new features and changes in the updated firmware, and there are a few big ones you need to know about.
How To: Organize Your iPhone Reminders with Tags You Can Search, Filter, Browse, and Create Smart Lists From
The standard way to sort your notes and to-dos in Reminders has always relied on you putting them in the correct list and group. Then came smart lists for flagged and scheduled tasks, followed shortly by a smart list for tasks assigned to you. In iOS 15, Apple brings yet another way to find your reminders more easily — tags.
How To: iPhone Not Getting Any Photo Messages? iOS 15 Updates Disable MMS on Google Fi & Other Carriers — Here's the Fix
If you have an iPhone running iOS 15 that's connected to Google Fi or another mobile virtual network operator, you may not be getting any photos or videos in Messages. That may be because you recently installed a software update, and you'll have to restore your cellular data network settings to get MMS working again.
How To: Scan Real-World Text with Your iPhone's Camera to Copy, Paste, or Share It Using iOS 15's Live Text Tool
Whenever you need to digitally share large bodies of real-world text, you'd likely show a photo of it or manually type everything into the document or chat. But iOS 15 has a much better way for your iPhone.
How To: Use iOS 15's Live Text Feature to Scan Text in Photos and Online Images to Copy, Share, Translate, Look Up, and More
Google Lens has easily been one of the more useful AR apps and a tantalizing tease of life with smartglasses in the not-so-distant future. Now, Apple has its own version of Lens, dubbed Live Text, built right into iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.
How To: When It Comes to iPhone 12 Series Cases, Smartish Is All You'll Need
I drop my smartphone a lot. Like an absurd amount of times. Practically multiple times a day. So it's surprising that my iPhone 12 Pro has lasted nine months without a cracked screen yet. Part of that has to do with the late-2020 model's durability, and the other part is thanks to my protective case.
How To: Improve Safari with a PDF Editor, URL Shortener, Bulk Image Saver & More Features on Your iPhone
Safari saw many new features and improvements with Apple's latest iOS update, including webpage translations, privacy reports, and picture-in-picture. While the updates were well-received, Apple's mobile browser is still lacking some very basic features. Thankfully, there are shortcuts to bridge the gap.
How To: Remove Annoying Auto-Playing Videos, Banners, & Other Distractions from Any Website in Safari
Ads aren't the only annoying part of navigating websites in Safari. Colorful banners, autoplaying videos, embedded objects, and other distracting elements can make it harder to read or watch what you want. Although ad blockers are one answer, they only get rid of advertisements, so you'll need something else to remove other irritating elements from your favorite websites.
How To: You Can Rate U.S. Businesses in iOS 15's Apple Maps to Remember What You Liked
One of the many great reasons to use Apple Maps is to find fun food options, chill cafes, enlightening museums, cute gift shops, and other interesting businesses that you might otherwise overlook, as well as must-see places of interest. But after a while, you might forget about some of these hidden gems. With iOS 15, it will no longer be an issue.
How To: Create, Use, and Manage Tab Groups in Safari on Your iPhone
Are your Safari tabs a tangled mess? I know mine are. Whenever I try to find an open website on my iPhone, I face dozens, sometimes hundreds of tabs. Yes, there's Search, but it's not perfect if you don't remember the right keyword to narrow the results. That's where custom tab groups come in.
How To: Set Unique Alert Tones for Different Types of Sounds with iOS 15's Sound Recognition
Your iPhone's Sound Recognition feature is a powerful tool to help keep you alert to the world around you. With it, iOS will inform you if it hears a fire alarm, a door bell, glass breaking, among many other kinds of sounds. In iOS 15, Apple is updating the feature, allowing you to choose the alert tone that plays when iOS recognizes a specific sound.