Samsung's Galaxy S9 has the best smartphone display among any in its class, beating out the likes of the Google Pixel 2 XL and iPhone X. However, Samsung doesn't unlock the true power of its screen out of the box. To do that, you'll need to rummage through a few settings on yo ...more
Apple's Notes app has an important feature many users overlook, yet it's arguably the most crucial thing you should use for all your notes synced across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and iCloud.com. And Apple makes the feature much easier to use than years before, so there's no reason y ...more
For Apple Pay users, the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or XR will be an adjustment. Gone are the days where you could rest your finger on the Home button and hold your device within range of a contactless reader. Without Touch ID on the iPhone X, this isn't possible. But have no fear, ...more
If you think you might be a likely target of a black-hat hacker, there's a new iOS security feature that offers extreme protection for your iPhone against spyware, phishing attempts, and other highly sophisticated cyberattacks. While anybody can activate the advanced security ...more
For most Shortcuts automations you create on your iPhone, you'll get a "Running your automation" notification every time the task is automatically triggered. If you find those alerts annoyingly unnecessary, there's a less-than-ideal workaround to blocking them, but Apple gives ...more
Apple wants to support the advertising economy, but its primary focus of late has been user privacy and security. In Safari, cross-site tracking, which lets content providers track you across websites and apps to show you more targeted ads, is disabled by default. However, con ...more
Apple's scheduled to show off the first look of iOS 13 at WWDC 2019 on June 3, but what will the new operating system hold for iPhone? Rumors suggest that many features initially planned for iOS 12 will show up in iOS 13, codenamed "Yukon," and dark mode will be the big ticket ...more
There's a lot of great things to be excited about with iOS 10 on your device. You can remove annoying stock apps, search emails better, remember where you parked, and much, much more. Seriously, there's actually more outstanding features in iOS 10 than in Apple's latest iPhone ...more
Your iPhone has hidden apps that work behind the scenes to filter SMS messages, trust computers, deal with payments, test ads, and perform other actions. You won't find any of them in your App Library, but there are tricks you can employ to unlock and use some of these secret ...more
The Calculator app on your iPhone may seem boring and basic, but there are a few interesting tricks worth knowing. You can ask Siri to perform calculations for you, long-press on results to copy them, long-press the field to paste numbers in, and swipe left or right above the ...more
The time to wait for an absolutely killer phone from Samsung is over. They've released a giant of a phone known as the S20 Ultra, and at least on paper, it's a grand slam. But only a few months ago, Apple released its first "Pro" iPhone, and it was giant in its own right. So w ...more
We all listen to podcasts differently — on the way to work, at the gym, when drifting off to sleep. If you're in the latter group and rely on Overcast to help you with your nightly routine, you're probably sick of its blinding light theme keeping you up. That's why the app fea ...more
As the U.S. inches closer to herd immunity and reopening after the pandemic, it may become necessary to keep your COVID-19 vaccination cards on you at all times to gain access to places and events that are prone to spreading the coronavirus. You probably won't want to lose you ...more
Not many smartphones are announced at CES these days — instead, you'll mostly see other types of electronics like Energeous's WattUp and Li-Fi. However, ASUS decided to share some good news for their US customers, and it comes in the form of a new phone with some interesting s ...more
Apple's Wallet app lets you store boarding passes, concert tickets, gym memberships, vaccination cards, movie stubs, rewards cards, insurance info, student IDs, and more in one place on your iPhone, and you just double-click the Home or Side button to access them. Unfortunatel ...more
Beta software can be exciting because you get to experience cool new features before most other people. But it can have unwanted consequences such as bugs, UI glitches, and horrible battery life that'll make you wish you never installed it. If that sounds like you with iOS 16 ...more
If you like having Siri available to answer a quick question every now and again but don't want everyone who picks up your iPhone to also have access to your personal assistant, there's an easy way to disable her from working on your iPhone's lock screen. This is also somethin ...more
The top five apps of the 2010s were all social media apps of some kind, and the fact that's not surprising to you says a lot. We may use them for other reasons here and there, but our phones are social media machines at their cores. The thing is, some make better machines than ...more
While some of the additions to the emoji keyboard in iOS 8.3 have been criticized for actually doing the opposite of their intended purpose, they've been well received overall. But the biggest winner of the new emojis was one that actually wasn't even released—the "Vulcan salu ...more
The iPhone has included a real-world magnifying glass called "Magnifier" since iOS 10. Still, it remained relatively obscure until iOS 14 when it received significant upgrades such as a new interface, hideable controls, a customizable toolbar, improved filters management, mult ...more
Whether it becomes mandatory or not to show your COVID-19 vaccination card at events, restaurants, bars, hotels, airports, and other public places, it's a good idea to digitize the paper card on your smartphone so that it's always with you. It's also wise to give yourself quic ...more
You may think your iPhone has all the features you could ever need or want, but that may change once you discover the features and services you're missing out on by residing in the United States. To sell iPhone models in other countries, Apple has to abide by each country's l ...more
Apple just made its most significant update ever to the iOS lock screen, with a lot of features to be excited about. The theme of this upgrade is customization, giving you complete control over the look and functionality of your iPhone's lock screen. The new lock screen capab ...more
While most of your iPhone's features are intuitive or well-covered across the web, there are some features hidden deep within iOS that you probably never even knew about. (These could also apply to an iPad or iPod touch.) Some of these secret tricks take advantage of function ...more
As Nexus owners, we love our device's operating system, and it's probably the reason we went for a pure Google experience in the first place. But that doesn't mean there's not room for improvement in Android, especially when the OS has so many freely available softMods to tink ...more
Apple's iOS 15.4 update for iPhone is out after 46 days of beta testing, and it has some exciting features you won't want to miss. Here's everything you need to know about the new software. The iOS 15.4 software has been available to developers since Jan. 27, 2022, and public ...more
Starting in Android 4.3, Google added some code to AOSP that tagged your internet traffic when you were running a mobile hotspot, which made it incredibly easy for carriers to block tethering if you didn't have it included in your plan. But as of Android 6.0, this "tether_dun_ ...more
When words aren't enough, emojis are there to help. Your iPhone has almost two thousand of them for you to communicate in a more lively manner or to express indifference, excitement, joy, and other emotional states. However, the more emojis that come out, the more difficult it ...more
When you expect to take photos of landmarks, buildings, landscapes, and other outdoor scenery with clear blue skies in the background, you may end up with nothing but overcast weather, resulting in a completely different mood in your pictures. Instead of forgetting about all y ...more
Whenever you would use "Portrait Mode" in iOS 10 on your iPhone 7 Plus, the camera would save both a regular and depth effect version. If you were low on space, you could always opt to save the depth effect version only, but this setting is now gone in iOS 11. While at first i ...more
I often read ebooks on my iPhone while I walk, but being glued to my screen is a good way to get run over or cursed at. To save my physical and social hide, I use this trick to get my iPhone to read ebooks and articles out loud, turning my whole text library into de facto audi ...more
Apple's latest iPhone software update — iOS 17.5 — is finally ready for prime time. Released on May 13, it includes at least 32 new features and changes you need to know about, from a new game and offline news access to new wallpapers and anti-stalking capabilities. The iOS 1 ...more
There is a whole world of smartphone accessories out there, some of which are more quirky than others and don't get the recognition they deserve. But these sometimes strange, sometimes embarrassing products can really make life easier on your iPhone or Android phone. We've fo ...more
If you're ever faced with a situation of handing over your iPhone to law enforcement (or getting it taken forcibly), whether by the police, feds, or court system, there are things you can do to prevent them from getting access to all that potentially self-incriminating data. A ...more
After you've spent your Thanksgiving afternoon working through that turkey, mashed potatoes, and three different kinds of pie, you might find yourself heading to the mall to claim some unbeatable Black Friday discounts on iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. You don't have to go ...more
One of the downsides to iOS is the lack of a true dark mode. While Apple has offered a workaround, third-party developers have taken it upon themselves to implement dark themes in their apps. While big names like Twitter and Reddit have led the charge for some time, it appears ...more
While you're probably already used to the keyboard on your iPhone, you'll likely never be able to type on it as fast as you can on a computer keyboard. But that doesn't mean you can't get any faster at typing on your iPhone. By using keyboard shortcuts to auto-populate commonl ...more
One of the most exciting features in iOS 11 was the fully revamped Control Center, which improved the overall interface visually, made it one page only, and finally made it possible to customize what controls actually appear within it. Customizable controls was previously only ...more
All of Apple's products are praised for being extremely easy to use. So much so, that your grandma can pick one up and be a "pro" within a few hours. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing for us real power users who want more granular control of our devices. Luckily, M ...more
This Fourth of July, stock up on hot dogs, ice cream, and smartphones. Yep, this Independence Day is a surprisingly good time to get your hands on the iPhone SE. If you're interested, head to your nearest Best Buy to check out this major deal. (Or wait for the iPhone 8 to come ...more
The last update to iOS 12 featured more emoji, Group FaceTime, eSIM functionality, real-time depth control for new iPhones, and a few other interesting tidbits and fixes. Now, in the latest for iPhones, iOS 12.1.1, Apple brought back a few things that were removed or made more ...more
One of the best features in Super Mario Run is the ability to unlock other notable characters from the classic series on iPhone or Android. Each playable character in Super Mario Run has a slightly different skill set — be it speed or jumping — which can come in handy in certa ...more
Paywalls make it nearly impossible to access certain content unless you have a subscription. It's a practice that many news organizations and other online publications use to increase revenue: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Wired, and so many more. B ...more
The Shortcuts app can help you play the next unlistened podcast from one of the shows, but getting the latest unplayed episodes from your whole queue of shows in the Podcasts app is a little trickier. There is an easy way to do it on your iPhone, though, and you can even autom ...more
Apple released the second developer beta for iOS 14.5 on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The update comes 15 days after Apple seeded developers the first 14.5 beta, which included a slew of new features such as default music app support, compatibility with PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers, ...more
Apple just released the public GM (golden master) for iOS 13.6 today, Thursday, July 9. The update comes three hours after Apple released the 13.6 GM for developers, and the same day as the release of iOS 14 public beta 2. Apple released this update at 1 p.m. PDT, the company ...more
Apple just released the GM (golden master) for iOS 13.6 today, Thursday, July 9. The update comes nine days after Apple released the third developer and public betas for 13.6, and the same day as the release of iOS 14 public beta 2. Apple released this update at 10 a.m. PDT, ...more
Now that the iPhone XS is officially available for pre-order, Verizon and Apple are giving Snapchat users the opportunity to win the device through an augmented reality scavenger hunt rather than forking over $1,000 for one. Starting on Friday and ending Sept. 17, Snapchat us ...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
The BBC's Taster VR app released July 5 is providing new experiences visible on both iOS and Android, and one of the releases is a VR version of Planet Earth II. It is viewable on YouTube and works properly when viewed with a mobile VR headset. (FYI though, the BBC site recom ...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
When your iPhone is being sluggish, one thing you can do to get performance back up to snuff is clear the device's random access memory. It's not a publicized feature from Apple, but it's there nonetheless. And while it's easy enough to utilize on iPhones with Home buttons, th ...more
Safari saw many new features and improvements with Apple's latest iOS update, including webpage translations, privacy reports, and picture-in-picture. While the updates were well-received, Apple's mobile browser is still lacking some very basic features. Thankfully, there are ...more
Few apps on the iPhone give you ways to change their color scheme aside from Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later, but that doesn't mean you can't give an app a new color theme or filtered look. With the Shortcuts app in iOS 14 and later, it's totally possible, and it'll work in prac ...more
A good smartphone can be the perfect workout companion. You have music for motivation, videos for pushing through boring cardio sessions, GPS to keep you on course, and even an array of sensors for gathering data about your workout. But not all phones are created equal when it ...more
There's one reason why most of us have a Samsung Galaxy S3—because we don't want an iPhone. Yes, there are some pretty cool things about the iPhone aesthetically, but looks aren't everything. Anyway, with the nearly unlimited customizations options we have available for Androi ...more
Apple has introduced a special edition iPhone 8 and 8 Plus to bring attention to the ongoing worldwide battle against AIDS. As the second iPhones to carry the (PRODUCT)RED name, these rare iPhones may quickly sell out when preorders open up on Tuesday, April 10, at 5:30 a.m. ( ...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
You take a photo or video, send it to a friend, and they say, "Hey, I can't open this." More often than not, your friend won't be using an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. Instead, they're likely trying to open the file with a non-Apple device. But this problem can be avoided ...more
Dark mode is everywhere. Both Android 10 and iOS 13 added the feature natively, and many of your favorite apps now include the option. So far, Google has been on a mission to add it to all of its apps, and Google Photos is no exception. As with all of Google's compatible apps ...more