iOS & iPhone Features

'For You' Suggestions: How to Share iCloud Photo Albums in iOS 12 to Family & Friends

While there aren't as many improvements compared to iOS 11's Photos additions, the tabs menu in Apple's updated Photos app for iOS 12 was revamped to include "Memories" inside a new "For You" tab that also houses featured photos and effects suggestions. This is also where you see sharing suggestions and all of the albums others have shared with you.

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.

How To: Are You Eligible to Upgrade to the Latest iPhone? Here's How to Check

With new iPhone models out, you'll have updated cameras to try out, a faster processor, and new colors to choose from. The only thing that could stop you from picking one up yourself is, well, your current iPhone. Here's how to check if you're eligible to upgrade to iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, or any other iPhone still being sold.

How To: Use Reminder's New Quick Toolbar in iOS 13 to Add Times, Locations, Flags & Images to Tasks

The updated Reminders app in iOS 13 makes productivity a little bit more seamless on the iPhone. The overhauled user interface makes it easier to find your reminders, the new Messages integration makes it simpler to remember to-dos regarding your contacts, and the new toolbar provides shortcuts to tasks that were once clunky and confusing.

News: Locations Where 'Look Around' Works Right Now in iOS 13's Apple Maps

Look Around in Apple Maps gives you a high-resolution 3D view of roads, buildings, and other imagery in an interactive 360-degree layout. We haven't had anything like this in Apple Maps since iOS 5 when Google's Street View was incorporated. Now, in iOS 13, seven years later, we have street-level views again, only better. But Look Around isn't available everywhere yet.

How To: Un-Delete Text on Your iPhone with One Swipe

So, you undid something you typed on your iPhone. Maybe you used the new gesture in iOS 13 to do so. Maybe you shook your iPhone, on purpose or accidentally, to trigger the traditional undo method. Either way, you want your text back, or to redo your edit, and you aren't sure how to do it. Luckily, it's as easy as a swipe.

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: Reply to Texts with a Selfie GIF on Your iPhone

Most of us have probably used a GIF at least once or twice to respond to a message, and that's why a lot of messaging services and keyboards have GIF search tools readily available to use. Now, Google wants to take GIF responses to a more personal level, by allowing you to create your own selfies GIFs to instantly sent to family and friends.

News: Still Using an Older iPhone? This iOS 13 Feature Gives You Back Some Screen Real Estate

With over 200 brand new features, iOS 13 is a worthy update for all compatible devices. That said, not all iPhone models are created equal. There is a new feature only older iPhones will see, one that skips over Apple's Face ID devices entirely. So if you have a traditional Home button iPhone capable of running iOS 13 but haven't updated yet, this is one benefit you're missing out on.

How To: Use the Hidden Quick Scroll to Browse Emojis on Your iPhone Faster

When words aren't enough, emojis are there to help. Your iPhone has almost two thousand of them for you to communicate in a more lively manner or to express indifference, excitement, joy, and other emotional states. However, the more emojis that come out, the more difficult it is to find the one you want — unless you know your way around your keyboard.

How To: The Easy Way to Upload Files Anonymously from Your iPhone So They Can't Be Traced Back to You

If you need to share something online but don't want your personal information attached to the file, use an anonymous file hosting site. By uploading files anonymously, you keep your IP address safe and won't need to create any kind of account that could provide further logging. You can do this in a web browser, but it's much easier to do using a shortcut on your iPhone.

How To: Get the Blush Gold iPhone X — Announcement Date, Release Date & Where to Buy

Before the Sept. 2017 event held by Apple, we thought the new iPhone X would come in three different colors. While only a Space Gray and Silver option made it to the Nov. 2017 release, the missing third hue may finally be on its way, if the latest rumors are to be believed. If you can't wait for the new Blush Gold color, here's when and how you can expect to get your hands on one.

News: New Evidence Implies Apple Pencil May Work on the New iPhone 11 Models

Although styluses and smartphones have existed together for years, the iPhone has always ignored the pairing. After all, "Who wants a stylus?" But ever since the Apple Pencil made its debut on iPad, the rumor mill has churned out the idea that an iPhone could one day see stylus support. That day will probably come with the release of iPhone 11, and there's a good indicator to make its case.

Released: iOS 12 Dev Beta 3 (Public Beta 2), Includes Improved Maps, Bug Fixes & Security Patches

Apple released the third beta of iOS 12 for developers on Tuesday, July 3. The update comes exactly two weeks after the release of the second developer beta, which introduced a variety of fixes as well as new issues, and just one week after the release of the public beta. Public beta testers received this iOS 12 update on Thursday, July 5, labeled as public beta 2.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.4 for iPhone with Migration Tool, Apple News+ Improvements & More

While the eyes and ears of the iPhone world are singularly fixated on iOS 13 and its suite of over 200 new features, Apple was actively piloting iOS 12.4 in tandem with the big iPhone update, in preparation for the release Apple Card. Today, Apple has finally seeded iOS 12.4 stable, 116 days after its first beta version, and there's still no concrete evidence that Apple Card itself will show its face.

How To: Create Lists of Locations Using Collections in Apple Maps for iOS 13

Apple Maps has had a rocky history since its introduction, which included limited features and questionable data, earning it a reputation as a lesser alternative to Google Maps. Since then, Apple has worked to close the gap, and in iOS 13, they're introducing Collections, which allow you to create groups of locations on your iPhone that you can then quickly access and share with others.

How To: Revert Spoofed Photos & Videos in iOS 15 to Their Original Locations & Dates

Apple introduces several new privacy settings with iOS 15, including the ability to better manage the metadata in your photos. With just a few taps, you can effectively spoof a photo's geolocation and change its creation date and time, providing a sort of disguise over your personal information. If you constantly take and share photos, it's a welcomed feature, but its results are not permanent and can be reversed.

How To: Turn Transparency or Noise Cancellation Off Using the AirPods Pro Stem

Apple's AirPods Pro offer three different audio modes for your convenience: "Transparency," which pumps in sound around you,"Noise Cancellation," which actively blocks out surrounding sounds, and "Off," which uses neither mode. Off saves battery, and does a decent job at passively cancelling noise on its own, but you can't seem to be able to use it with the AirPods Pro stem. Here's how.

How To: iOS 14's Revamped Home Screen Search Can Help You Open Hidden Apps Faster

The ability to hide entire pages on your iPhone's home screen is an excellent privacy upgrade packed into iOS 14. That said, it can be a bit of a pain to find and open the hidden apps on those pages in a timely fashion. Luckily, iOS 14 has a solution that makes opening those apps, as well as any others, faster and more convenient — and we're not talking about the new App Library.

Wish List: 21+ Features iOS 12 Should Definitely Have for iPhones

Apple's next big developer event happened on June 4, and it was the first glimpse of iOS 12 that anyone's seen. While there were lots of rumored features to be unveiled at WWDC 2018, Apple concentrated mostly on squashing bugs and making iOS work as seamless as it did years ago. Still, we had hoped that Apple would have added these features in iOS 12, but only a few made the cut.

How To: Adjust Accessibility Settings on a Per-App Basis on iOS 15

Accessibility features — such as spoken content, reduced motion, and voice control — help those who might have hearing, vision, learning, or physical and motor disabilities better use their iPhone devices. These features are very welcome, but when enabled they work system-wide, which can be a problem if you need these settings enabled only in certain situations.

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.