One of the best things about iOS 7 is the Control Center, which gives you quick access from anywhere on your iPhone to turning on or off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more. It also makes it very easy to adjust the brightness of your display, and gives app shortcuts for ...more
Safari's private browsing mode on your iPhone won't sync to other Apple devices or remember your search history, AutoFill data, or visited webpages. Still, it doesn't stop anyone who accesses your iPhone from opening your private tabs. If you don't want anyone snooping through ...more
Apple's stock keyboard for iPhone has gone through many changes over the years. Some have been significant, and others more subtle. Overall, most of these updates have been fairly obvious, so you're probably already using them — but there are more than a few interesting featur ...more
With Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.2, your iPhone potentially becomes the only form of payment you need. Whether you're sending money to a friend via iMessage or paying for your groceries, you can use Apple Pay Cash to complete those transactions. It makes sense, then, that Apple w ...more
The most significant customization aspect of the iPhone is most definitely the home screen. Before iOS 14, Apple only threw in a feature here and there to appease those who like a more personal touch on the most visible part of the operating system. Now, there are great custom ...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
Unruly customers. Crazy exes. Horrible bosses. When you need proof of insanity or just want it for your records, recording a phone call is a must. Problem is, it's not the easiest thing to do on an iPhone — but it's completely possible. Even though there are plenty of legit r ...more
Maps is great for getting turn-by-turn directions in unfamiliar territory, but how many times does your favorite song have to be rudely interrupted by that navigation voice telling you to turn left or right? Yes, you need those spoken directions to get to where you're going, b ...more
Good battery life is one of the most important things any phone or tablet should have, but iOS 7 isn't always that great at handling power consumption. That leads to tunnel vision on the status bar's battery meter. After all, you don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowh ...more
The Pixel 4 and 4 XL are the first Android phones released in the US to support secure facial recognition. You no longer have to hate on your Apple's friends because you now have "Face ID" as well. So I assume you want to set it up right away — here's how. The new facial reco ...more
With PUBG and Fortnite dominating the gaming scene, other companies are making royale-themed games to get in on the trend. Futureplay is no different, as they've soft launched Battlelands Royale in Finland, Poland and Ukraine to iron out bugs before its worldwide debut. If you ...more
The iPhone 5S may be the most popular Apple phone to date, but I'm still rocking my iPhone 4. No disrespect to the 5S, but I'm not upgrading until I can unlock with a retina scan or get Siri to sound like Scarlett Johansson. However, I wouldn't mind making my aging iPhone loo ...more
In addition to the standard "Raise to Wake" option that's been around since iOS 10, the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR have a unique capability that lets you "Tap to Wake" the screen. But these features can get annoying real fast when your screen keeps turning on accidentally, w ...more
We recently ran into a serious iPhone 6 issue here in the Gadget Hacks office, where the device was stuck in an infinite bootloop with intermittent red and blue screens (of death?) and an unresponsive touchscreen and buttons. From what we can tell, we weren't alone, though som ...more
Apple's first big iOS 17 point update for iPhone just came out, and it includes some of the features initially planned for the iOS 17.0 release last September. But there's much more to iOS 17.1 than that — exciting new features and changes are hiding within Books, Music, Stand ...more
Once you jailbreak, there are hundreds of options available for you to fully customize your boring stock iPhone into something more efficient and fun. We've already shown you a bunch, like how to beautify app icons and change battery icons, but now it's time for a badge alert ...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
It's almost impossible to use Apple News at night without having to mess with the white point and zoom filters. That might sound a bit dramatic, but it's really not when you consider that iOS 13 has a perfectly good Dark Mode that should work for News. So why are we stuck read ...more
It feels like just yesterday Apple unveiled iOS 13 to the world, introducing game-changing features like system-wide dark mode and enhanced editing tools in Photos. But WWDC 2020 is rapidly approaching, which means iOS 14 is as well. As it turns out, we don't need to wait for ...more
When you look at your status bar on your iPhone, you'll almost always see the battery icon, which gives you an estimate of how much battery life you have left before you need to charge the device. What you won't always see is the exact battery percentage, but there are multipl ...more
Google's next-gen cellular carrier, Google Fi, which replaces Project Fi, is making waves across the mobile industry. With super-cheap plans starting at only $20 and the ability to connect to millions of Wi-Fi hotspots across the globe, it's tempting many users to make the swi ...more
It's no secret that you can protect notes on your iPhone with a password, but one thing that most people don't know is that you can actually set unique passwords for each note instead of a blanket password for all of them. It's not obvious at all in the Notes app, but it's eas ...more
The iPhone X has a new unlocking mechanism called Face ID, which replaces the old Touch ID system since the phone no longer has a fingerprint sensor. The way it works is simple — you just look at the phone, it recognizes your face, then the system unlocks — so Apple deserves t ...more
Apple's iOS 13 has been available for beta testing since June, and the stable release pushed out to everyone on Thursday, Sept. 19. To help you make the most out of iOS 13 for iPhone, we've rounded up everything you'll want to know, whether a colossal feature, small settings c ...more
If you've ever been on the receiving end of a threatening phone call, you'll immediately know the value in being able to record phone conversations on your iPhone. Beyond that extreme example, however, recording calls is still an extremely useful feature to have for important ...more
When I compare my iPhone 4S to my friend's iPhone 5, I notice that his elongated screen gives him an extra row of applications. Am I jealous? Yes, a little. Unfortunately, we can't alter the physical form of our device, but we can tweak our icon layout to add more apps snugly ...more
Live Photos is an interesting new feature introduced by Apple on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models that captures the moments immediately before and after you snap a picture in the Camera app, resulting in a GIF-like animation. But unlike a conventional GIF file, a Live Photo d ...more
Apple has acknowledged a problem with the sleep/wake key, better known as the power button, on a certain number of iPhone 5's manufactured through March 2013. As a result, the company has announced the iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program, which will replace the powe ...more
A human rights activist from the United Arab Emirates recently stumbled upon three gaping security loopholes in iOS that work by enticing you to tap a link sent to your iPhone. Ahmed Mansoor received a text message from an unknown number roughly two weeks ago, but instead of f ...more
While your iPhone may have a built-in time-lapse feature, it's nowhere near as smooth as Instagram's newish Hyperlapse app, and it doesn't give you any speed control like the latter does. If you haven't tested out Hyperlapse yet, check out the short promo video to see just how ...more
The sovereignty that's granted when we jailbreak our iOS 7 devices can only be described with one word—liberating. With this freedom comes countless themes and apps that let us manipulate our devices to really own them and turn them into something that is truly ours. Activato ...more
Private Browsing mode finally lives up to its name in Apple's huge Safari 17 update for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. So whether you search for things you don't want anybody to know about or want to ensure websites and trackers aren't eavesdropping on your activity, you'll want to up ...more
When using face unlock on the Pixel 4, your lock screen notifications are bypassed by default to help you unlock your phone instantaneously. This is different than Face ID on the iPhone, which shows the lock screen until you swipe up, but only shows notifications when you've b ...more
Starting in iOS 11, Apple introduced a QR code scanner for iPhone that's baked right into the Camera app, reducing the need for a third-party scanner. However, not everyone knew it existed, so a lot of users were still using third-party QR code scanners. In iOS 12 and later, A ...more
UPDATE (February 26, 2014) Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1123 with a 295-114 vote decision. The ruling repeals the 2012 Library of Congress (LOC) decision that limited the ability to legally "unlock" your smartphone (see below). This decision reins ...more
Yes, screen savers are fun to look at for a few seconds, but those animations actually used to serve a purpose beyond simple entertainment. In older CRT and plasma monitors, and even newer OLED ones, leaving a static image on the screen for an extended period of time could cr ...more
Right on the heels of the iOS 11.4.1 beta 3 release, Apple pushed out iOS 12 beta 2 to registered developers on Tuesday, June 19. Public beta testers received the same version, labeled as iOS 12 public beta 1, six days later on Monday, June 25. Last year, the iOS 11 public bet ...more
A massive leak appeared the web today, and it's got some huge security implications for every iPhone on the market. On the plus side, it also has some potential for enabling deep-level modifications and jailbreak tweaks. GitHub user ZioShiba posted the iBoot source code for i ...more
There's only one thing keeping hackers, thieves, law enforcement agencies, and maybe even the people you thought you could trust from breaking into your iPhone should they ever get possession of the device. Their odds of bypassing that thing are pretty good, but there's an eas ...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
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
The iPhone's notification system has drastically improved over the years, but it could still use some work. The notifications, while useful, are all monochrome, making it hard to distinguish which app posted each alert, and that's not even mentioning the drab overall look. Thi ...more
Phones these days are expensive. The iPhone 11 Pro is presumed to start at $999, following the iPhone XS and iPhone X's leads. One way to bring down that cost is to trade in your old iPhone, but there isn't one clear-cut way to do that. You could trade your iPhone into a parti ...more
Look, tests are no fun, and doing poorly on them is rarely an option. Whether you're studious or a slacker, everyone needs a little boost now and again. While students have found ways to cheat as long as tests have existed, the invention of smartphones has greatly enhanced the ...more
In the US, law enforcement officials can make you unlock your smartphone with a fingerprint, but they can't force you to input a password or PIN, which would violate your Fifth Amendment rights. To help you from ever being in a scenario where you're forced to put your finger o ...more
If you've ever tried to record a Snapchat video of a song playing in your car, you know that it's impossible to do if the song is playing on the same device that you're Snapchatting with. I connect my iPhone to my car stereo via Bluetooth to play music, but if I try to record ...more
I've previously shown a few ways to make your iPhone a little more unique by customizing app icons on the home screen, and while those processes did not require a jailbreak, they were a pain in the ass. Thankfully, there's a better way to customize app and shortcut icons that' ...more
There's not much you can do to customize the look and feel of your iPhone's home screen, at least when it comes to official options provided by Apple. But thanks to a new bug discovered by YouTuber iDeviceHelp, you can now hide text labels for app icons and folders on your iPh ...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
Another year, another battle between Samsung and Apple. We recently saw what Samsung is bringing to the table this year with the release of the Galaxy Note 10+, and now it's Apple's turn. For those who want a truly large device, Apple is offering the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Let's s ...more
The first developer beta for iOS 13 is available to install on iPhone models, but the process for doing so may be a bumpy ride. Apple has not included configuration profiles for the developer beta yet, and many developers are having issues installing iOS 13 even with macOS 10. ...more
When you hand your unlocked iPhone to somebody so they can use the internet real quick, check out some cool photos, or do whatever, there's a possibility that they could snoop around where they don't belong. If you have some secret recipes, login credentials, intellectual prop ...more
We've already shown you our favorite new action games that have come out this year, but now it's time to share our all-time top ten list. These games are available for both Android and iPhone, they don't have intrusive ads or freemium schemes, and most importantly, they're all ...more
Apple's next big developer event happened on June 4, and it was the first glimpse of iOS 12 that anyone's seen. While there were lots of rumored features to be unveiled at WWDC 2018, Apple concentrated mostly on squashing bugs and making iOS work as seamless as it did years ag ...more
Hiding apps that you don't want or don't use is a no-brainer, but with Apple's mobile iOS, they try to make it virtually impossible without a jailbreak. Now, with a few downloads and clicks, you can finally get rid of that pesky Newsstand or Stocks app without jailbreaking! A ...more
I haven't bought into Apple Pay just yet, but I do love the idea of having quick access to passes like loyalty programs, boarding passes, and my Starbucks card. However, for some users, it's impossible to open these passes stored in Apple Wallet on the iPhone's lock screen. Wh ...more
As respectful as you may be, it's hard to resist looking through someone's iPhone when given the chance. You're not trying to snoop around, but it's just too easy to open up apps and read embarrassing emails or find scandalous Instagram follows. It's like looking through a dig ...more
If your current cellular provider costs too much, has poor reception in your area, or doesn't support features you'd like to use, switching to another carrier is the obvious move. But can you bring your current iPhone or Android phone? In most cases, your current smartphone w ...more
When iOS 7 was released, there were actually news reports of people getting disoriented and sick due to the motion of the parallax effect, along with the speedy animations when opening and closing apps and folders. Reducing motion in your Accessibility settings can help calm ...more
Before phones became mobile-gaming, music-playing, app-downloading devices, they were used simply to make convenient, cordless phone calls. There's so much on phones these days that a passcode is needed to keep everything secure, and making calls is now more complicated. On a ...more