iOS & iPhone Features
How To: Quickly Turn on 'Do Not Disturb' in iOS 12 Until the Evening or Morning
Included with iOS 12 is an easier-to-use Do Not Disturb mode. Not only is there a new Bedtime Mode that makes waking up less annoying, but also new ways to quickly launch the DND temporarily. One example is having the ability to set Do Not Disturb based on a time of day — specifically, morning or evening.
How To: Block Contacts, Spam & Unknown Senders in iOS 13's Mail App So Incoming Emails Go Straight to Trash
Apple's Mail app has always been a stylish yet simple way to check and send emails. Third-party apps up the ante with powerful tools and features to help keep junk and spam mail out of your eyesight. But with iOS 13, you don't need them since Apple gave the Mail app some much-needed superpowers. One of those being the ability to block senders from emailing you.
How To: Use Mail's New Formatting & Attachments Toolbar in iOS 13 for Rich Text, Document Scanning & More
Although Mail didn't get a massive update in iOS 13, the new formatting and attachments toolbar makes it easier to stylize your messages and get quick access to files you'd like to send. It even includes the excellent document scanner built into iOS, so you can use your iPhone to turn a physical document into a PDF and attach it to your message — all from within the Mail app directly.
How To: Get Notifications Only for Messages You're Tagged In on Your iPhone
Group chats, particularly ones with many active participants, could bombard your iPhone with hundreds of texts in a single day. It can get overwhelming real quick unless you take precautions to hide all notifications for that conversation. But there's another option now, one that'll make sure you only get alerts for the messages that matter to you most in the thread.
How To: Add Dissolves, Wipes, Fades & Other Video Transitions in Enlight Videoleap for iPhone
An edited video with lots of different clips needs great transitions to be successful. Transitions support your story and message, and without any, there's always a chance that your audience might lose track of what's going on and when. When editing in Enlight Videoleap for iOS, you can easily add cut, dissolve, iris, wipe, slide, and fade transitions to your video clips with just a few taps.
How To: Check if Your iPhone 6S or 6S Plus Is a Victim of 'Chipgate'
At this point, it'd be surprising if an iPhone release wasn't coupled with some sort of new scandal or controversy; it's gradually becoming Apple's new modus operandi. First, there was antennagate with the iPhone 4. Then it was scuffgate with the iPhone 5. Last year, it was bendgate with the iPhone 6 models. This year, it's chipgate with the iPhone 6S models, which affects something important to all on us—battery life.
Specs Comparison: iPhone 11 vs. 11 Pro vs. 11 Pro Max — Should You Cheap Out or Overpay?
So you can't figure which one to buy. It's understandable. Apple released three iPhones, each designed for a different segment of the market. But which one is right for you? The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max? That's a good question.
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: Use Your iPhone's Volume Buttons to Shoot Photo Bursts & QuickTake Videos
When you can't touch the shutter button on the screen in the Camera app, your iPhone has another way to snap a picture or take a video — just press the Volume Up or Volume Down button. But when it comes to bursts and QuickTakes, however, things are a little bit trickier in iOS 13, iOS 14, and iOS 15.
How To: Record Video with Two Cameras at the Same Time on Your iPhone
The iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max introduced a new rear camera system to the iOS ecosystem. Each model has a new ultra-wide lens in addition to the wide one, and the Pros have a telephoto lens. Both have improved selfie cams too. With so many lenses, it can be challenging to choose which to film with, but why pick when you could shoot with two at once?
How To: Add a New Source to Cydia on Your Jailbroken iOS Device
Not every tweak or theme is automatically available once you jailbreak your iOS device and install the Cydia application. For certain tweaks, you'll need to manually add its source, which is simply a web address linked to repository where the tweaks are hosted.
How To: Customize the On/Off Color for Switches on Your iPhone
Some elements of iOS's design, like its minimal color palette, are what make Apple products unique, helping to produce a clean, sleek user experience. But after you jailbreak, that all goes out the window. Once you've tried things like theming your status bar, changing your icons, or applying a new lock screen, you'll never see your iOS device in the same way again.
How To: Your iPhone Can Switch to Dark & Light Modes Automatically When the Sun Sets & Rises
Apple's Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later offers a cool, comfortable viewing experience on your iPhone. You may prefer the dark theme all day long, but if you like to use it only at night, it's not very convenient to switch it on and off daily. But there's a setting that lets you set it and forget it, so you never have to do it manually again.
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.
News: Google Said It'd Take Years but This Guy Already Got His Daydream Working with an iPhone
Matteo Pisani, CTO and co-founder of Remoria VR, has managed to do something the folks over at Google said couldn't be done for at least a couple of years. With a little bit of tinkering, Pisani was able get his Google Daydream VR headset and remote to work on an iOS device.
How To: Add Rich Web Link Previews to Your Reminders in iOS 13
With iOS 13, Apple included some major updates to the Reminders app for iPhone. Among them is the ability to add web links to individual reminders, including a rich preview of the link that can be minimized if necessary. So now you can add an Amazon link in a reminder to buy a present or a webpage for a recipe in your grocery list, to name just a few examples.
How To: Why You Should Open the Wallet App Before You Tap & Pay with Your iPhone
When you place your iPhone over a card reader for Apple Pay, it'll always pull up your default card. That might work fine for you, but perhaps that isn't the card you want to use. The problem is, you don't have time to switch cards before the payment goes through. That might result in using your rewardless debit card to buy groceries when you could've snagged 2% back by using your Apple Card.
How To: Sort Reminders Lists by Title, Due Date, Creation Date, Priority & More on Your iPhone
You use your iPhone's Reminders app to keep track of everything from grocery lists to the day's most important tasks. Over recent iOS updates, Apple has added tools to Reminders to make it even more powerful, like assigning tasks to other people and setting location-based reminders. Now there's another great update, and it gives you the ability to sort your lists.
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: Hide the Picture-in-Picture Window on Your iPhone to Listen to Audio Only or Take a Video Break
Previously limited to apps like Facebook and YouTube as an in-app feature only, picture-in-picture mode is now an OS-level feature in iOS 14. That means any app can quickly flip the switch to let you watch videos in an overlay window while you multitask in other apps. However, sometimes you only need to hear the audio and not see the video, and that's totally possible too.
How To: Create an Archived Backup of Your Current iOS Version So You Can Restore After a Downgrade
If you want to try out one of Apple's beta programs on your iPhone — whether that's by becoming a developer, joining the public beta, or using an IPSW of an available beta update — there's always a possibility that you'll want to go back to the stable iOS version you were using before. Likewise, if you updated to the latest stable release but liked how iOS worked on the previous version.
How To: This HomePod Setting Keeps Other People Out of Your Notes, Reminders & Calendar for Good
HomePod and HomePod mini are excellent smart speakers if you're entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. They even offer ways to protect your sensitive information from friends and visitors who try to ask Siri to spill your secrets. But there's an extra layer of privacy you can put in place to make sure nobody gains access to any important notes, reminders, and calendar events.
How To: Edit Multiple iOS Reminders at Once
With each iteration of iOS, Apple makes the Reminders app more and more of a true task manager. That doesn't change with iOS 14 — the big update adds a powerful productivity tool to the app, allowing you to edit multiple reminders at the same time.
How To: Record Your iPhone's Screen with Audio — No Jailbreak or Computer Needed
The only official way to record your iPhone's screen before iOS 11 was to hook it up to a Mac and use QuickTime Player to do the recording for you. If you wanted to record your iPhone's screen without an external device, there were unofficial apps you could use, like AirShou, but they required complicated installations. Now, in iOS 11, iOS 12, and iOS 13, Apple has an official, native screen recording tool.
News: 91 Cool New iOS 11 Features You Didn't Know About
Apple's iOS 11 is finally here, and while they showed off several of the new features it brings to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch back at WWDC 2017, they've only just touched the surface of what iOS 11 has to offer. There are a lot of cool new (and sometimes secret) features to explore, so we've collected them all here for you.
Fixing iOS 7 Wallpaper Woes: How to Scale, Crop, Align, & Design the Perfect iPhone Background
There are definitely some great things about iOS 7, but like any good piece of software, it's got some things to kink out—and how wallpapers work seems to be one of the biggest issues, since it's so much different than in previous iOS versions.
How To: Take Live Photos of FaceTime Video Calls (& Protect Yourself from Getting Recorded)
When you're taking a video in the Camera app on your iPhone, there's a little white shutter button in the corner that lets you take a still image while you're filming. Apple brought that same concept over to the FaceTime app in iOS 11, iOS 12, and higher, so you can take Live Photos of your friends during video chats.
How To: Take Secret Spy Photos & Videos in iOS 7 Using Your iPhone 5's Camera App
There are a ton of cool things you can do with your iPhone's camera in iOS 7, from taking burst photos to bouncing the camera open and taking nice parallax-friendly wallpapers. However, nothing tops the camera's super secret hidden feature—turning you into a spy photographer.
How To: Get iOS 11's New Wallpapers on Any Phone
Apple's highly anticipated iOS 11 is ready for the public, and besides the obvious array of new features and improvements, the mobile OS also comes with stunning new wallpapers which would look amazing on any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch — even on Android devices.
How To: Record a Snapchat Video While Playing Music on Your iPhone
If you've ever tried to record a Snapchat video of a song playing in your car, you know that it's impossible to do if the song is playing on the same device that you're Snapchatting with.
How To: Shut Down & Restart the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max & iPhone XR
The iPhone X ushered in the Swiss Army Knife-like Side button, which can perform numerous functions, such as summoning Siri and opening Apple Pay through click gestures. This has carried over into the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR, so if you've upgraded to one of these devices from a Home button-equipped iPhone, you'll have to learn how to shut down your new device.
How To: Close ALL Running Background Apps at the Same Time in iOS 7
When lending our iPhone to our kids, siblings or friends, it's not uncommon to have it returned with what seems like a million apps open in the background. What's worse is being too lazy to close all those open apps, in turn having our battery drain much faster than normal.
How To: Customize Your iOS 7 Texting App's Message Bubbles to Use Whatever Colors You Want
Conversations can be a little stale sometimes, so a little color help add some life. AOL realized this In the early days of AIM, and let you customize your colors just the way you want. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't let you go into your settings to customize your messaging app's colors, but with this awesome and effective tweak you can. All you need is a jailbroken iOS 7 iPhone or iPad, which is easily achieved.
How To: Delete Handwritten Messages from the 'Recents' List on iOS 10 to Clear Your Handwriting History
There are lots of cool new additions to Messages in iOS 10, including the ability to send GIFs, as well as custom stickers, weather info, and lots more with the new App Store for Messages.
News: 30+ Privacy & Security Settings in iOS 12 You Should Check Right Now
There's always an iPhone in our list of top phones for privacy and security, due in large part to advanced security measures like Face ID, consistent iOS updates, and easy ways to prevent unwanted access and excessive data sharing. However, some of those options actually do the opposite and hinder security. It all depends on how you use your iPhone, but you should at least know everything available.
How To: Add a Virtual Background to Your Zoom Video on Mobile to Hide Your Real Background
Working from home has its perks. You don't need to commute, you can work in your pajamas, and you don't even need to clean your house, especially if you're using Zoom for video meetings on your smartphone. Instead of clearing toys from the floor or moving that pile of clothes on your chair, you can take advantage of Zoom's virtual background feature to hide what's really behind you.
How To: 9 Ways to Improve Battery Life on Your iPhone X, XS, XS Max & XR
While the iPhone XS actually comes with a smaller battery than the iPhone X, Apple claims it, along with the XS Max and XR, offer users longer battery life than last year's first Face ID model. While that may be true, your new iPhone still ships without meeting its full battery-saving potential. There are, however, steps you can take to make sure your X, XS, XS Max, or XR makes it from morning until night.
How To: Use Siri to Play Spotify Music & Start Playlists in iOS 12 [Shortcut]
In iOS 13 and later, Spotify supports Siri commands, something we've wanted ever since Siri and Spotify were things. But if you're on iOS 12 still, you're missing out. All you can do is open the Spotify app, then pause and skip tracks with Siri after you start playing a song manually. There is a workaround, however.
How To: Force Restart Your iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR When It's Acting Up
We often take for granted how reliable our iPhones are — so much so that many of us get panic-stricken at the very rare event where our device freezes up as a result of a buggy app or an update gone awry. Because of this, knowing the basics of troubleshooting is a handy skill to have, and this still applies to the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR. Force-restarting is usually the first tactic to employ.
News: iPhone 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max — Full Spec Sheet & Feature Overview
So the new iPhones have arrived. Like last year, Apple released three iPhones in three different sizes that vary in price and specs. There's the base model iPhone 11, and then there are the real deal, premium models, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.