Hot iOS & iPhone How-Tos
How To: Face ID Not Working? This Setting Could Fix It
Ever since the iPhone X, Face ID has been the standard way to unlock your iPhone. For the most part, it works remarkably well and adds a layer of security that Touch ID can't match. That said, the tech isn't perfect. If you're finding that Face ID isn't working for you, there might be an iOS setting to blame.
How To: All the New Features & Changes in iOS 13.5 for iPhone
Since Apple launched iOS 13, we've seen four major updates for iPhone, each of which added some cool new features. Between iOS 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, and all the minor updates in between, there's never been a better time to be on iOS. And now, we've got even more positive changes with the iOS 13.5 update.
How To: Stop Group FaceTime Tiles from Auto-Resizing & Moving When People Speak
When using Group FaceTime with more than a handful of people, all of those participants in one chat can be difficult to follow. That's why Apple automatically enlarges the tiles for people who are currently speaking, bringing them into the forefront. However, all of that zooming in and out can get pretty distracting, and now there's a way to disable it whenever you need 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: Hide Any Album on Your iPhone for a Cleaner, More Private Photos App
The "Albums" tab in Photos is great for sorting through the images and videos on your iPhone since you can narrow things down by your recent pics and recordings, apps used, media types, people, places, and so on. If you never look at all of those folders, however, it could feel like an overwhelming cluttered mess. Plus, there may be some collections you don't want others to see.
How To: Get Fast Charging on the iPhone SE (2nd Gen) Without Breaking the Bank
After many years of rumors, the second-generation iPhone SE is here. At $399, it is the most inexpensive iPhone Apple has sold since the original iPhone SE came out. And while the new SE comes with Apple's typical five-watt power adapter, the smartphone supports fast charging — you just need to get a fast charger separately.
How To: Get the 2020 iPhone SE's Exclusive Wallpapers on Any Phone
The new iPhone SE packs the power of the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max inside the chassis of the iPhone 8. But that's not all that's new on the 2020 SE. Apple has also included six new wallpapers, exclusive to the Special Edition model, but the internet makes it tough to make anything truly exclusive anymore.
How To: The iPhone SE Is Official — Here's How to Make Sure You Get Your Hands on One Before They Sell Out
The 2020 iPhone SE had been through the rumor mill for a long time, but Apple finally unveiled the second-generation iPhone SE on Wednesday, April 15. While it doesn't sport the 4-inch design of the original SE, it combines a small form-factor with modern specs. The big question, of course, is when and how you can get your hands on one.
How To: 9 Ways Your iPhone Can Help You Be More Productive When Working from Home
With stay-at-home orders for most of us in the US because of the new coronavirus, many of you are likely struggling to be productive and efficient when working from home. Unless you've worked from home before, it can be challenging to separate work from personal life throughout the "workday." But your iPhone can help make the transition easier and more successful.
How To: This Tweak Puts Your iPhone in Hibernation Mode to Save Tons of Battery
If running out of battery while out and about weren't bad enough, the experience is a lot more painful if your iPhone has a semi-untethered jailbreak. With that kind of jailbreak, when the iPhone dies, all of the mods will be disabled after the device powers back up. Fortunately, instead of restoring your jailbreak and tweaks manually after recovering from a critically low battery, you can avoid it altogether.
How To: Share Apple Music Songs in Your Instagram & Facebook Stories
Sometimes, we get stuck on a song so good we want the world to know about it. Sure, you could take the time to save the album art to your iPhone, then upload it to your Instagram or Facebook story, but why bother doing that when you can simply share the song to your story right from Apple Music?
How To: Reply to Texts on Your AirPods Without Siri Reading Out Your Messages
Your iPhone's "Announce Messages with Siri" feature is pure Apple. If you have a pair of connected AirPods (2nd generation or newer), Siri can read your messages to you as they come in, and you can say "Reply" to send one back. However, that natural flow is disrupted once Siri reads back your drafted text — but you can disable it to make the process smooth all the way through.
How To: Tame Out of Control Notifications on Your iPhone in Seconds with This Quick Move
When left unmaintained, lock screen notifications can be an overwhelming, chaotic mess. Alerts coming in at a rapid pace can be hard to see because there are just too many of them, and your iPhone's screen sometimes can't even take it, falling asleep before you can read only a few notifications. If that sounds like you, there's an easy way to take back control of alerts — and your sanity.
How To: Your iPhone's Flashlight Doesn't Have to Be That Bright
Have you ever been to a hip restaurant with horrible lighting? You need your iPhone's flashlight just to read the menu. Of course, sometimes the light comes off too bright, blinding the people next to you. But don't settle for a flashlight that's too bright. You can choose from four different brightness levels instead, to perfectly fit your situation.
How To: Open Instagram Straight to the Story Camera to Bypass Your Feed & Start Capturing Right Away
When it comes to shooting a great Instagram story, spontaneity is often key. Who doesn't love seeing something unexpected pop up on their feed? That said, to catch those moments, you need to be quick, and the standard method for opening Instagram's Story camera isn't that. Instead, try this method the next time you need to document something in a flash.
How To: There's a Faster Way to Open Recent Files on Your iPhone
With the updated Files app in iOS 13, iPhone users finally have decent file browser. But, as with any file browser, it can easily become crowded, making it hard to find the files you want.
How To: Become a Better Reader Using Apple Books' Reading Goals
Whether you've made a resolution to try and read more books this year or are just looking to set time aside to listen to an audiobook a little bit each day, building good reading habits can be tough with a busy life. However, with iOS 13, Apple Books includes reading goals, which might give you that little extra bit of encouragement and accountability to help you reach your goals.
How To: Switch To Your Finsta In Just One Tap
If you have two or more accounts logged into Instagram at any given time, you likely know how confusing it can get. You could like content, post pics, and share stories from the wrong account, as well as perform embarrassing searches that show up in the history of a shared work profile. Switching accounts is easy to forget once you open the app, so do it beforehand instead.
iOS 13: You Can Still Delete & Rearrange Apps by Long-Pressing — You Just Have to Do It Right
The new gestures in iOS seem, at first, to replace the old way of doing things. Rearranging and deleting apps from your home screen is totally different now, right? Well, not really. You can still do it the old way, if you know how.
How To: The Quickest Way to Start a New Instagram Post
Time is money, so there's profit to be had in tricks and shortcuts that make daily tasks faster on your iPhone. Take Instagram, for example. You can cut out a whole step in the posting process using this one, simple trick.
How To: The One Hidden Feature Every iPhone Owner Can Benefit From
There's a whole world of hidden iPhone features you might be missing out on, but this little-known tool for iOS is something you should definitely enable so that it's ready when you need it.
How To: The Hidden Gesture for Switching Between Apps on Home Button iPhones
I love my iPhone 8 Plus, but the allure of modern iPhone gestures is sometimes more tempting than I care to admit. I imagine many of you with a home button iPhone feel the same. What if I told you, however, that your iPhone is capable of iPhone X-like gestures? In fact, you can use a gesture to switch between apps. Welcome to the future.
How To: The Easiest Way to Find Good Movies to Watch on Netflix & Prime Video on Your iPhone
Choosing a movie to watch at home can be incredibly difficult when you don't already have one in mind. But there's a shortcut for your iPhone that can make it easier to browse your streaming media services for something good to play. More specifically, it lets you browse Netflix and Amazon Prime at the same time.
How To: Run a Reverse Image Search Quickly Using Any Photo on Your iPhone
Google Images, TinEye, and other reverse image search engines can help you find where images appear on the internet. You can discover what TV show or movie an image comes from, who took a photo, and if the profile picture of someone you're talking to online is really them, among many other uses. And there's a shortcut for iOS that makes running a reverse image search easy.
How To: Change Your iPhone's Name with Just a Couple Clicks
Your iPhone's name matters more than you might think. It shows up when AirDropping files to other Apple devices, when keeping tabs on your devices' locations via Find My, and when syncing with your computer. While "Jake Peterson's iPhone" gets the job done, I'd rather give the phone I spend all my time with a proper name.
How To: The Fastest Way to Find an App on Your Cluttered iPhone
Confession time: I hardly ever leave the first page of my iPhone's home screen. No, my iPhone isn't super organized and, no, I don't limit the number of apps I download as well (trust me, this phone is a mess). The truth is that you don't need to rely on your iPhone's home screen pages to find and open an app. In most cases, there's simply a much faster way.
How To: Change Your Billing & Shipping Address for Apple Pay on Your iPhone
Apple Pay can be used at retail stores, restaurants, markets, and millions of other locations in the US and abroad. It's used to buy everything from clothing to groceries and vending machine snacks, so it's important to ensure that the cards in your Wallet are always up to date with the correct billing and shipping addresses.
How To: Add & Remove Debit & Credit Cards for Apple Pay on Your iPhone
Estimates say that there are roughly 441 million Apple Pay users in the world, but with almost a billion active iPhones in the world, some of you have yet to jump on board the digital payment method. But once you're ready — or if you just need a refresher — adding your debit and credit cards to Apple Wallet is simple.
How To: The Easiest Way to View Your Step Count, Walking Distance & Flights Climbed on iPhone
Your iPhone tracks how many steps you take, how far you walk, and how many stairs you climb each day. That may seem a bit frightening, but it's all for a good reason: the Health app stores this data so you can view your progress in one place. But interestingly, opening the Health app isn't the easiest way to view this info.
How To: Take Slo-Mo Selfies (AKA 'Slofies') on iPhone 11, 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max
Will the name "slofie" ever catch on? Probably not. But that won't stop the feature from being a hit. Slo-mo selfies aren't new in the smartphone world, but they are new to iPhone, arriving for the first time on iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. Here's what you need to know before you start shooting your first slofie.
How To: Tweet Live Photos by Converting Them to GIFs in Twitter
While Apple's Live Photos feature was introduced back on the iPhone 6S, the rest of the world hasn't entirely caught up. Many apps don't accept the feature, making it difficult to share your fun memories with friends, family, or followers. You can strike Twitter off that list, though, as the app now completely supports Live Photo sharing.
How To: Colorize Black & White Photos on Your iPhone via Shortcuts
We might never truly know all of the colors behind old and classic black-and-white photos, but thanks to technology, we can get a pretty accurate colorization. Although Photoshop is a popular way to colorize these images, you can now use your iPhone, along with a nifty shortcut, to transform and give new life to vintage photos.
How To: Sign Up & Unsubscribe to Apple News' Hidden Daily Newsletter
While the App Store is filled with news aggregators, Apple News is a solid choice when it comes to keeping up with current events. Apple recently made it easier than ever to stay informed, thanks to a daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox. The problem? It's unclear how to sign up for this newsletter, and it's equally unclear how to unsubscribe.
How To: Toggle Adjustments in Your iPhone's Photos Editor to Compare Effects Before & After
The Photos app on iPhone has long offered basic editing features for quick edits to pictures, but iOS 13 greatly expanded them and gave the same love to videos. One of the best additions offers the ability to turn off photo and video edits without undoing them, so you can preview how your shots look with or without an effect.
How To: Use 3D Touch or Haptic Touch to Quickly Open Apps Inside of Folders on Your iPhone
Folders are great for organizing apps and removing clutter from your home screen. But once they become overfull, it's not as easy to find and launch an app. If you have a jailbroken device, however, there's a tweak that will lessen the hassle of rummaging through folders and make it easier to open the apps they contain.
How To: Open Previous Drafts Faster in Your iPhone's Mail App — From Any Mailbox or Folder
All of your partially written, unsent emails live in your "Drafts" folders, in limbo until the day they are sent off or deleted. In Apple's Mail for iPhone, you can access all drafts from all accounts in a combined "All Drafts" folder from the app's main Mailboxes list — but only if you added it manually. But there's an even better way to access all of your drafts in Apple Mail in iOS; it's just not obvious.
How To: Disable Auto-Rotation in Your iPhone's Messages App
Having your iPhone's display orientation go from portrait to landscape while lying down in bed can get pretty annoying, especially while chatting with others within Messages. If you have a jailbroken device, however, you can easily remedy this headache by way of a free tweak.
How To: Type to Siri Without Changing a Setting in iOS 13
One of my favorite iOS hacks is Type to Siri. This lets you type your queries to the iPhone digital assistant without needing to use your voice. Unfortunately, Type to Siri replaces the typical Siri voice prompt on the Home or Side button, meaning you need to choose between one or the other. That is, until iOS 13.
How To: Use 'Sign in with Apple' on iOS 13 for Better Security & Privacy
We've all seen the login pages that allow you to log in to third-party accounts using your credentials from Facebook, Google, or Twitter. It saves you the trouble of creating another account and remembering more passwords — but it can also become a privacy and security issue, which is why Apple created the "Sign in with Apple" feature for iOS 13.
How To: Focus Your iPhone Photos & Videos by Adding a Vignette
If there's one tool at your photo editing disposal to instantly dramatize a picture, it's the vignette. It shades away the corners of a photo, which highlights the center of the image without any effort on your part. In the past, you'd have to look outside the Photos app on your iPhone to achieve such a result, but with iOS 13, a vignette is within immediate grasp.