Contrary to popular belief, augmented reality apps have been available for a while now. I remember using the Layar app (still available for iOS and Android) to explore nearby businesses and landmarks with varying success via an early-generation Android handset. It would be ha ...more
Previously, you'd have to use a third-party password manager on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to securely share passwords with other people or groups outside of AirDrop range. And while apps like 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane let you store passkeys, only 1Password has added s ...more
You can play background sounds on your iPhone to help you focus, stay calm, or fall asleep, giving you a personal sound machine wherever you go. Even better, there's a way to set each of your apps to play one of Apple's six ambient soundscapes automatically. When you open the ...more
Apple released the second beta for iOS 15 on Thursday, June 24. The update includes FaceTime's "SharePlay" feature for the first time, a new Maps icon, updates to Focus mode, in addition to many other changes and bug fixes. SharePlay, one of iOS 15's most ambitious new featur ...more
Your iPhone is full of apps that are all vying for your attention. Notifications from Facebook, Instagram, and even Apple Messages can get out of hand fast. With iOS 15, Apple gives you the tools to choose exactly who can contact you and when. Keep reading to see how to take c ...more
In the case of Apple Watch v. Fitbit, the winner comes down to the judge at hand. Apple currently offers two smartwatches — the Series 5 and the Series 3 — while Fitbit offers three models — the Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Ionic, and Fitbit Versa Lite. Whatever your assumptions abo ...more
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 prev ...more
Apple's iOS 13 has been quite the disrupter. The initial update featured over 200 new features and changes, while its successor, iOS 13.1, brought another 22 to the mix. With the company's latest update, iOS 13.2, you'll see an extra 22 amendments on your iPhone, including new ...more
Apple slowly rolled out its new credit card, Apple Card, throughout August, but announced on Aug. 20 that it's now available to all qualified users in the US. Here's the problem: it's not totally obvious how to apply. Without any notification, directions, or clear settings, ho ...more
Apple's TrueDepth camera made its debut in the premium-priced iPhone X late last year, and since then, the reviews have been pretty positive. Now, Apple might be preparing to make the Animoji-friendly sensors available in more iPhones, as well as the iPad Pro, later this year. ...more
While the Twitch app for iOS came out way back in 2011, livestreaming iPhone games was a rarity until Apple recently updated its ReplayKit in iOS 11. However, Twitch hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet, but that doesn't mean you can't livestream your iPhone games to Twitch righ ...more
Not all remakes of video game classics turn out well, but a new augmented reality take on Super Mario is likely to draw in fans of the Nintendo hit. Created by Vancouver-based Stuart Langfield, the AR gaming experiment isn't an official release, but after seeing what's possib ...more
Thanks to ever more powerful smartphones — the iPhone X with its advanced A11 processor and the Galaxy Note 8 powered by Snapdragon's 835 come to mind — the mobile industry is fast closing in on consoles and PCs with regards to gaming. Game developers have been aware of this f ...more
Siri will soon be more helpful than ever before. Apple showed off the latest features that its computerized personal assistant will have in iOS 10 at WWDC '16, including context-based predictive suggestions that help to speed up the user experience. Siri will now work with the ...more
A new iPhone exploit has recently been discovered by YouTube user videosdebarraquito, who has found many other exploits and bugs in iOS over the years. This new exploit allows someone to bypass the lock screen and gain access to contacts and photos via Siri, Apple's digital vo ...more
Wireless contracts and phone-buying programs continue to become more and more confusing. As if you didn't have enough to worry about with regards to the rising costs of services and the elimination of contracts with mobile providers, Verizon Wireless will soon institute a new ...more
One thing Apple users universally complain about is battery life, whether it's on an iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch. Apple did include a Battery Usage feature in iOS 8 to help us monitor which apps suck up the most energy, but it's too big a pain to deal with. Now, in iOS 9, the ...more
Add-on smartphone lenses are nothing new, but they have definitely gotten better as time goes on. Case in point: the Olloclip series of lenses for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices (the S4 and S5 only at the moment). Their newer 4-in-1 lenses give you fisheye, wide angle, 10 ...more
Since Apple released iOS 8, many third-party apps have taken advantage of one of its more resourceful features: Notification Center widgets. These widgets have made it easier to interact with features and settings that would otherwise require launching an app itself, instead o ...more
Shortly after Apple's iOS 8.0.1 update fiasco ruined many iPhone users' cellular reception (which was fixed with iOS 8.0.2), developers were treated to the first beta release of iOS 8.1, which will be the next big update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The first beta didn't ...more
While it can be argued that Google Chrome is generally a better browser, iPhone users tend to remain loyal to Safari. But one feature that gives Chrome the upper hand is its ability to recognize the language on any given page and offer you an option to translate it to your nat ...more
It started in Australia, and now seems to have made its way statewide—hackers are remotely locking iOS and Mac devices, holding them for a $100 ransom. Users awoke to the loud "lost iPhone" ringtone, with a message on their lock screen stating that "Oleg Pliss" has hacked thei ...more
Alright, I'll admit it, iOS can be quite nice. Android loyalist that I may be, I'm not so stubborn that I can't recognize a good thing when I see it. Apple's iOS has a lot of strengths, and our Nexus 4s, god bless 'em, are growing a little long in the tooth. But the Android p ...more
There are countless mods and apps for Android devices that give them an iOS-style look, but maybe it's about time we take some notes from Android, especially when it comes to the iOS 7 lock screen. The lock screen on your iPhone should have more options than what Apple allows ...more
Electronic devices seem to have an uncanny ability to make noise at the worst possible times. It's always during an important meeting, a quiet study session at the library, or a biology final that your laptop or smartphone decides to play some obnoxious or embarrassing sound. ...more
If you use Facebook's Messenger app on your iPhone, your cell phone bill might just get a little cheaper. After recently adding voice chats to Messenger, the company just rolled out its new Free Call feature on the latest version of the iOS app, which allows users to make call ...more
Doorbells are useful and all, but most of them are boring as hell. They use the same old generic sounds to let you know when guests have arrived, as demonstrated below. Video: . To liven things up a bit, you could spend money on buying customized doorbells. But why do that whe ...more
You can add Bluetooth capability to an old stereo, a retro mouse, or even your car's cassette deck. If you can think of a device, someone has probably found a way to control it with Bluetooth. This hack is a little different, though. Kai Aras put together a simple guide to ad ...more
If you couldn't pick between putting your grocery list in the Reminders or Notes app, there's now a clear place for it. With the latest software updates, the Reminders app, which now supports sections, sports a groceries template that automatically moves the items you add to r ...more
Aside from the addition of bedtime sleep schedules five years ago, Apple's Clock app has largely been ignored with each new iOS software update. But that just changed with Apple's iOS 17 software update. With the updated Clock app, you can finally set more than one timer to ru ...more
Whether you subscribe to Apple TV+ or not, the TV app on your iPhone is a great place to watch movies and TV shows. On the surface, it looks like a pretty straightforward app, but hidden features are lurking in the shadows that can enhance how you use it. First, there are the ...more
Whenever you're on a FaceTime call, you can use SharePlay on your iPhone or iPad to screen share, watch TV or movies together, work out with each other, and even listen to the same music at the same time. SharePlay also recently received a new skill that turns FaceTime into a ...more
When you need to take notes, sketch out projects, brainstorm with others, create mood boards, or map out ideas without constraints, look no further than Freeform, Apple's new collaboration-friendly digital whiteboard. Each Freeform project has an infinite canvas to give you f ...more
Apple made significant improvements to its Shortcuts app in the latest iOS update, so you can do even more with your custom-made macros for iPhone. The big story is "App Shortcuts," which takes all the work out of building shortcuts, giving you immediate access to premade one ...more
Believe it or not, there are legitimate iOS apps beyond the App Store that you can install on your iPhone. Some of them even work for iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, and there are also benefits to using them over apps found in the App Store. Not all of you will want to try these app ...more
Apple's iOS 14 introduced a new world of iPhone customization thanks to its updated widgets that can live on both the home screen and Today View. While they're incredibly useful, they're not very interactive, they restrict what's shown, and you can't resize them afterward. How ...more
One of the most aggravating things that can happen on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media apps is when a friend shares an exciting story, and a paywall prevents you from reading any of it. You could pay for a subscription to unlock it, but there are so many news sites th ...more
Whether you have or are getting an iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max, the default way to check the current battery life is via the tiny battery icon in the top right of the status bar. But that does not accurately depict how much juice is left, not as a specific percen ...more
The Memories feature in Photos is meant to help you rediscover old or forgotten experiences by creating a short slideshow of photos and videos based on locations, dates, and events. It's a fun feature to relive exciting times, but it isn't always perfect because it's generated ...more
There are plenty of reasons to upgrade to iOS 14, home screen widgets chief among them. With that in mind, it's ironic that Apple placed so much emphasis on "widgets" this year when the new update removes a fan-favorite widget of the past — the "Favorites" Phone widget, which ...more
Apple just released the eighth public beta for iOS 14 today, Wednesday, Sept. 9. At this time, beta 8 (18A5373a) seems to be a minor update to iOS 14, introducing bug fixes to improve the software's overall stability. So far, there haven't been many new user-facing features o ...more
After more than a decade, iPhones are finally getting widgets on the home screen. They even have that Apple aesthetic that many people crave, with their uniform, squircle appearance. But fret not, as with pretty much any iOS feature, you can get them on Android with a tiny bit ...more
Apple has introduced several new features to its native Messages app with iOS 14. When it comes to group chats, you can now pin those conversations, use inline replies, and receive notifications only when you're tagged. And if that wasn't good enough, you or anyone else in the ...more
Google's feature drops for Pixel devices have added fun and useful new abilities, such as AR effects for Duo, Call Screen automation, scheduling Dark Mode, and Quick Access Wallet for Google Pay, that are exclusive to the company's line of smartphones. The latest feature drop ...more
Just as predicted (but perhaps with less fanfare than usual), Apple has made the move of adding a depth sensor to the rear camera of its latest edition of the iPad Pro. What is surprising is the type of sensor it is, and that plot twist raises the level of intrigue for Apple' ...more
According to a study done by Kaspersky, 7.6% of Android users root their phones. That may not sound like a lot, but with over 2 billion Android devices out there, the math works out to over 150 million rooted phones — more than the total population of Russia, Mexico, or Japan ...more
Apple's Reminders app has never been particularly sexy or appealing, but that changes in iOS 13. Although the productivity tool has always been useful for quick to-dos, it now has an overhauled user interface with several new features, including grouping lists together for imp ...more
Dark mode is everywhere. Both Android 10 and iOS 13 added the feature natively, and many of your favorite apps now include the option. So far, Google has been on a mission to add it to all of its apps, and Google Photos is no exception. As with all of Google's compatible apps ...more
Anyone who has been within a block of any wireless brick and mortar store or tech conference in the last couple of years has no doubt seen banners, posters, and videos promoting 5G high-speed wireless services on the way. The last time I can remember a technology being so hyp ...more
If you're a long-time Spark user, you'll know that one of the only drawbacks to the app used to be its lack of rich text-editing tools such as hyperlinking. If you needed to link out to a site in an email, your best bet was to grab a computer to get the job done. Well, close t ...more
While Apple has moved on from Touch ID to Face ID in newer iPhone models, there are still plenty of iPhones with fingerprint sensors — in fact, Apple's second-generation iPhone SE is the first new Touch ID iPhone in three years. With Touch ID, you can register up to five finge ...more
If you use the internet regularly, it's nearly impossible to avoid memes. They are the epitome of internet culture, demonstrating how jokes can spread and change like wildfire. While there are many different types, the most common ones you'll come across are images and GIFs wi ...more
When driving, you can get directions hands-free by asking Siri. You can also make general map searches, show a location's details, call a query's phone number, and view traffic details. However, Siri defaults to Apple Maps for all those. If you prefer Google Maps, Waze, or ano ...more
As great as passcode and biometric security features like Face ID are for preventing unwanted access, they aren't needed 100% of the time. When you're at home with a locked door between you and anyone you wouldn't trust with your phone, they really only serve to slow you down. ...more
What you see when you open the Play Store is completely dependent on your country settings. Search results and top charts are specific to each region and there are lots of popular apps and games that simply won't show up unless your Play Store country matches up. Until recent ...more
The "Up Next" feature in Apple Music helps you control which songs you want to listen in the order that you want. However, this list can become messy fast, quickly becoming a collection of songs you never wanted to listen to in the first place. Luckily, Apple has built a way f ...more
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 ma ...more
Since starting as a simple messenger with self-destructing pictures, Snapchat has grown into a full-fledged social media platform. As features were added, new permissions were requested, and we're all probably guilty of just tapping "OK" to try out the latest and greatest. But ...more
For the past few months, Fortnite has been one of the most-watched games on Twitch, and it's likely to keep a top spot on the live streaming platform once Fortnite Battle Royale becomes available for smartphones. While there are not any live streaming capabilities built direct ...more
Apple has tools built into iOS to help parents monitor the iPhone habits of their children. However, those same tools can be used by everyday iPhone owners to both hide apps they don't care about, as well as restrict features they don't need or that infringe on privacy. Whethe ...more