Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale Sept. 19th, but pre-orders begin on Sept. 12th. If you're ready to trade in your iPhone 5 for one of these bigger and more iOS 8-friendly devices, you're probably going to pre-order. UPDATE: We've also created printable cutout ...more
Your days as an ordinary Muggle are over — as long as you have an iPhone. With just a word or two, you can use your iPhone and newfound Muggle-born powers to cast spells or utilize charms just like Harry Potter and team. Only your "wand" is from Apple, not Ollivanders in Diago ...more
Here we go again, softModders, it's time for another awesome tweak for your iPod, iPhone, or iPod running iOS 7. Have you ever felt like changing your lock screen with a custom text instead of it saying "slide to unlock"? Why shouldn't we be able to edit this? We're not given ...more
Apple Watch owners know the struggle — it's the end of the day, and those rings aren't met. Whether you forgot your watch before hitting the gym, let the battery run out, or just didn't move enough, you could feel the sting of fitness failure. But it doesn't have to be this wa ...more
The sound your iPhone makes when you connect it to a power source has been the same for a long time. Unfortunately, it was never possible to change that chime to something different without jailbreaking first, which opens your iPhone up to malware and hackers. Thankfully, iOS ...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
Sharing just got a whole lot easier in the new iOS 7. Apple has decided to integrate AirDrop, the local vicinity file-sharing service found in Mac OS X, into the latest version of iOS. With AirDrop, you can share pictures, contacts, notes, and more between two iPhones without ...more
Unscheduled pit stops go hand in hand with road trips, no matter how well-planned they are. In the past, making a stop due to low fuel or an emergency bathroom break may have snowballed into massive delays when you went off course on your own, but thanks to a feature in Apple ...more
There are a lot of cool things in iOS 7, but there are also a lot of annoying things about it. One of the biggest issues I have is Apple's stock wallpaper options. I was really hyped about the new dynamic wallpapers, but they turned out to be a real disappointment because of t ...more
Why are there no official Star Wars emoji in the Unicode Standard? We've got the "Vulcan Salute" from Star Trek, so where's the force choke hand gesture?! While you may never see Star Wars officially invade your emoji keyboard, there are ways to send Star Wars emoji and sticke ...more
When Facebook introduced Stories in 2017, many users despised the Snapchat-like feature on their main page. However, despite the outcry, Facebook doesn't plan to let you remove it. But you don't have settle for this. With the help of some third-party apps, you no longer have t ...more
The latest iOS 7.1 update is going to be coming out soon, but from what we can tell, there are still a lot of basic options and settings missing that we iPhone users should have. Some of them are pretty obvious, like being able to delete all of something at once, like notifica ...more
There are a lot of cool shortcuts you could run on your iPhone, but in iOS 13 and iOS 14, you'll likely see a notification any time you try to run an automation. Shortcuts should feel seamless when their actions are performed, and getting a banner alert each time one initializ ...more
TikTok is great for creating short videos of people lip-syncing to songs or comedy sketches, but it's also very entertaining to just browse and share cool videos with friends. When you stumble across a video you like, you can download it onto your phone to watch over and over ...more
From the iPhone X onward, the Side button has taken on many of the functions associated with the Home button, such as summoning Siri, pulling up the AssistiveTouch shortcut, and more. So if you've finally ditched your Home button iPhone for the latest iPhone 11, the process of ...more
For quite some time, popular messaging apps such WhatsApp and Skype have let you set a profile picture along with a display name to make you more instantly identifiable to loved ones and colleagues. Apple has finally caught up with this fad in iOS 13. That means you can set a ...more
When you don't want somebody you're calling to know the real phone number associated with your iPhone, whether it's for privacy reasons, to avoid being called back, or to prevent being ignored, there are multiple things you can do to block it on their caller ID. Some of the b ...more
Netflix is more popular now than ever, but it still has a ways to go before satisfying everyone. Whether it's a lack of availability, buggy or unattractive apps, or just not being able to find anything to watch, lots of people have their complaints. But there is a way to make ...more
Officially, in order to use AirPlay to stream music from your iOS device, you would need either an Apple TV, AirPort Express, or an AirPlay-enabled receiver or set of speakers. Despite what Apple wants you to think, there is another way to stream music without any of those Air ...more
A few months ago, iOS 12.1 came out with a handful of useful new features, and iOS 12.2 goes even further. While some of iOS 12.2's new features for iPhone are much welcomed, there are some that we'd be better without. Apple's iOS 12.2 started beta testing on Jan. 4, 2019, an ...more
If you transition to an Apple Watch from another wearable like Fitbit, you might be a bit confused by the new calorie burn counter. Instead of ending your day with thousands of calories burned, your watch says you've burned just hundreds. Could it be you're less active with yo ...more
Instagram recently released their new Instagram Direct messaging feature in their Android and iOS apps, which lets users share private photos and videos directly with individuals or groups of up to 15 users. However, there are no restrictions on who you can send private photos ...more
Deleting emails can be a tedious process on the iPhone, especially since the "Trash All" options have been removed ever since iOS 10 first came out. Though likely well-intentioned, this change places an undue burden on all of us iPhone owners who now have to erase emails indiv ...more
You can add a timestamp to any YouTube video in just a few clicks from the desktop website on your computer but not from YouTube's iOS or Android app. Until YouTube adds a "start time" when sharing videos from the mobile app, you'll have to use one of these workarounds on your ...more
There are much better things that can go in your iPhone's status bar besides an always-on indicator displaying what carrier you're shelling out money to every month. While it would be nice to get rid of the carrier name altogether at the top of the screen, an even better optio ...more
Instagram makes it easy to view a public account without that person or business knowing unless, you know, your finger accidentally slips and hits the like button on a post. Aside from that, if you're careful, you can browse anonymously through an account without anyone notici ...more
There's never an Apple announcement without some good ol' anger and backlash. To be fair, Apple received some really positive feedback from parts of the iOS 11 presentation at WWDC back in June. Fans had been waiting for years to customize the Control Center, as well as for n ...more
When you want to see something far away with a little more clarity or you're having a hard time reading small letters right in front of you, you can point your iPhone's camera at the subject and "pinch" to zoom for a better look. But there's actually something built into iOS f ...more
Now that iOS 7 has rolled out to the general public, with an overwhelming fit of mass hysteria, it's only custom for people to start bitching about battery drain—and I don't blame them. I was experiencing some rapid battery drain after first updating my iPhone 5, as well. Not ...more
After my hard drive crashed recently, I lost everything. Old college essays, half-written stories, short films, and most importantly, all of the photos that I had saved from the past five years... all gone. Since I didn't back up my hard drive (stupid mistake #1), or upload p ...more
When you take a screenshot on your iPhone, it's automatically saved to your Photos app. You can ignore the screenshot thumbnail or swipe it away, but you shouldn't. If you open the screenshot editor instead, you'll gain access to your iPhone's most useful screen capture tool: ...more
Emoji icons can vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Normally, this isn't be a problem, unless all of your friends use iPhones and you're the only one that receives a different icon than the rest of your group. And for the record, they don't all correspond to each o ...more
Apple's update for iOS 13 is not without bugs and other issues, and if those problems become annoying or impede your ability to use your iPhone like usual, you may want to downgrade. Hundreds of new features may not matter if you can't use your iPhone like it's meant to be. T ...more
Unless you're a WhatsApp pro user, you may be surprised to know that there are text formatting options that you can apply to your messages. Markdown characters can help you emphasize certain words or phrases by making them italicized or bold, and it'll even let you cross out w ...more
Every now and then, an iOS secret surfaces that makes me wonder, "How am I just learning about this?" I remember the first time I found out how to delete numbers in the Calculator app, and when I discovered you could bulk-move apps around the Home screen. Now, there's another ...more
When you hear a "ding" on your phone, chances are it's a new notification for Facebook Messenger, and it could be a fairly painful sound depending on how loud your volume's set. Thankfully, you aren't stuck with this singular alert option, so if you're unhappy with both this s ...more
If you've ever wondered why the pictures and videos you share with Snapchat on your Android device seem to look grainy with low resolution, you're not alone. We all know it, and we've come to accept it as a plain fact: Snapchat image quality sucks on Android. The reason behin ...more
Widgets are great ... if you actually use them. A quick swipe right on the lock screen will reveal the Today view and its widgets, and it's very easy to accidentally open. Plus, others can see your widgets without any authentication. You could manually remove every widget, but ...more
The signal bars in your iPhone's status bar are great visual indicators for knowing how good your cellular reception is, but they're not very accurate. Instead of showing the actual amount of signal you're receiving, they just give you a general range, and you'll have no idea ...more
Following in the iPhone X's footsteps, the iPhone XS and XS Max, as well as the iPhone XR, have all ditched the iconic Home button last seen on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which is one giant leap toward Jony Ive's ultimate vision of an iPhone that's a clean slab of glass. However ...more
When iOS starts barking at you that you've run out of iCloud or iPhone storage, a quick trip to your settings to see what the culprit is may show that Messages is one of the worst offenders. But if deleting message after message doesn't free up your storage much, it's likely b ...more
You can send and receive money from your iPhone using Venmo, Square Cash, Facebook Messenger, and even Snapchat. There's also Zelle, which offers quick-pay solutions in major banking apps such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo. However, Apple has a built-in system to ...more
Jailbreaking gives iPhone users almost unfettered access to their devices, offering a slew of customizations, new features, and improved apps that you just can't get elsewise. Unfortunately, Apple has clamped down hard on the latest iterations of iOS, making jailbreaking extre ...more
Your iPhone's home screen is a tricky thing. You can sort your collection of apps in any order you'd like, but where you place those apps is a totally different story. App and folder placement follows a strict grid on iOS from left to right, top to bottom. No exceptions, and t ...more
If you're a frequent Snapchatter like myself, you're probably well aware that Snapchat can't stop you or anyone else from taking a screenshot of a photo received. Instead, they notify the sender that a screenshot was taken—a greatly appreciated fair warning when impetuous phot ...more
Realizing there's no voice to guide you while using your iPhone to navigate can be problematic, causing serious headaches from getting lost to unscheduled pit stops or worse. And while this problem can hit Apple Maps like other navigation apps out there, there are a number of ...more
Believe it or not, not every Apple lover is willing to make the commitment and fork over $350+ for the Apple Watch. Like many others, I'm not willing to put that much faith into Apple's first attempt at wearable tech. Thankfully, if you or a buddy have a Moto 360 (which costs ...more
A burner number isn't just for criminals and cheating spouses. In this digital world, with many of our interactions being conducted online, a throwaway phone number acts as a buffer — it lets you enjoy the web without having to give out your personal information, such as real ...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
Apple's Messages app has long had visual effects you could apply manually after long-pressing the send button, and there are even hidden keywords you could use to trigger full-screen effects automatically. FaceTime's latest update also gives you some full-screen effects to pla ...more
Yes, there's a way for you to get translations of foreign language websites on your iPhone using the built-in Safari app. Problem is, it's not super obvious. Actually, you'd never know the option was there if someone didn't tell you. But with a little setup on your part, you c ...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 released iOS 8.2 on March 9th for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, which contains bug fixes and stability enhancements for certain stock features. If you've updated your device already, you've probably already noticed that you get the new Apple Watch app, too—no matter if y ...more
Apple hates game emulators. Go ahead, look around in the iOS App Store, you won't find any. But who needs 'em anyway? Anyone with a jailbroken iPad or iPhone can install emulators for practically any classic gaming console they want. Hell, you can even do it without jailbreak ...more
There are a lot of things that make iOS great, but lock screen widgets are not among them. If you want more information on your lock screen other than the date, time, and notifications without having to swipe to a sidebar of widgets, you'd normally look toward Android. However ...more
By now, there's no way you haven't stumbled upon a TikTok video, whether it was on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. Just watching these addictive short-form videos is enough to make you want to join up and make your own, and when you do, we've got some tips that will ...more
Being an Android user and having friends who are in the Apple ecosystem does not need to be a pain. You can easily send high-quality videos to iPhone users, so don't feel handicapped without access to iMessage. Sending high-resolution videos to iOS users is easy with this fast ...more
Your iPhone goes with you pretty much everywhere you go, and unless you have unlimited data on your cellular plan, you've probably connected to dozens of Wi-Fi hotspots over the years. Wi-Fi passwords are saved to your iPhone so you can auto-connect to the router or personal h ...more
The most recent version of the iPhone Software (iOS 5) has the ability to utilize emoticons by use of the native keyboard and software, no third-party app or jailbreak required. Just follow these simple steps for unlocking the emoticon keyboard: Step 1: Open "Settings" From ...more
Having websites coded for mobile browsing is great for small screens, but if you have a Plus model iPhone or even the iPhone X, desktop versions of websites might show you more of what you want. Plus, there's the case of poorly designed mobile websites, where the desktop view ...more