Do Not Disturb

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 — spec ...more

With the arrival of iOS 12, Do Not Disturb has received long-overdue enhancements to make the feature more user-friendly. Among these changes is a subtle but incredibly convenient feature that helps ensure you remain undisturbed for short periods of time to more focus on your ...more

One of the new iOS 12 features for iPhones is an enhanced version of Do Not Disturb mode. Instead of being limited to times you manually input, Apple added new ways to manage the feature, including activating it based on location. For those on the go, this can be done pretty q ...more

Low Power Mode can go a long way in preserving your iPhone's battery life in a pinch. It can be set manually or appear as an option once your battery levels dip to 20 and 10 percent. If you have a jailbroken device, you can take Low Power Mode a step further by having it autom ...more

In the "Do Not Disturb" menu in your iPhone's settings, you can choose to allow phone calls from everyone, your favorites, or specific groups. However, this does not apply to text messages, only phone calls, so there's no way to get vibration or sound alert for messages from s ...more

Attention iOS 11 Developer Beta users — Dev Beta 2 is now ready for a software update. If you're running the beta already, you're going to want to download this one because it combines two excellent features: much, much needed bug fixes, as well as Do Not Disturb While Driving ...more

Do Not Disturb is the best way to block out all interruptions on your iPhone without having to power down. All notifications and alerts are silenced, but the same can't be said for phone calls. By default, repeat calls will bypass Do Not Disturb, which can be quite frustrating ...more

At certain times of the day, like when I finally get home after sitting through aggravating traffic, the last thing I need is the sound of my phone irritating me any further. So, I toggle on the "Do Not Disturb" feature (introduced in iOS 6) on my iPhone and get to enjoy a lit ...more

The Pixel's "Flip to Shhh" feature may not be groundbreaking, but it is useful. Third-party apps are copying it for other phones because it's so convenient. But it's not enabled by default and it's fairly hidden in the settings. So to take full advantage of your Pixel's featur ...more

Oddly enough, stock Android does not come with a "do not disturb" function out of the box. Samsung has their own version built into to TouchWiz called "Blocking Mode," and Apple has had their "Do Not Disturb" feature since iOS 6, so why is stock Android so late to the game? N ...more

One of the most anticipated new Maps features in iOS 11 for iPhones is live and ready to keep you safe on the road. Right now, Do Not Disturb While Driving is opt-in, but if you missed Apple's on-screen prompt to enable it and want to turn it on, or if you accidentally enabled ...more

There are a lot of things that make iOS great, but lock screen widgets are not among them. If you want more information on your lock screen other than the date, time, and notifications without having to swipe to a sidebar of widgets, you'd normally look toward Android. However ...more

Since its introduction in iOS 11, the Screen Recording tool has been a great way to show less tech-savvy users how to use their iPhones better. It's never been easier to show your grandmother how to disable Live Photos or lower screen brightness. However, banner notifications ...more

Let's say you wake up in the middle of the night and check your phone to see the time. As soon as you do, you're greeted by a wall of notifications on your lock screen. You just wanted to know how much longer you could sleep, but now your mind's racing after seeing all of the ...more

If you're worried about the security of your Mac, there are easy measures to prevent the most dangerous attacks. Named after the tactic of accessing an unattended computer in a hotel room, we can thwart "evil maid" attacks with Do Not Disturb and LuLu, free macOS tools by Obje ...more

There are few things more annoying in life than getting interrupted—especially when you're in a groove, jamming out to your favorite song. If we can all agree on that sentiment, then why is it that our phones mute the music we're listening to for a few seconds whenever a notif ...more

I'm not a morning person, so getting a "Good Morning" message on my iPhone when I wake up makes me want to toss it across the room. If you feel the same way about this morning greeting, there's an easy way to stop it from showing up on your lock screen. This also applies if yo ...more

When Apple wanted to bring their Notification Center to Mac OS X, I loved the idea. But after using it since its integration in Mountain Lion, it's been more annoying and distracting than anything. More and more apps incorporate notifications, so I'm constantly getting sound a ...more

Software update notifications are meant to be a reminder to keep your operating system and apps up to date, but that doesn't mean that they never get annoying. I get a notification telling me to update every day. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but sometimes I'm co ...more

When somebody is in the middle of rapid firing you some text messages and they become too much for you to bear, you have a few options on your iPhone. You can simply leave the conversation, if it's an iMessage group chat with four or more participants, or you can put the whole ...more

The next big iOS version for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch was revealed by Apple at WWDC 2018 and dropped for everyone on Sept. 17, 2018, less than a week after Apple revealed the new iPhone lineup. We've rounded up all the big picture items and secret features and changes we c ...more

Is your smartphone taking over your life? Do you need help putting your Pixel down at night? Well, update to Android Pie! Android 9.0 comes with Digital Wellbeing, a new tool to both help you understand your smartphone habits and perhaps step away from the apps, games, and not ...more

Imagine this: you have your finger poised to take the perfect picture — a once in a lifetime opportunity, like a solar eclipse — and you are suddenly caught off guard by a buzz, then "ding!" You look down at your phone to find your perfect pic ruined by distortion from the vib ...more

There are few apps or services better than Slack for keeping a team both communicative and productive. But it also makes it difficult to escape your job — after work hours and weekends should be yours, not Slack's. If you want to stop the barrage of notifications and messages ...more

There are many impressive features in the new iOS 11 for iPhones, and the Maps app got a lot of love from Apple. This means it's finally about time you stop relying on Google Maps for all of your navigation needs, since Apple Maps is not only more accurate than it used to be, ...more

Some of the Pixel 3's coolest features are software related, which means you can get many of them on non-Pixel devices. "Flip to Shhh" is a perfect example of this. It lets you quickly put your phone into do not disturb mode by placing it face down, and this can be replicated ...more

Lots of people sleep with their phone close by. When closing our eyes, our phones are often the last thing we see. But with help from Google's Wind Down Mode, we can have an easier transition into our sleepy time. Wind Down Mode gives visual cues that it's time to start prepa ...more

While the Apple Watch does have up to 18 hours of battery life each day on a full charge, your results will vary depending on how often you use it and what you're actually doing with it. If your Apple Watch isn't lasting all day long, we've got some battery-saving tips you ca ...more

You can check stock quotes, make quick calculations, see the weather forecast, get reminders, and view upcoming calendar events all from the Notification Center on your Mac. But if that's all your using it for, you're just barely scratching the surface. To get the most out of ...more

With audible alerts and subtle vibrations, the Apple Watch makes it difficult to miss incoming notifications. But soon enough you'll realize that not every notification is worth receiving on your Watch and can ultimately render the experience annoying under particular circumst ...more

For the first time since its inception, the famously hidden System UI Tuner has to be unlocked in a new way. No longer can you long-press the gear icon (found in Quick Settings) until it spins and reveals the hidden settings option. With Android 9.0 Pie, there's a new workarou ...more

Even though most phones don't have Oreo yet, Google has released Android 9.0 Pie. It's available on Google's own Pixel devices, and updates should soon be available to partnered devices from Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi. We're already digging into it to highl ...more

Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...more

HTC claims to have improved the One M8's battery life by 40% over its predecessor, but there is always room for improvement. Our phones are pretty much glued to the front of our faces, whether we're drafting important emails or killing time on YouTube, and a rapidly draining ...more

The next mobile operating system for the iPhone, iOS 6, will be available in fall 2012. The major details and features were released 2 weeks ago a Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). While the goal of these yearly OS updates is to move forward with technology, the ...more

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 t ...more

Group messages make for some hilarious conversations with your friends, and are also a great way to update multiple people without sending individual text messages. But as awesome as they can be, they can also be as equally annoying. We've all been there; you either get preoc ...more

There's a powerful tool on your iPhone that can fine-tune your iOS experience based on what you're doing and when, and it's completely customizable. With it, you can control what notifications appear or are silenced, who can call you, which Home Screen pages you want to view, ...more

In iOS 15, Apple unveiled a new feature called Focus, an extension of Do Not Disturb that lets you focus on the one thing that's important at any particular moment. It does so by minimizing distractions from your iPhone and other Apple devices, but there's a lot you should kno ...more

Look, tests are no fun, and doing poorly on them is rarely an option. Whether you're studious or a slacker, everyone needs a little boost now and again. While students have found ways to cheat as long as tests have existed, the invention of smartphones has greatly enhanced the ...more

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) feature ...more

It seems like each day our phones become more integrated into our lives. School, work, shopping — so many tasks either require a phone or heavily benefit from one. But our phones are a double-edged sword that can easily distract us and harm our mental health as well. This is ...more

You know the drill. You need answers, and your friend has them. The problem? It's way too late to text them. Maybe they have Do Not Disturb enabled. Perhaps they don't, and you wake them up, ruining their entire Monday. Don't be that friend. Instead, send a message silently wi ...more

Apple knows their products can be addicting, and with iOS 12, they are doing something about it. With the help of Screen Time and few other new tools, it should now be a lot easier to get off your phone and enjoy life in the real world. Apple wants to preserve our digital wel ...more

There's definitely a lot of new things to get used to in iOS 6, with over 200 added features, but which ones stand out about the rest? Well, it all depends on what device you're using. Some features will only work on newer models, but most of the hidden features are accessible ...more

3D Touch is only available on the 6s and 7 series iPhones right now, and likely future models, so those with older devices are missing out on all the cool "Quick Actions" available for app and settings icons. But the new iOS 11 is finally bringing some of those helpful shortcu ...more

I don't know about you, but nothing is more annoying than when my phone hits 15% and I'm nowhere near a charger. Not just because I know my phone will die soon, but until I reach a charger, I have to deal with the annoying low battery notification and LED light. Well, with And ...more

While iOS 11 was famous for its instability, performance issues weren't the only factor holding it back. The OS overhauled the notification system on iPhone, but not necessarily for the better. iOS 12, however, improves upon these changes, bringing critical features that make ...more

Apple's latest mobile operating system for iPhones, iOS 12, was released to everyone Monday, Sept. 17, and it's the same exact build that developers and public beta testers received as the "golden master" on Sept. 12, the day of Apple's 2018 special event. Install it to start ...more

A burner number isn't just for criminals and cheating spouses. In this digital world, with many of our interactions being conducted online, a throwaway phone number acts as a buffer — it lets you enjoy the web without having to give out your personal information, such as real ...more

One of Android's biggest strengths is its flexibility. There's usually more than one way to perform the same task, which makes it easy to find an alternate method that works better for you. Android also has some hidden features that newer users might not be aware of, so we mad ...more

Now that Google Meet is free for anyone with a Gmail address, you can expect to see invites from Google's service alongside Zoom calls. Meet is a very streamlined take on video conferencing that manages to provide all of the prerequisites that you'd need to host a video meeti ...more

Safari has some cool new features in iOS 8, but the app that seems to have gotten the biggest update so far is Messages. A lot of the new Messages features were discussed during Apple's developers conference, but we found many others and picked out our favorite hidden ones bel ...more

Apple's scheduled to show off the first look of iOS 13 at WWDC 2019 on June 3, but what will the new operating system hold for iPhone? Rumors suggest that many features initially planned for iOS 12 will show up in iOS 13, codenamed "Yukon," and dark mode will be the big ticket ...more

As a longtime Android user, one of the changes I was most excited about with Android Pie was the fact that the volume rocker finally controls media volume by default. However, the new way isn't ideal for everyone, but thankfully, there's an app that can change it back. With t ...more