iOS & iPhone Features
How To: Turn Your Live Photo into a Facebook Profile Video
Changing your Facebook profile picture to a video is a great way to stand out from the crowd. A regular video file isn't the only option, though — if you're an iPhone user, you can also upload a Live Photo as your new profile picture to add more pizzazz to your Facebook page.
How To: View All the Songs You Shazamed with Siri on Your iPhone
When you hear a song you like but can't quite catch enough of its lyrics, it can be nearly impossible to search for it online. That's where Shazam comes in. For the past decade, they've been making music easier for us to identify by analyzing a track's acoustic footprint, requiring only a few seconds of audio for accurate identification.
How To: Create a Strong (Or Stronger) Passcode for Your iPhone
When you first set up an iPhone, you'll be prompted to create a six-digit passcode to unlock your screen and access certain system settings. If you skip this step, you can always go back and create one, which we highly recommend. Without a passcode, everything on your iPhone is accessible by anyone who gets their hands on it — nosey friends, hackers, thieves, local law enforcement, the FBI — and you don't want that, do you?
How To: Bring Back Full-Screen Incoming Call Alerts for FaceTime, Phone & Other Calling Apps in iOS 14
In iOS 13 and under, whenever you were in an app or on the home screen, and a Phone or FaceTime call came in, the entire screen would be taken over by the incoming call. Apple changed it to a subtle banner notification in iOS 14 so that it doesn't wholly obfuscate what you're doing when the call happens. However, you can get the old design back if that works better for you.
How To: Memoji's Big Update Has 40 New Looks and Changes You Need to Know About
Apple's iOS 16 for iPhone includes even more ways to customize your Memoji characters, and it even removes some barriers that were in place in iOS 15.
How To: iOS 13 Makes Bulk-Deleting Emails in Apple Mail Easier & Faster on Your iPhone
One of my biggest gripes with the Mail app on iOS is that it makes it super hard to select multiple emails quickly in a search. For instance, if you want to delete all emails from one sender, it could take a seriously long time to do it the usual way. A bug in iOS 12 and older helped make the process faster, but it's no longer around in iOS 13, but Apple did include a faster way to select multiple emails.
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.
Apple Music 101: How to Make Your Account Public or Private on Your iPhone
Apple Music, Apple's answer to Spotify, has many interesting features packed in to make that $9.99/month price tag as attractive as possible. One of those features is geared towards social listeners — those who want to follow other Apple Music users and who want to be followed back. But here's the thing: how do you know if your account is public or private?
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 16.5 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: Make It Easier to Double & Triple-Click Your iPhone's Side Button with One Simple Adjustment
When Apple removed the Home button from iPhone, it introduced a new way to install apps that caused confusion over what to "double click." Like most iOS changes, it didn't take long to get used to double-clicking the Side button. But for some, performing a double-click on the Side button isn't that easy.
How To: Set Up a Virtual Card Number for Apple Cash on Your iPhone to Use Where Apple Pay Isn't Accepted
For years, you could only make purchases with your Apple Cash balance on your iPhone using Apple Pay, but a new update gives you the power to set up a virtual card number you can use just like a debit or credit card.
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.
Apple Maps 101: How to Add Multiple Destinations to Your Directions
Unscheduled pit stops go hand in hand with road trips, no matter how well-planned they are. In the past, making a stop due to low fuel or an emergency bathroom break may have snowballed into massive delays when you went off course on your own, but thanks to a feature in Apple Maps, you can do this in the most efficient manner possible.
How To: Wallet Not Showing on Your Lock Screen? Here's How You Really Access Passes Quickly on Your iPhone
I haven't bought into Apple Pay just yet, but I do love the idea of having quick access to passes like loyalty programs, boarding passes, and my Starbucks card. However, for some users, it's impossible to open these passes stored in Apple Wallet on the iPhone's lock screen. While it's not totally obvious, or even ideal, there is a way to get those Wallet passes back on your lock screen in iOS 9 or iOS 10.
How To: All Side Button Tips & Tricks You Should Be Using on Your iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR
With the iPhone X, Apple introduced a brand new way for iOS users to interact with their iPhones. Gestures took the spotlight, as they very apparently replaced functions you would normally execute on the Home button. But swipes aren't everything for the new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. Don't believe us? Just take a look at the Side button.
How To: Unlock Safari's Secret Dual-Search Engine Experience to Optimize Your Web Browsing
If you prefer to use Google or another search engine for everyday browsing in Safari but would also like a more secure browsing experience for all your secret searches, there's a simple way to switch between them quickly while also adding additional layers of security on top of your already clandestine browsing.
How To: Force-Close Running Apps on the iPhone X, XS, XS Max & XR
While fully closing apps on your iPhone can keep it running at peak efficiency since it frees up memory and stops background refreshing, it's most critical when dealing with unresponsive apps. If you have an issue with a certain app, you can just force-close it instead of rebooting.
How To: Add, Remove & Reorder the Share Sheet Options on Your iPhone
On iPhones, the share sheet is a powerful yet largely underestimated tool. For the uninitiated, the share sheet is the menu that opens whenever you tap the share button (the box with the up-arrow). This menu features sharing options to first and third-party apps, as well as extra functions like saving, copying, duplicating, and more. Best of all? It's surprisingly customizable.
How To: 18 Tips for Using Your iPhone's Screenshot Tools
Apple's screenshot editing tool first appeared for iPhone in iOS 11, and it's only gotten better with age. Instead of just a flash of light and maybe a noise, you're also greeted with a thumbnail preview of what you just captured — and that tiny image holds a lot of superpowers.
How To: Block Ads in Games on Your iPhone for Distraction-Free Gameplay
No one likes in-app advertisements, especially in mobile gaming, but they're necessary because they offer developers a way to make revenue without having to charge you to play. In some games, in-app purchases give you the chance to remove ads, but what can you do about apps that don't offer the option to kill ads?
How To: Replace the Boring Apple Boot Screen on Your iPhone with a Custom Animation
With its white Apple logo on a plain black background, iOS 8's animated boot screen isn't very interesting. While there is no built-in way to change this boring animation, you can customize this boot screen animation if you have a jailbroken iPhone, and the process is fairly easy. You can even create your own using your favorite GIF file.
How To: Beef Up Your iPhone's Passcode Security with a Blank Keypad on Your iOS 7 Lock Screen
Are you tired of your snoopy coworkers and friends lingering over your shoulder as you type in your security passcode? Unless you have the newer iPhone 5S with Touch ID that scans your fingerprint, you've only got a couple of security options—either a 4-digit numeric passcode or a cumbersome password.
How To: The Fastest Way to Remove the Background from Your iPhone Photos
You might think your photo is amazing, but in the midst of editing it and getting ready to post it on social media, you notice something in the background. Maybe it's an unwelcome stranger or a wide-open dumpster, or it's the entire backdrop, but suddenly you realize that it's bad. Although you look good in it, the background just doesn't work — which is why you can always get rid of it.
How To: Take Back iMessages You Already Sent So Your Recipients Never See Them
You can quickly correct a mistake in an iMessage you send, but the recipient will still see whatever you originally wrote since there's a history of edits. When you don't want the other person in the conversation to know what you originally sent, there's a better thing you can do.
How To: Delete All Messages at the Same Time on Your iPhone
The latest iOS 7.1 update is going to be coming out soon, but from what we can tell, there are still a lot of basic options and settings missing that we iPhone users should have. Some of them are pretty obvious, like being able to delete all of something at once, like notifications, running apps, and messages.
How To: Filter Unknown Senders in iMessage to Block Unwanted Notifications & Keep Your Messages App Clean
If your job revolves around prospective clients and customers, you may frequently receive iMessages from unknown numbers. Although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, being bombarded with messages from strangers can create disarray in your inbox if you're not careful. Luckily, Apple makes it easier to organize your conversations by allowing you to filter unknown numbers in the Messages app.
How To: Apple Lets You See All the Ratings & Reviews You've Ever Given Apps, Games, Movies, TV, Music, Podcasts & Books
Voicing your displease with a shoddy third-party app or professing your love for an album you've just bought is normal, which is why we have ratings and reviews. You hate something, you write something. You love something, you rate it. But feelings change over time, so your ratings or reviews may need to be updated.
How To: Put Music on Your iPhone Without Using iTunes
There are quite a few flaws with Apple's mobile products, and one that drives me crazy is their reliance upon iTunes for all your music syncing needs. If you want a song on your iPhone, you pretty much have to use iTunes to get it on there. Either that or buy it directly from the iTunes app on your device.
News: You're Not Crazy, Your iPhone Is Making Strange Noises
Apple hasn't really changed notification sounds on the iPhone since iOS 7. So how come you hear strange pings, plunks, and doots coming from your iOS device? No, it's not an app you downloaded (although third-party apps can have their own notification sounds). Instead, what you're experiencing is likely the result of updating your iPhone to iOS 13.
How To: Create Custom Text Tones for Your iPhone Using macOS 10.15 Catalina
Apple hasn't refreshed its text tones on iPhones since iOS 7. That's six years of the same sounds. And while text tones like Bamboo and Hello have undoubtedly aged like fine wine, that's still too long to live with the same old sounds day after day. Let's take matters into our own hands — let's make our own text tones, right in Music on macOS 10.15 Catalina.
How To: Easily View Your Current Cellular Data Usage on Your iPhone
If you can't afford an unlimited plan, you're limited to a certain amount of data each month on your iPhone. Even some unlimited data plans have carrier-imposed mobile data caps that throttle the user if they exceed them. Keeping track of your exact usage each day will help make sure you don't get billed more or throttled like a chump near the end of the month.
How To: The 68 Coolest New iOS 10 Features You Didn't Know About
While iOS 11 is ready to take over your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, let's take a step back and check out all of the new features that iOS 10 brought to the public when it was released to everyone in Sept. 2016.
How To: Downgrade iOS 13 Back to iOS 12.4.1 on Your iPhone Using iTunes or Finder
Apple's update for iOS 13 is not without bugs and other issues, and if those problems become annoying or impede your ability to use your iPhone like usual, you may want to downgrade. Hundreds of new features may not matter if you can't use your iPhone like it's meant to be.
How To: Fix the Stuck Gray Apple Logo and Blue or Black Screen of Death on Your iPhone
We've all seen the blue screen of death at least one time in our lives. I grew up using a Windows PC about the size of a small refrigerator and that damn screen popped up at least once a day. Thankfully, errors like these happen much less often, but now that our smartphones have basically become pocket PCs, these type of errors can and do happen.
Messages 101: How to Turn iMessage Read Receipts On/Off Per Person
With iOS 9.3.5, as well as all of the versions prior to that, you had two choices when it came to "Read Receipts" for iMessage — either on for everybody or off for everybody. So if you weren't comfortable with one or two of your contacts knowing whether or not you've read their messages, you had to keep the feature disabled and miss out on Read Receipts for people you're a bit closer to.
How To: The Super Simple Trick to Get App Updates & Downloads Faster
You open the App Store to see a huge red number hovering over your profile icon. There's a ton of updates to install, so you tap "Update All." But wait! You needed to check Instagram or send a reply to a timely WhatsApp message, but those apps are now stuck waiting for others to update first. Luckily, you don't need to stick to your iPhone's update queue — you can choose which apps to update first.
How To: Get Haptic Feedback When Unlocking Your iPhone with Face ID
Haptic feedback is one of the iPhone's most underrated features. With Face ID, you'll feel a satisfying tap or two when buying something in the App Store or iTunes, unlocking protected notes, viewing saved passwords in Settings, and the list goes on. For the first time, Apple has added haptic feedback when unlocking your iPhone via Face ID, as well as a way to disable haptic feedback for Face ID entirely.
How To: Stop Your AirPods from Pausing Music & Other Audio When You Take Them Out of Your Ears
AirPods not only let you listen to music on your iPhone — they let you quickly stop listening to your iPhone's audio by pulling out a single AirPod to pause. If, however, you'd rather have music, audiobooks, podcasts, and other audio files continue playing when you pull out one AirPod — or both AirPods — one settings tweak can get the job done.
How To: 12 New Notes Features in iOS 14 That Improve Navigation, Drawing, Folders & More
For a built-in app, Notes works pretty well and can stack up against some of the best third-party note-taking tools. Apple continues to update it with each iteration of iOS, adding new features and improving existing ones to make jotting down your daily thoughts a smooth and effective experience. With iOS 14, there are twelve such changes that we think you're going to want to know about.