Dreaded are the days when you're working on a masterpiece, then all of a sudden, your Windows computer crashes, loses power, or an app just gets up and quits. Well, now there's an app for that. According to MakeUseOf, with an app called AutoSaver, you can automatically save t ...more
Considering that Google makes Android, it's rather strange that the operating system doesn't have a baked-in solution for doing a reverse image search. Sure, you can long-press pictures in Chrome to search for other instances of a photo, but it's not possible with pictures you ...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 Google Cast feature that serves as the primary interface for the Chromecast and comes bundled with Android TV devices like the Nexus Player is a marvel of modern technology. But as these things go, troubleshooting issues can be difficult with something so groundbreaking, e ...more
You need a good microphone on your computer in order to make audio recordings, voice chat, or use speech recognition. However, not every computer comes with a built-in mic, and not every built-in mic works great. You can purchase a cheap computer microphone on Amazon for as l ...more
While it seemed like jailbreaking methods were always one update behind the current build, the team over at Pangu have already released a jailbreak tool for iOS 9, and it works up to iOS 9.0.2. It is not available for iOS 9.1 through 9.2 yet, but we will update this guide when ...more
Apple's latest round of devices—including the MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and the iPhone 6S—use a new touch input method that can detect when you've applied a bit more force than usual. Dubbed "Force Touch" ("3D Touch" on the new iPhones), this gesture simulates a long-press or ...more
The Galaxy S6 Edge comes with a useful feature called Information stream that allows you to view quick tidbits of info with a quick back-and-forth swipe on the edge of your display while the screen is off. Apparently, Samsung left the door open for third-party plugins to use t ...more
They might be a little late to the party, but the Cyanogen team has finally released their newest ROM for the OnePlus One, Cyanogen OS 12. The launch had to be pushed back a few times due to some technical issues, but now we finally get to see what the Cyanogen team has cooked ...more
Carriers really suck, don't they? We constantly have to monitor our data usage, even though many of us are on "unlimited" plans, which, in reality, will just be throttled to a slower 2G or 3G connection when we hit a certain download threshold. Even when we're not actively us ...more
With only a month left until Samsung's highly-anticipated Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are released to the general public, it's only natural that some of the devices' features slowly trickle out, like Edge notifications, the new Smart Remote app, and, of course, wallpapers. A ...more
Android Lollipop promises tons of new features and functionality when it comes to a device near you, but as we wait, it's almost painful to see the screenshots and demo videos from Nexus devices and how downright pretty the new operating system looks. If you're still stuck wi ...more
Google's Chrome Remote Desktop, which allows for remote access to your personal computer from your smartphone, has been out for almost a year now. Sadly, it's only been available for Android devices—until now. So, if you got an iPhone (or other iOS device), you can now access ...more
Whether you use a third-party keyboard or the stock offering, your Samsung device keeps a history of the last 20 words you copied on its clipboard. Samsung added this feature to Android to help make multitasking a bit easier, but if you use a password manager like LastPass, th ...more
With Nexus devices already enjoying Android 5.0 Lollipop, most other manufacturers are scrambling to get their flagships updated to Google's latest operating system. While HTC has promised Lollipop by the end of 2015, OEMs such as Motorola and Sony have already issued updates ...more
It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update. But it's not a purely cosmetic update—a few new features have also been ...more
Motorola changed the way users interact with their devices when they introduced their "always listening" feature on the Moto X. When I first saw it demoed, I couldn't wait to get the same functionality on one of my handsets, and now that has finally come to fruition. OnePlus ...more
Whether if it's to play games or watch Netflix or YouTube, children love using our smartphones and tablets. As an uncle of many, I don't mind my nieces and nephews using my gear, but I do mind them opening apps they have no business being in, like my photo gallery or messaging ...more
By eliminating the need for hard keys on phones, manufacturers are able to use that extra space for a larger display, which is clearly evident on the bezel-minimal LG G3. In order to replace the physical home, back, and app switcher keys, we now have stylish soft keys. While ...more
With over 20 million songs, Spotify has become my go-to source for music. I can stream tunes to my desktop or phone, without ever having to worry about storage space being eaten up. One key difference between the desktop and mobile version that really bugs me is the lack of o ...more
There are so many mods we can apply using a custom recovery. From themes to bug fixes and feature ports, a typical rooted user spends a decent chunk of time in TWRP Recovery. As often as we use TWRP, it's high time we showed the ZIP-flashing software a little love itself. Usi ...more
Keeping prying eyes off your device isn't always the easiest thing to do, especially once you lend somebody your phone to make a call. Seems that whenever someone is scrolling through your pictures or checking out your new phone, they always end up somewhere you don't want the ...more
With so many keyboard options available for Android, there's no reason to limit ourselves to the default one, or to just the ones available in the Amazon Appstore. While the Appstore does provide alternatives, such as SwiftKey, it doesn't come close to the selection available ...more
It seems like custom Google Now commands are a dime a dozen these days. With Commandr for Google Now giving non-rooted users their first taste of custom voice commands just a couple weeks ago, you may wonder why we're covering this subject again. Unlike Commandr, the app Auto ...more
Google, like Apple before them, no longer supports mobile Flash, but clearly there's plenty of Flash content still available on the web. From games to videos, it can be frustrating to get the most out of your mobile browsing experience without Flash functionality. Adobe keeps ...more
There is no SD card support on the Nexus 7, so managing internal storage can be tricky. There are ways to free up space, but the biggest space hog on my tablet is music, and that's not something I'm willing to delete just yet. I could add more storage space with a USB drive, ...more
Clash of Clans is one of the most successful games ever to come out for Android and iOS. It has been downloaded over 50 million times from Google Play alone, and shows no signs of decline. Part of its success is the constant need for players to sign in to avoid being raided a ...more
Hangouts and WhatsApp might be the preferred messaging apps for Android, but it's only a matter of time before Facebook Messenger surpasses them. Messenger already dominates iOS devices, and thanks to its ubiquitous platform, messages are easily synced across all of your devi ...more
It used to be easy to hack tethering—root your device and install a third-party or modded tethering app. But snuck in amongst the changes in Android 4.3, a new data-monitoring service of sorts made its debut. There used to be a time when your data connection was yours. You pai ...more
When theming Android, it's the little touches that complete the look, making your device yours. If you're rooted, you probably know by now that there's virtually nothing you can't change the look of on Android. The Xposed Framework allows modules to easily hook into system-le ...more
With the Galaxy S5's root bounty over $18,000 and climbing, there's still no Superuser in sight. That doesn't mean we can't tweak and personalize our shiny new toys, though. Several customization options are available just by virtue of the S5's Android base, and installing a c ...more
Many of our everyday apps include a menu tab or search bar, like Chrome and Twitter. In fact, a lot of times those are the first things we go for, as search is universal in most apps, and app settings are just about always accessible through the menu. Like the Back, Home, and ...more
When it comes to blocking unwanted calls, your Android device comes stocked with a native blocking feature that allows you to reject certain phone numbers. That being said, the native blocking feature on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 isn't the prettiest or the smartest, with its n ...more
Some of my favorites hacks are the ones that speed up the process of accessing my favorite and most-used apps. So, in this softModder guide, I'll be showing you a super fast way to open those apps straight from your Samsung Galaxy Note 3's lock screen. In order to bypass the ...more
Efficiency is one integral attribute that I need from my Android device. I want to be able to multitask like a maniac and do things on the fly. While multitasking itself is nothing new, actually being able to watch Netflix while scrolling through IMDB at the same damn time was ...more
Just because you have a Mac doesn't mean you can't root your Nexus 7 tablet. In fact, rooting Android 4.4 KitKat on both the 2013 and original 2012 N7 models is easy, if not easier than rooting it using a Windows PC. After rooting, you can enjoy many of tomorrow's features to ...more
Probably the most favorite custom ROM among softModders is CyanogenMod, a theme-friendly take on stock Android that not only makes it easier to customize your device, but also increases performance using a variety of system tweaks and enhancements. If you're bogged down by To ...more
The new Moto X may not have a lot going for it when it comes to hardware, but there are some pretty cool software features that makes it a tempting device. One of these cool features is its Active Display notifications that appear on the lock screen. This feature gives immedi ...more
The new Moto X is still a couple of weeks from being released here in the United States, but that doesn't mean we can't play around with a few of its cool features. I've already shown how to get Active Display-like notifications on the GS4's lock screen, and Osas recently cov ...more
No matter what device you have, Android lag will get you down. It's our little green robot's only major downside, and you've probably noticed it quite a bit on your Nexus 7 tablet. Apps open slowly, actions stutter or pause, and loading files takes forever. There are ways to ...more
In a previous softModder tutorial, we installed CyanogenMod on our HTC Ones to approximate the look and feel of the Google Edition HTC One. Unfortunately, this rendered Beats and HTC's ImageChip (among other things) useless. This is no longer an issue, though, thanks to Andro ...more
Thanks to its dedicated ImageChip, the HTC One has one of the best cameras out of all the smartphones currently on the market. Their branded UltraPixel Camera can take full resolution photos while shooting video, has superior auto-focusing, and provides great overall quality f ...more
Apple is set to release its latest operating system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch this fall, and if you haven't noticed yet from our iOS 7 softModder guides, it's going to be pretty slick. Gone are the boring old icons that have remained basically unchanged since the very ...more
Theming and modding are a big part of the softModder community, but there are endless ways to customize our Android devices. Which ones should you download? Which ones should you avoid? It's extremely frustrating to find them all—and pick and choose. Now, thanks to developers ...more
The very first text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992 by Neil Papworth, an engineer for Vodafone, and it simply said "Merry Christmas." He may have jumped the gun on the whole Christmas thing, but you trying coming up with the first text message in history! Today, there ...more
What's the most installed Android app in the world? Facebook? Gmail? Maps? While those all have well over 100 million installs, the one that takes the cake—and always will—is Google Play. I’ve been an Android user ever since the G1, when Android was unpolished, buggy, and the ...more
In a previous how-to, I showed how to send and receive text messages by wirelessly syncing them from your phone to your Nexus 7 tablet. Some eagle-eyed users may have notice that the Nexus 7 with 3G actually has a SIM card slot. Now, syncing messages over to your tablet may b ...more
Apple's iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 have been out since September, but more features are coming, and you can test them after installing a beta build. Chief among them is Apple Intelligence, which debuted on iOS and iPadOS 18.1. But now you can test even newer Apple Intelligence featu ...more
Apple might not be finished with iOS 17. While the iOS 18 update was already released, there may still be things for Apple to fine-tune on your iPhone. This brings us to iOS 17.8. Will it happen? And will there be a beta? Since the feature-packed public release of iOS 17, we' ...more
Apple's iOS 16.3 update for iPhone had impressive new features, but iOS 16.4 might impress you even more. The latest iPhone update was released on Monday, March 27 — a day earlier than Apple Music Classical, Apple's new classical music streaming service — has at least 30 more ...more
Apple's new iOS 14.5 will be coming out very soon, and that's even more evident now with the release of the iOS 14.5 Release Candidate (RC) on Tuesday, April 20. Anyone can install this update and get all of the same features iOS 14.5 will give everyone for iPhone; only you'll ...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
Gmail uses TLS, or Transport Layer Security, by default for all email communications, so all of your emails will use the standard encryption as long as the recipients also support TLS. But there's a way to add even more security to your Gmail emails, and you can use your iPhon ...more
With all of the hype around the new iPhone 13 series and new iPad and iPad mini unveiled this week, it would be easy to overlook a very critical update for the device you already have in your pocket. Apple just released iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8. While the company is proud of ...more
Apple released the first beta for iOS 14.7 today, Wednesday, May 19. The update (build number 18G5023c) comes two days after Apple seeded testers the RC (release candidate) for iOS 14.6. The new update adds the ability to set timers for HomePod on your iPhone via the Home app. ...more
Apple released iOS 14.3 public beta 3 today, Wednesday, Dec. 2. The update comes three hours after Apple released 14.3 developer beta 3, and 15 days after Apple released iOS 14.3 beta 2 for developers and public beta testers. The latter introduced a change that bypasses the Sh ...more
Your phone tracks your every move to some extent, and I'm not just talking about Google services. Smartphone manufacturers use telemetry services that run in the background to track how you use the device, mostly for ads or to improve their future products. You don't usually h ...more
Samsung uses their own SamsungOne font for their Galaxy lineup. But if you're coming from an iPhone or another Android device, you might not love it. With the help of this mod, however, you're sure to find a font that's right for you. Samsung's Galaxy Store has fonts that you ...more
While the iPhone world's attention might be fixated on Apple's upcoming iOS 14 and all of its new features, it's still in beta. What's not in beta anymore? Apple's latest iOS 13 update — iOS 13.6 — which dropped on July 15. The new firmware may just be Apple's final iOS 13 po ...more
Compromised uTorrent clients can be abused to download a malicious torrent file. The malicious file is designed to embed a persistent backdoor and execute when Windows 10 reboots, granting the attacker remote access to the operating system at will. Torrent clients like uTorre ...more