Some iOS and iPadOS apps offer alternative app icons you can switch between. Beyond that, you'd have to create aliases in the Shortcuts app to customize the look of the app icons on your Home Screen. But that would mean two icons for each app in the App Library. Now, in a new ...more
While the USB Rubber Ducky is well known by hackers as a tool for quick in-person keystroke injection attacks, one of the original uses for it was automation. In this guide, I'll be going the latter, explaining how we can use it to automate Wi-Fi handshake harvesting on the Ra ...more
For people that like to get things done, Android's home screen widgets are almost indispensable. Rather than packing your launcher with a bunch of icons, you can utilize widgets to get quick information in a beautiful package or provide one-tap access to a particular functiona ...more
Depending on how many Watch-compatible apps you have, the Home screen on your Apple Watch is either insanely clean or absurdly messy. When I first synced my Watch with my iPhone, I was attacked with a huge honeycomb of apps, strewn across my Home screen in no particular order. ...more
Although sleep mode and screen savers contribute to the security and energy preservation of my MacBook, it can become a nuisance when they initiate unwelcomely. Yes, I could just change these settings in System Preferences, but to do this every time I momentarily leave my Mac ...more
When you leave your iPhone on a table or anywhere within somebody else's eyeshot, a private message may pop up on your lock screen that could be read by anyone who sees it. But there's a way to keep others from reading your possibly sensitive text messages and emails without g ...more
Paranoid Android has always been one of the most popular custom ROMs because of the inventive features its developers add to Android. Two of the biggest draws in particular have to be the "Halo" notification bubble, and the "Pie" navigation buttons, which can both fundamentall ...more
In the era of smartphones and cloud-based computing, it almost seems irresponsible to keep a stash of paper documents. Not only is a physical paper printout environmentally impractical, it's also a lot harder to organize and keep track of than a digital file stored on a hard d ...more
If you're not using Control Center on your iPhone, you're missing out on a powerful tool that can streamline how you interact with your device, make certain tasks more efficient, and give you quick access to system tools, switches, and sliders for quick changes no matter where ...more
If you've ever been in a crowded, noisy place, chances are you've dealt with having to talk louder just so the other person can hear, and vice versa. You can alleviate this headache in the latest Pixel update by using the Sound Amplifier app's new conversation-geared tool. So ...more
For most people, the font that Apple uses in iOS is just perfect, but some of you may think it's too big while others with poor vision may have a hard time reading it. Whether you're having a hard time seeing text on your iPhone or just want something different, there are actu ...more
The launch of Android 4.4 KitKat alongside the Nexus 5 was met with much fanfare from Android enthusiasts. Unfortunately, if you don't have a Nexus device or are still awaiting the 4.4 update, you may feel a bit left behind. If you have a carrier version of the HTC One, 2013' ...more
If you're like me, you probably encounter the lock screen on your Android device more than any other screen. Every time you check for new notifications out of habit, or simply pull your phone out to see the time, the lock screen is front and center. For being such an importan ...more
Placing widgets on your device's home screen is a quick way to gain instant access to shortcuts or to specific aspects of an app, like music controls or weather forecasts. As more and more developers create various types of app drawers and shortcuts, many overlook widgets and ...more
When Google first introduced Android 4.4, the most glaring user-facing change was a new trend towards transparency. The stock launcher, originally exclusive to the Nexus 5, had transparent status and navigation bars and its app drawer added a touch of transparency. They even ...more
It would be an understatement to say that Android 10's gestures are a controversial change. A lot of people just don't like change, plus the back gesture can be a bit tricky to activate sometimes — even after Google added a sensitivity setting for it. Thankfully, a third-party ...more
After first being announced at Mobile World Congress 2018, the ASUS ZenFone 5Z will finally be coming to the US. Deemed an iPhone X clone by some, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this flasghip. While it is similar to the iPhone X, in some ways, it improves on ...more
It's fairly easy to switch between running apps on the Nexus 7 by hitting the Recent apps key in the Navigation bar at the bottom of your screen, but for me—it's just not good enough. I don't particularly like leaving the app I'm currently in to see this menu, and the menu its ...more
Quickness and efficiency should always be a fundamental aspect of the experience when using any Android device. Anything less, and we've got a problem. As app development continually progresses, these adjectives become much more refined and polished, making the use of a smartp ...more
Apple has a new flashlight feature for iPhone models with Dynamic Island on iOS 18. This feature lets you adjust not only the brightness level but also the beam pattern, giving you control over how wide or narrow the light shines. Since the new flashlight beam control feature ...more
Before the release of the Galaxy S8, Samsung quietly uploaded one of their core TouchWiz apps to the Google Play Store as a beta. Samsung Internet, as it's called, has been a staple on all Galaxy devices for years now, but you can now try the browser on any Android phone. Aft ...more
Cinemagraphs are basically artistic photos that have been turned into a GIF to showcase a bit of subtle motion and give them life. Unlike regular GIFs, which can sometimes loop with a jarring cut at the end, cinemagraphs give the illusion of perpetual motion, like water drops ...more
Selecting text on a touchscreen device has always been a major pain point. Those tiny little arrows that let you adjust the selection area are always too hard to actually adjust, making precision all but impossible. Then there's the issue of some apps not even allowing text se ...more
Some manufacturers, like Samsung and LG, have had split-screen multitasking on their custom versions of Android for years. But starting with Android Nougat, Google added this functionality to AOSP, which means that all phones and tablets running Android 7.0 or higher will now ...more
Smartphone displays are getting bigger every year, and Samsung devices are at the forefront of that trend. But, from a software standpoint, the icons, buttons, and other on-screen elements seem to stay at the same scale. So while phones are getting bigger, their interfaces are ...more
Screenshots are an indispensable tool when it comes to relaying information about what's currently showing on your monitor. Whether you need help troubleshooting an issue or you just want to save and share a protected image, screenshots are often your best bet. Don't Miss: 45 ...more
If you're the de facto tech support person in your family or circle of friends, you know how frustrating it can be to have to hold someone's hand and walk them through every troubleshooting step. Luckily, several options now exist for you to remotely access a Mac or Windows PC ...more
The Galaxy S5 is a flagship-level device with some pretty advanced features, like its 4K video recording capability, water-resistant casing, fingerprint sensor, and KitKat running out of the gate. Most of us can utilize and truly appreciate what this device has to offer, but ...more
Something special is happening. Maybe it's your child's first steps or their walk down the aisle. Maybe it's a hit-and-run accident, a flaming meteorite, or your buddy spilling a drink all over himself. These are fleeting moments that need to be captured instantly. Though you ...more
Beyond Apple-specific services like iMessage, having intuitive navigation gestures is certainly one of the features that makes the iPhone so hard to quit. Thanks to Android 10 and One UI 2, however, devices like the Samsung Galaxy S10 have caught up and now provide you with a ...more
One of our favorite features on the Pixel Launcher is its App Shortcuts, which work a lot like Apple's 3D Touch for iOS or Huawei's Force Touch. Instead of using pressure sensitivity to call up static and dynamic shortcut menus for apps, Launcher Shortcuts relied on a simple l ...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
Though many were hoping for it, a notification indicator around the Galaxy S10's front camera punch hole never came to fruition. Since then, we've been finding other uses for the camera cutout, from turning it into a circular battery meter to using creative wallpapers. Thankfu ...more
There are many different ways and many different apps that allow you to censor a racy photo and then share it to Instagram or Facebook. If you're in a time crunch and don't have the time or the patience to deal with something like Photoshop, then Snapseed is a great and easy a ...more
Regardless of what they call them—be it Pixel or Nexus—Google's line of smartphones have a cool feature called "Ambient Display" that wakes your screen in a low-power black and white state when you receive a notification. This feature was added back when Google owned Motorola, ...more
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge came to market in 2016, they were universally praised as being the pinnacle of Android smartphone design, even topping Consumer Reports' smartphone ratings. Why? Well, for once, we finally had a smartphone, or in this case, a pair of sma ...more
While many of the features in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro series build on what we've seen in previous iPhone models, Apple has packed the 2024 lineup with iOS 18 and plenty of fresh upgrades worth considering. The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max boast several groundbreaking feature ...more
Muzei Live Wallpaper is a popular Android app that refreshes your home screen background at set intervals, turning it into blurred pieces of artwork or photography while keeping your icons and widgets in the spotlight. By using third-party extensions, you can even set your ba ...more
Google's new camera app has a highly innovative and unique feature dubbed Lens Blur, and the most interesting thing about it is not necessarily what it does, so much as how it does it. You take a picture, then slide your phone in an upward motion, and the app creates 2 new pi ...more
As far as lock screens go, your Samsung Galaxy S4 and other Android phones offer quite a few options. You can use the classic PIN unlock, the novelty facial recognition, or the reliable pattern lock. But what if you get tired of entering the same old PIN or pattern every day? ...more
One of the more competitive aspects to chat apps these days is customizability. It seems every messenger wants to offer the largest number of options for users to make the app feel like a truly personal experience. Telegram is no stranger to this customizability, offering tool ...more
Introduced along with the iPhone X, Animoji are animated characters, mostly animals, that are rendered from the user's facial expressions using the device's TrueDepth camera system to track the user's facial movements. The first viral phenomenon to emerge from the launch of t ...more
So, you've lost your Apple TV remote. Maybe it's busted. What are you supposed to do now? You could go out and buy a new one, but they're expensive if you have a newer Apple TV with a Siri Remote, and wouldn't you rather spend that money on a movie? You might be without a work ...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
There's a growing sentiment around the web that when it comes to Android, stock is best. Many people prefer the clean look of Google's vision for Android, but manufacturers like LG will add features and themes on top of this base to differentiate themselves from the pack. But ...more
Most of us only see our screen savers in passing, as some sort of slide show or animation as we glance up at the screen or walk by the computer. Usually, anything is better than a boring blank screen—even the classic Pipes screensaver is better than nothing. Don't Miss: Set Y ...more
One of Android's biggest strengths, when compared to other mobile operating systems is its open file structure. Google introduced a built-in file manager with Marshmallow that provides basic file management, but like with most apps on Android, there are alternatives. Third-par ...more
If you had the original Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 and a Type or Touch cover, you know how big a pain in the ass it was to change the scrolling direction of the trackpad. For some reason, there was no built-in setting to reverse the scrolling direction from natural to n ...more
There's a lot you can customize on your iPhone's Lock Screen — wallpapers and photos, widgets, the display mode, notifications, and even the time's font and color. But there's another feature that lets you add custom text for whatever you want, whether it's an inspiring quote, ...more
When it comes to traveling from one location to another with the aide of your iPhone, ensuring your navigation app works as it should keeps you one step ahead of potential hassles. One feature often overlooked is audio settings, and while having no voice prompts is easy enough ...more
The last iOS software update was a modest one, but iOS 17.4 has a lot more for your iPhone, including changes to emoji, Podcasts, security, Safari, widgets, Apple Cash, CarPlay, and more. Many of the exciting changes in iOS 17.4, as well as iPadOS 17.4, apply to users in the ...more
Apple just seeded developers and public beta testers the GM (golden master) for iOS 14 on Tuesday, Sept 15. The update (18A373) comes just after Apple's "Time Flies" event, and six days after Apple released iOS 14 beta 8 for both developers and public testers. Apple released ...more
Speech-to-text technology can be seen on your iPhone in various places, from the Dictation tool to Apple's new behind-the-scenes, auto-created transcripts for podcast episodes. Your iPhone also has some pretty impressive text-to-speech capabilities. With them, your iPhone can ...more
You probably receive an overwhelming number of notifications on your iPhone every day — maybe even every hour — which can quickly clutter your lock screen. With Apple's focus on lock screen customization in iOS 16, there are now options that can reduce the screen space that lo ...more
Android Pie has finally made its way to signature Galaxy devices like the Note 9, S9 and S8. As you all know, Samsung Experience got a major makeover and has been renamed to One UI, featuring significant aesthetic changes to many of its native apps. The Phone app, in particul ...more
Gestures are a big deal on an iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. Without a Home button on Apple's super-premium smartphones, several actions had to be mapped to gestures instead, which impacts other areas of the system such as the Control Center. One exampl ...more
The Moto X and Moto Z have a set of features that let you launch common shortcuts by shaking your phone in one direction or another. For instance, there's a chop gesture that turns on the LED flashlight, and a wrist-twist gesture that instantly opens the camera app. We've cov ...more
Over the years, YouTube ads have become more and more integrated with the videos themselves, which means traditional Android ad blockers can no longer block the ads without blocking the videos. It's gotten to the point where the only ways to get rid of the ads are to either su ...more
The world's most commonly-used desktop operating system is getting a huge makeover in the form of Windows 10. While there are many sweeping changes in this new version, some of the smaller tweaks may prove to be the most useful. For instance, an easy-to-access menu now allows ...more
The Samsung Galaxy S6 includes a pretty nifty feature known as "Gesture wake up," which lets users wave their hand over their locked display to wake it, making those periodic notification checks from the lock screen a lot more simple than having to press the power or home key ...more