One major iOS 11 improvement that Apple skimped out on during its WWDC presentation was the redesigned storage management system, which makes it easy to view storage consumption in greater detail on your iPhone — and even easier to free up storage space with surgical precision ...more
The Galaxy S8's AMOLED display is prone to screen burn-in, particularly with the navigation and status bars. But hiding these bars would make it hard to navigate your phone — that's where Pie Controls come into play. By enabling full-time Immersive Mode, you can hide the on-s ...more
It might be time to move those Instagram photos to another service. It seems that Instagram has never heard of the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." In a very big WTF moment, the extremely popular photo sharing and editing app decided that it has the right to sell its ...more
When it comes to security, Android generally takes an all-or-nothing approach—once someone has your PIN, they're free to do just about anything, up to and including wiping your device. This is why you have to be extra careful to ensure that neither strangers nor friends are lo ...more
The beauty of Android is that nearly everything can be customized. But sometimes, we get so caught up in tweaking functionality and other minutiae that one of the most important interfaces gets neglected—the home screen wallpaper. Well, developer Gianluca Spadazzi has come up ...more
If you took your favorite search engine, gave it a witty personality, and bundled it together with a messenger-style interface, you'd have the new Google Assistant. It's great for getting fast answers—even on your follow-up questions—but its flair for fun might just be the sta ...more
With as much creativity and freedom that we have on Android, it feels a little underwhelming that the only gesture we can perform on the status bar is a downward swipe to expose the notification tray or quick settings. Maybe this is a field for Android to expand on in the futu ...more
Front and center for iOS 12 this year is Group FaceTime, which allows users to chat with up to 31 additional people at once. While that ambitious feature is sadly delayed, don't cast away FaceTime just yet — you can always pick up your iPhone and start a call with any single c ...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
Road trips almost always include unforeseen pit stops, which can take you way off track from your destination and end up causing massive delays. But if you rely on Waze for navigation, however, this issue is totally covered. The popular driving app has a nifty feature that le ...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
The new Android 9.0 Pie update is bringing a feature that stock Android has been lacking — screenshot editing. OEM skins like Samsung's TouchWiz have had this for years, and Apple added it to iOS just recently. But now that it's in stock Android, it'll be included with every p ...more
In order to save money, a few compromises had to be made when switching to Google Fi on an iPhone. No more Wi-Fi calling, no automatic network-switching, no hotspots outside the US, and no more visual voicemail. I've found that last one particularly frustrating — but not anymo ...more
Hashtags are one of the most important marketing tools available to you on Instagram. Although, it's hard to know which hashtags are working for you or not. You may think #fun is a good one to use but is it really? Okay, yeah, it's a popular one. But that doesn't mean it's the ...more
There's one thing that I've always liked about iPhones, and that's their centered digital clock in the status bar at the top of the screen. On Android, it's always on the right side by default, and there's no easy setting that lets you just change it to the center position. Bu ...more
It's happened to the best of us—a drunk dial or text; a humiliating Tweet or incriminating photo uploaded to Facebook. Spirits are high, gestures are fearless… If only we could take it all back once the cold, sober morning light creeps through the blinds. Familiar scenario? N ...more
If not the future of computing in general, augmented, virtual, and mixed reality certainly will change the world of gaming. If you want to try your hand at shaping this evolved medium, the Unite Europe conference posted a talk that explains the first things you need to learn t ...more
Talking Tom has long been mesmerizing children of all ages with his ability to repeat words and phrases and encourage touch interactions. Now, the lovable cat and his band of cuddly friends have ventured into the endless runner genre as heroes bent on saving Angela and their c ...more
Virtual and mixed reality experiences feel immersive because they take over your senses in various ways, but they still lack tactile feedback. Haptic gloves can change that, and you can make a pair yourself. Video: . YouTuber PlayingAroundWithVR figured out a reasonably simple ...more
One of the biggest gripes I initially had with the LG G3 was the lack of options for the Shortcut keys, which are the volume keys that allow you to launch the camera or the QuickMemo+ app directly from the lock screen. I never use QuickMemo+, so having it as a shortcut was a c ...more
Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles on which to play classical music? As someone who has studied music extensively, I've seen many interpretations of famous pieces of music played on glass bottles, but hearing these four interpretations of famous pieces (not all classic ...more
Your iPhone's lock screen is about to get a major upgrade in iOS 10, as shown off by Apple at WWDC '16, and it will make dealing with notifications and apps a breeze. The new lock screen has been fully redesigned to give users better and faster interaction with the apps they n ...more
Google Photos just got a killer new feature that everyone should know about. Instead of one endless stream of every picture you've ever uploaded, there's now an "Archive" section where you can stash select shots. What this means is you can now remove pictures from your primar ...more
If you have any group chats going, you're surely familiar with this scenario: One person sends a picture, then, within 30 seconds or so, all other participants chime in with one-word responses like "Cute," or "Awesome." It's a social nicety, so you have to expect this behavior ...more
Chrome's text selection interface is pretty nice, but it could definitely use some improvements. For instance, when you're in Incognito Mode, you can't perform a web search for words you've highlighted. And when you're typing out a forum post or using any text input field, for ...more
IFTTT is the king of simple automation apps. With minimal setup, you can easily add applets that companies and users create. You can also create your own applets to suit your needs. Sometimes, though, you need to trigger an action on your own. For times like these, adding a wi ...more
The official release iOS 11.2 appears to be right around the corner. Apple seeded the sixth beta of iOS 11.2 to both developers and public testers on Friday, Dec. 1, just three days after beta 5. As with the fourth and fifth versions of the beta, no major changes are found her ...more
With Apple Pay Cash, you can easily and securely pay your contacts directly in your iPhone's Messages app. While you can always use the normal method of paying someone with Apple Pay Cash, there's actually a faster way, as long as your contact asks you for money in an iMessage ...more
For the most part, when you take a screenshot, it's because you intend on sharing it with someone. And, of course, we all take pride in our smartphones, so we want to show them off as much as possible. But the downside here is that regular screenshots are pretty boring, so the ...more
Assassin's Creed Rebellion is a welcome addition to the popular gaming franchise, garnering great reviews so far. Unfortunately, the game has been stuck in soft-launch limbo for almost a year, with no firm release date in sight. With a little legwork, however, you can try the ...more
The Xposed Framework has an official repository for downloading modules which can be easily accessed by searching the Download section in your Xposed Installer app. But not every module is available on the Xposed repo — in fact, many unique and interesting modules are only hos ...more
With all of the Pixel 2 excitement the past few weeks, many Samsung fans are feeling left out on that new software hotness. If you're anxiously awaiting the Android Oreo update on your Galaxy S8 or S8+, that wait may come to an end this week. Users over on Reddit decompiled th ...more
Apple caught a lot of flak for removing the headphone jack in their iPhone 7 models, but they definitely got the last laugh when preorders with a delivery date of September 16 sold out within minutes. Headphone jack or not, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are still highly desirable pr ...more
It seems like a new, dangerous Android exploit is uncovered every month or two. The latest headliners are NightMonkey and Chronos from the list of CIA hacks reported by Wikileaks, which have been billed as gaping security holes in the world's biggest mobile operating system. ...more
Dynasty Warriors has finally been unleashed on the world of mobile gaming. The latest installment in the popular series is called Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, and it sends you rampaging through armies using a variety of devastating attacks, all while collecting and upgrading o ...more
For some strange reason, not all variants of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have a menu option for changing the backlight timeout for their capacitive keys. According to user reports, only the AT&T variant of these phones has such an option. But thanks to an app from devel ...more
If you're ever in a major accident or have a bout with acute onset health problems, first responders will need to know as much information about you in order to provide proper care. For this reason, paramedics and firemen have been trained to search a subject's cell phone to f ...more
Autonomous vehicles, aka self-driving cars, are not yet available to the public (at least not ones SAE Level 3 and higher). However, this doesn't make the jobs any less in demand. In fact, if you meet the right qualifications, you could make a lot of money in this industry. A ...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
For years, we've had to download third-party apps if we wanted to browse or manage the files stored on our Android devices, but Google has finally included a bare-bones file explorer in Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Only thing is, it's not easy to find—but I'll show you how to acce ...more
Google's got quite a few tricks up its sleeve with their Pixel and Pixel XL flagships, including functionality we've never seen before on Android. One awesome feature is called "App Shortcuts," and the basic premise is strikingly similar to Apple's 3D Touch—just long-press an ...more
One thing you have to love about Google is their sense of humor. From their annual April Fool's Day pranks to the hidden Flappy Bird mini-game in Android to tons of hidden commands in Hangouts, you can just tell that those smart guys in Mountain View still like to have a littl ...more
Have a few old junk SCRABBLE boards, but don't want to throw them away? Recycle them! If you have enough SCRABBLE tiles, you can create one hell of a cool tabletop. With enough boards, you can make a retro end table. The possibilities are endless. Keep up with Scrabble World: ...more
Ever since the Google Play Store removed its "Designed for tablets" section, it's been a lot harder to find good, tablet-optimized Android apps. Not that it was all that great to begin with considering that they used to list apps like Facebook and Twitter, which only have over ...more
Modern warfare takes on a more literal translation with the advent of new augmented reality displays revealed recently by the US Army to improve soldiers' situational awareness on the battlefield. A new helmet-mounted displays, named Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR), integrat ...more
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If a person makes calls but doesn't have a Facebook account, are they even really a person? Yes, of course they are, but it just makes life easier when you're part of the world's biggest social ...more
Okay, yes, 2018 has only just begun — but it's not our fault that Sony dropped some of the ugliest new phones on us since ... their last ugly phone in 2017. According to Evan Blass (@evleaks on Twitter), Sony will be "refreshing" their low- to mid-range phones (Xperia XA1, XA ...more
Despite its battery issues, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is one impressive piece of machinery. Packed to the brim with loads of RAM, a top-notch GPU, and one of the best processors on the market, this thing should be able to zip through any task you throw at it with lightning-fast ...more
The holidays are here and all of us here at Phone Snap hope you're spending them under a nice warm roof with some yummy food and great company! For this week's Phone Snap challenge, we want you to utilize your cell phone to capture some holiday spirit. Whether it be the gifts ...more
The VLC Player app for Android has a really nice feature that allows you to adjust brightness and volume by sliding your finger up or down on the left or right side of your screen, respectively. It helps keep you immersed in the video while you're in full screen mode, since yo ...more
One gem that Apple added with iOS 12 is the perfect companion for the dictionary that's already available with the "Look Up" tool. I say gem because it's taken a backseat to all of the other new iOS 12 features, but it shouldn't, because a thesaurus is like the phloem to a dic ...more
A devastating tragedy occurred in Japan on Friday when a monstrous 8.9-magnitude quake hit, causing a 10 meter (33 foot) tsunami to engulf the northeastern coast of the country. There are reports of over 1,000 people who have lost their lives, tens of thousands evacuated, and ...more
Apple released iOS 11.3 beta on Jan. 24 and the public stable release on March 29, and it didn't take us long to find plenty of cool new stuff. Aside from new Animoji, Health Records, and some upcoming changes related to the recent battery fiasco, most of the new features are ...more
The augmented reality feature in Pokémon GO is one of the key components that draw people in to the popular Android and iPhone game. Indeed, there's nothing quite like the sight of a Pokémon standing around in an otherwise uninteresting parking lot. But this novelty effect us ...more
Social Profile Change the privacy settings on your social profile (Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, etc.) so that the following information can't be found by a random person who you didn't accept you as a friend: Birthdate E-mail address Hometown Pictures A hacker ca ...more
Jurassic Park makes a great (and sometimes mediocre) action movie, but hopefully isn't the sort of thing we're dumb enough to actually make. Fortunately, on the HoloLens, you can now walk with the dinosaurs with no risk to your life and limbs. Video: . Land of Dinosaurs aims t ...more
Google seems to be growing tired of the way links appear in its Search results page, because they're currently experimenting with a color change (that's already causing lots of controversy). Google changed the color of the links to show up in black instead of the blue that ev ...more
Snapchat is rolling out some awesome new features in their update today. The major update comes just two weeks after the company's premiere of backdrop, snap shopping, and voice clip features. They rolled out two new features this time, Multi-Snaps and the Tint Brush. The fir ...more
The company behind Japan's beloved Gozilla, Japan's Toho Studios, has for years tried to give fans the sense of what a giant, nuclear-powered lizard invading Tokyo might feel like. Until now, those attempts have been limited to the movie theater, but now, with the help of the ...more
Internet memes are simply everywhere these days. While they've been popular since the '90s, memes, as we know them now, are much different these days. You used to need a computer to make viral images that spread from one random user to the next, but thanks to modern technology ...more