In these times of social distancing, video calling is becoming the technological substitute for face-to-face connections. For those who carry an iPhone, the art of video calling defaults to FaceTime, the native app on iOS that is exclusive to Apple devices. But what do you do ...more
There are a lot of holiday tech deals starting to trickle out as Black Friday approaches. We've already rounded up some of the best deals for Android, iPhones, and headphones, but Google just dropped a big announcement for users of their Project Fi MVNO service. Now through De ...more
If you're sick of playing chess in Facebook Messenger, there's another little-known game you can play with your friends directly in the app—basketball. This hidden game was originally added to Messenger before March Madness 2016, and still works perfectly to this day. Just ma ...more
With over a billion monthly active users, it seems that Facebook is nowhere close to being dethroned as the most popular social media service in the world (sorry, Ello). While their stats may be impressive, it doesn't mean that Facebook is as good as it can be. Complaints abo ...more
When it comes to barbecues, vegetarians get the short end of the stick. While you're brushing fire-roasted ribs with your favorite mouthwatering barbecue sauce, we're crossing our fingers that there's some meat-free side dishes hiding away somewhere. Don't get me wrong, we ar ...more
Apple's line of iPhones, iPads, and iPods are of some of the most advanced devices available on the market. Usually, the biggest complaint is that they are not customizable, but they can be if you exploit a few bugs in the system. Here lie the instructions that turn an iOS 7 ...more
On June 11, 2016, an Arizona woman died from what appeared to be several infections, including pneumonia. She likely caught at least one of these from her dog. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were involved in the investigation into events leading up to he ...more
Facebook will let you do pretty much anything via a text message, but unless you still have a flip phone, it's more of a novelty than actually useful. However, one thing that would be useful for smartphones is being able to update your status via a phone call, particularly wh ...more
Brand loyalty is one of the main factors behind our decision to choose a particular mobile device, but it doesn't have to be the entire equation. Educated consumers know that certain devices simply fit their budget and usage better than others, which means you can't always let ...more
It seems like everyone is getting in shape these days (or at least trying to improve their fitness), and as a result, there's an endless supply of fitness trackers and smartwatches hitting the market. This is all very wonderful, unless of course, you're broke and can barely af ...more
Most smartphone games are clichéd and mundane, but every now and then a mobile game will appear with a new concept or idea that sets it apart from all the rest. While other developers continue to regurgitate the same old "winning" formulas, developer Sebastian Goszyla is chang ...more
It's time to step up your selfie game, especially if all of your selfies tend to have the same vapid look and feel. There are plenty of techniques for better selfie-taking, and I've already shown you a few iPhone tricks, like making yourself look thinner and using hand gesture ...more
With recent security breaches in the news, there is no better time than the present to make sure you know exactly what's happening on your device. Most of us trust our friends, but sometimes you'll lend out your phone and get it back with some apps newly opened, meaning that ...more
The possibility of severe tickborne illness is increasing as an aggressive tick from the American southeast moves up the Atlantic Coast. The primary carrier of Lyme disease is the well-known blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. Found throughout the northeastern and upper Midw ...more
There are many impressive features on a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but just like any other smartphone on the market, the most used one is the camera. How many times did you take a picture today? Or admire all the selfies in your gallery? Or upload a video to Instagram, Vine, or Sn ...more
You can lock practically any app on your iPhone or iPad behind biometric or passcode protection. And we're not talking about using any funky workarounds, either. There's now an official Apple way to protect sensitive apps and their data. It even safeguards your personal inform ...more
April Fool's Day, aka National Screw with Your Friends Day, is finally here. You can always pull a conventional prank, like strategically placing a whoopee cushion on your mom's chair, but that joke has been exhausted generations before smartphones were around. We live in a d ...more
In late-2017, Snapchat debuted Lens Studio, a way for anyone to create their own augmented reality "world lenses" that can be shared to anyone with a Snapchat account. If you don't mind spending money, you can even create custom face lenses and basic overlay filters for specia ...more
Every dollar that comes your way is a blessing, especially when it comes to trading in the volatile world of bitcoins. Thankfully, Coinbase rewards you for sending much valued customers their way, giving you more money to feed your cryptocurrency trading needs. Coinbase has a ...more
Facebook essentially strong-armed us all into installing their standalone Messenger app for mobile devices, but the recent initiative that allows third-party development on the platform definitely makes it worth your time. We've been having a lot of fun with all the new Messe ...more
There's no reason to wait for Halloween to play with dry ice. It definitely creates a creepy fog-like effect when you add a little water to it, but there are some other really cool things you can do wit dry ice. Here are just 5 non-Halloween ways to use dry ice for tricks or p ...more
While there aren't as many ways to customize your iPhone like there is on Android, there are still a lot of apps out there that can help streamline and enhance your experience beyond Apple's own default options — and we've hand-picked over 100 essentials. No matter if you've ...more
It looks like Apple is finally going to do something to address all of the complaints about their unremovable stock apps clogging up people's home screens. While bloatware is a bigger problem on Android where you have to deal with apps from Google and carriers, an iPhone can s ...more
It looks like Facebook is adding a "Live" tab to the navigation bar for its Android app, and the feature has already been turned on for at least one user. A screenshot uploaded by Niko Steele shows the new feature, which lets you search for and watch live video directly on the ...more
Facebook Home was just released in the Google Play Store a couple days ago, and for those of you eagerly waiting to get it on your Nexus 7, you'll unfortunately be stuck with this message: The new Facebook Home launcher app is blocked on the Nexus 7, because Facebook only rele ...more
Depending on your carrier and the texting app that you use, sending long SMS messages from an Android phone often results in the recipient being hit with a barrage of fragmented, out of order texts. Even if the messages arrive in order, the glorious, sprawling passage that yo ...more
With the recent release of iOS 7 there is a world of easter eggs to discover within the new operating system. iOS' included calendar app has never been the most exciting or even the most user friendly. While this (truly) hidden feature does not solve all the calendar app prob ...more
So you've learned all of the dance moves to Gangnam Style and made your very own papercraft version of PSY that dances whenever you want him to. Now it's time to take your obsession a step further—by making yourself the star of the Gangnam Style music video. JibJab, the custom ...more
Friends and family receiving new Portal devices for Christmas will have some extra stocking stuffers in the form of new AR features. On Tuesday, Facebook unleashed a cornucopia of new features and functionality for the video calling device, including new AR content for the St ...more
It's a given that if you're driving, you or someone you know has Waze as a go-to on their smartphone. The Google-owned crowdsourced navigation app is one of the best for avoiding traffic, roadblocks, and even cops. But a new academic study and report from Fusion suggest that ...more
Unless you have a newer iPhone 6S or 6S Plus, the front-facing "FaceTime" camera on your iPhone has a pretty weak, low-res sensor, which means unflattering selfies. You could use the rear "iSight" camera to take a high-res selfie, but framing your mug properly and hitting the ...more
While it's currently impossible to go back in time, there is something wonderful about being able to undo the stupid stuff that you just did. While this is only really possible in the digital world, it does save you from real-life repercussions. If you've ever sent an email to ...more
Tony Parisi, the global head of VR/AR at Unity Technologies, has been passionately working with virtual and immersive spaces for a long time. And while the internet world we live in now is very different than when Parisi was co-authoring VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language ...more
For its latest augmented reality trick, Snapchat has brought the world an AR Lens that has become a bit of a viral hit on Twitter as users turn themselves and their favorite movie stars into characters out of a Pixar movie. According to a Snap spokesperson, more than 215 mill ...more
Uber is one of the best ways to get around, but nobody said it was cheap. What's even more infuriating is when you have a bad experience with a ride. Sure, you can get a refund, but then you need to figure out where to enter in the promo code for the coupon that Uber sends you ...more
Facebook has always been notoriously difficult to customize. Personally, I think this is an improvement over MySpace's totally open platform (some people should not use code), but users should still have the option to change a few things if they want. While you'll never be abl ...more
Facebook Messenger has now incorporated a live location sharing feature, one week after Google Maps revealed its own real-time location tool. On Monday, the social media giant announced the new feature, which will allow users to share their live whereabouts with friends at the ...more
In February, the popular Facebook-owned WhatsApp Messenger service jumped on the "stories" bandwagon and replaced their in-app, text-based "About Me" status (you know, those lovely little messages where you can say "Sleeping" or "Not Sleeping" under the tiny nub of your profil ...more
In a world full of augmented reality camera effects apps, one app is going in a more social direction. On Tuesday, a rebooted version of Octi (which first debuted in 2018) dropped on the Apple App Store. Now, instead of merely adding AR effects to photos and videos, the app u ...more
Say you're sending a snap to a friend at a restaurant, bar, store, what have you, but you're curious about the song that's playing in the background. You could leave the app to Shazam it, or you could ask screen-hogging Siri or Google Assistant what the track is, but why not j ...more
Equifax reported on Sept. 7 that it discovered a breach on July 29 which affects roughly half of Americans, many of whom don't realize they have dealings with the company. Hackers got away with social security numbers, addresses, and driver's license numbers, foreshadowing a " ...more
With the theatrical premiere of Deadpool 2 less than two weeks away, the hype train for the sequel to 2016's surprise R-rated hit is gaining steam, and augmented reality is on board for the ride. The marketing superheroes behind the movie have teamed up with 7-Eleven, which i ...more
Facebook's Messenger apps for Android and iOS make it easy to navigate between conversations, helps you keep in touch with your friends or heckle your enemies, and even lets you tag yourself or others in the conversation with hilarious nicknames to keep things interesting. Bu ...more
Apple's Animoji on the iPhone X might allow you to use your own facial movements to control your favorite emoji, but Samsung is looking to make you the focus of the interactive icon with the introduction of AR Emoji. Instead of a dragon or an alien, Samsung wants your unique l ...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
If you love sitting poolside with a slice of watermelon, then I've got a real treat for you. Picture yourself cooling off with a slice of juicy watermelon topped with fresh ingredients like soft cheeses, herbs, and fresh summer fruits. Watermelon pizza is a wondrous thing—a c ...more
It won't come as a surprise to hear that your cell phone, tablet, and laptop are loaded with bacteria and other organic material. While most of these bacteria are harmless, there are good reasons to reduce the capability of your mobile devices to infect you—or other people. H ...more
Instead of wasting time asking where your friends and family are at a given moment, then having them waste time by describing their location, there are several Android apps you can use that will automate this whole process. To top it off, it doesn't have to be about invading p ...more
We've all been there... admit it. You sent a couple messages, but your friend had the "Read Receipts" option turned off in WhatsApp, so after a few minutes, you start wondering if they're away from their phone right now or just flat-out ignoring you. Well, there's a way to tr ...more
The North remembers...that smartglasses are the future! Game of Thrones jokes aside, the smartglasses startup opened its doors, and we visited its Brooklyn store to get our hands the consumer-focused Focals smartglasses. While North is just getting off the ground, Microsoft a ...more
Are you trigger happy with a specific emoji with a particular friend? Do you like flinging emoji poo at a buddy who keeps acting sh*tty? We have good news. In the Facebook Lite Chat app, you can now set a specific quick access emoji for easy emoji spamming. When talking to fr ...more
There's only one day that can top the aftermath of Easter and its copious amounts of leftover candy, and that is November — the day after Halloween. As you come down from your sugar rush and realize you now own more chocolate than your stomach can physically hold in one sittin ...more
Can't stand seeing your Facebook news feed full of peoples' good news and awesome accomplishments? Those oversharing friends are, in a sense, hampering their great news simply by sharing it. If you hold back and keep your accomplishments from friends, you might find even more ...more
Just in time for the release of Pixar's highly anticipated sequel, AR Emoji based on characters from The Incredibles 2 have arrived for Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. Originally announced at the launch of Samsung's latest flagship devices, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash ...more
Facebook announced at its F8 Developer's Conference on April 12th that, in addition to the VR-ready Oculus Rift we have today, it plans to bring Augmented Reality (AR) into the fold of their social machine. The company is looking to dominate the 'new' reality market, no doubt ...more
Less than four months after Snapchat introduced its Snappables platform, Facebook has met the challenge with its own AR gaming feature that surpasses the originator. Rolling out to users on the Messenger app for iOS and Android starting Wednesday, multiplayer video chat AR ga ...more
Facebook's status update box has received many new features over the years. You can go live, sell something, and even create a poll. But since all this was added, the status update box has been relatively stagnant. That's finally changing again with Facebook's newest addition: ...more
Since its purchase by Microsoft in 2014, Minecraft has regularly been pushed to new platforms such as Windows 10, Wii U, and Fire TV. In that spirit, Microsoft-owned Mojang has been developing virtual- and augmented-reality versions of the blocky sandbox game. Recently, Oculu ...more
All across the web, you'll find guides on setting up various apps and mods for your Android device—but while these are certainly useful, they all seem to be working under the assumption that the reader has a certain level of knowledge about Android. For someone that's just get ...more
For the average consumer, augmented reality is a fun way of dressing up photos and videos for social media. However, AR is also gaining momentum as a medium for storytelling, particularly in sharing powerful messages. In light of the protests stemming from the death of George ...more