When you're in a new city or even your own neighborhood, you might not know where the best places to visit are. The number of parks, restaurants, shopping centers, and other attractions could be overwhelming, so how do you narrow down your choices? The new iOS 14 update has introduced curated city "Guides" in Apple Maps, created by trusted brands to help you find excellent places to explore.
You're out and about, and nothing on your iPhone will load. A glance at the settings shows a saved Wi-Fi network with full bars that your iPhone had connected to automatically, but you're not getting any internet. If you've experienced this, you're not alone, and there's something you can do about it. You'll even increase privacy and security on your iPhone in the process.
Social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have plenty of editing tools that go beyond the basics, but there are still a lot of things they can't do. So if you want to apply interesting, unique effects to your photos and videos for social media, you'll need to add some other apps to your iPhone's arsenal of tools.
Apple just released the fourth developer beta for iOS 14 today, Tuesday, Aug. 4. This update comes 13 days after Apple seeded developers the third dev beta, and 12 days after public testers got their hands on public beta 3.
Apple might not have been the first to add a night camera mode to its suite of smartphones, but it's pretty impressive nonetheless. With "Night" mode, your iPhone can shoot photos with incredible detail in some horrendously dark lighting conditions. But when you open up your new iPhone to try it out, you might be wondering how you turn it on.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't hit the "record" button in time, you could miss it. That's why, starting in iOS 13, on select iPhone models, you can start recording a video without having to switch out of Photo capture mode. So you can avoid blowing the perfect video when it matters most, and then go right back to taking pictures without skipping a beat.
Why are you still waking up to an annoying alarm clock sound on your iPhone? It's 2020, not 2011. That's almost a decade since you were limited to a strict set of default tones. Yes, your iPhone has a ton of tones by now to choose from, but you could be waking up gently to your favorite slow song, or jolting awake by the harsh sounds of metal ringing in your ears to get pumped for the rest of the day.
Don't like how Apple's default Radar ringtone — or any other tone — wakes you up in the morning? Then don't use them as your alarm sound. Instead, use your favorite song to get you out of bed. Whether you enjoy an acoustic tune or a heavy, energetic jam, you can choose any Apple Music song you want, or any track in your personal Music library, to get you going each day.
We're beyond the days where iPhones fit perfectly in most hands. The iPhone 11 Pro is still a bit big for many people, and the 11 Pro Max is truly massive. If you're having trouble typing out your thoughts without using two hands, know that there's a quick way to make one-handed typing possible on any iPhone.
Apple introduced third-party keyboards back in iOS 8, and swipe-input options like Gboard, SwiftKey, and Swype made typing on an iPhone one-handed much easier. Even better, apps like Word Flow moved the keyboard to the side of the iPhone, so there was less thumb-stretching. Well, ever since iOS 11, Apple has had its own option for better one-handed typing in the stock keyboard.
Apple just released iOS 13.6.1 for iPhone today, Wednesday, Aug. 12. The update is the latest public update for iPhones since iOS 13.6, which Apple released 28 days ago.
When it comes to shooting video, the iPhone is often considered the best in the biz. That certainly didn't change with the release of the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, who each sport the best video cameras the smartphone industry has to offer. That said, there's always been something truly irritating about Apple's camera app, something the company finally fixed in iOS 13.2 and later.
If you use iCloud Photos, Apple's iCloud link feature is meant to make sharing multiple photos and videos faster and easier, but it's not as great as you might think. Luckily, there's a way to stop your iPhone from creating them automatically, as long as you're running iOS 13 or later.
The way you share a group of photos and videos on your iPhone is pretty simple; just select a few items, then choose a service or platform to send them through. Simplicity isn't always the best option, though, and in this case, there's a better way than letting those files send or upload individually, one by one.
When it comes to washing clothes, the laundry symbols on your tags might as well be hieroglyphics. They're difficult to interpret, easy to forget, and even easier to ignore. But if you don't want to ruin expensive designer clothes, blankets, and other fiber-based materials, you need to figure out the meaning behind those tiny icons. Thankfully, your iPhone can help out.
Your iPhone comes with a feature that allows you to share your name and photo with anyone you iMessage in Messages. It's a useful feature if you want people to see a customized name or fun image that you pick, but seeing all those "Share your name and photo" alerts in conversations can get real annoying quickly. There's a way to stop that from happening, thankfully.
Third-party apps on your iPhone must ask for your permission to access your library in the Music app. Some will even want to get access to your Apple Music account. If you no longer use the apps, you shouldn't be letting them have access anymore. It's easy to hunt them down, and doing so might even show some apps you can't even remember giving any permissions to.
Apple just released the third public beta for iOS 14 today, Thursday, July 23. This update comes one day after the company released iOS 14 developer beta 3, and two weeks after the release of iOS 14 public beta 2.
In iOS 14, your iPhone can have home screen widgets, but you can also keep using widgets in the Today View if that's more comfortable for you. You could actually use both if you wanted. But when it comes to the Today View, the process for adding, removing, and editing widgets has changed.
In iOS 13.5 and later, developers can create and release contact tracing apps for iPhone, which could help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. With these apps comes COVID-19 exposure notifications, which you may or may not want to receive. If you don't want to get these alerts, you can disable them.
Sharing your iPhone's real-time location can be very useful when you want family and friends to know where you're at or your estimated time of arrival. By doing so, they can track you when you can't or don't want to update them manually. Depending on how you shared your location, however, they might still be able to track your exact coordinates after the initial share.
Many apps on your iPhone want to use your location, most of which are for valid reasons. But some apps can function perfectly fine without location permissions, while others have no business even requesting it. If you want to be more selective about which apps and services you give away your coordinates to, the best thing you could do is start from scratch.
Lossless quality isn't for everyone. If you can't distinguish between lossless audio and other formats, you probably but don't need it. But if you're a musician who's sharing ideas with bandmates or a journalist interviewing people for a video, you might want the best possible quality, which is what lossless offers. And you might not know it, but the Voice Memos app on your iPhone supports it.
Apple just released iOS 14 developer beta 3 for iPhone today, Wednesday, July 22. The update comes 15 days after Apple released the second developer beta for iOS 14, and 13 days after the release of iOS 14 public beta 2.
With Unc0ver, Pwn20wnd was the first to jailbreak an iPhone and iPad running iOS 12 versions. While it initially couldn't work on all devices, it's an entirely different story now. Unc0ver currently works up to iOS 13.5 for most A7 to A13-powered devices. Plus, Chimera, another jailbreak tool, supports a similar range of models on iOS 12 to 12.3 and iOS 12.4.
Live Photos are a great way to relive moments beyond a simple still image since you get up to 1.5 seconds of video before and after the shot. Of course, your iPhone doesn't just capture motion during a Live Photo — it also records audio. And that audio portion may not be something you want to share.
Have you ever taken a photo to share with a friend, only to realize it was actually a Live Photo? Maybe you said something embarrassing in the background, or perhaps you moved the camera out of frame onto a subject you don't want your friend to see. Luckily, making a Live Photo a regular still photo is a breeze.
Since iOS 8, it's been possible to use third-party tools such as Bing Translator and Microsoft Translator to translate foreign language webpages in Safari into your primary language. Now, in iOS 14, there's a better way to do it.
Apple's Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later offers a cool, comfortable viewing experience on your iPhone. You may prefer the dark theme all day long, but if you like to use it only at night, it's not very convenient to switch it on and off daily. But there's a setting that lets you set it and forget it, so you never have to do it manually again.
Apple's big iOS 14 update includes Memoji improvements such as new hairstyles and headwear to choose from for your personalized Animoji character. Even better, there are now face coverings, so you no longer have to resort to that one masked emoji to get the point across in these times of COVID-19.
If you can't locate a specific entry in the Notes app on your iPhone, chances are that it's hiding in a different place than you thought, connected to a third-party email service such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook. When one of those notes gets lost or accidentally deleted, you're going to run into issues, but it's possible to recover it.
Apple just released public beta 2 for iOS 14 today, Thursday, July 9. The good news comes two days after Apple released the second iOS 14 developer beta, and 17 days after the release of the first developer beta. While this is the first public beta for iOS 14, it's called "public beta 2" to keep in line with developer beta numbering.
Although Facebook has some questionable privacy and security practices, you'll find it still offers you ways to protect the information that's important to you. One of those ways is locking Messenger behind biometric authentication protocols such as Face ID and Touch ID, ensuring that no one else can access your private chats.
Apple just released the second developer beta for iOS 14 today, Tuesday, July 7. The update comes 15 days after Apple seeded developers the first iOS 14 beta, which introduced home screen widgets, picture-in-picture, and 4K YouTube support, among more than 200 other features.
Whenever you're browsing a grid of photos and videos in the Photos app, whether you're in the Photos, Albums, or Search tab, all media is cropped within the confines of tiny square thumbnails. But it doesn't have to be that way.
If you've been an iPhone user for quite some time, you probably have quite a bit of photos and videos in iCloud or on your device. Unless you know the date, location, or event, it can be pretty hard to find a specific memory. Even with intelligent search suggestions, AI-created categories, and multi-keyword filters, you still may not be able to find what you want. The new iOS 14 update changes that.
Starting in iOS 13, Apple introduced a robust suite of video-editing tools to its Photos app. The majority of editing tools were only available for images in iOS 12 and older, but iOS 13 leveled the playing field to allow even a novice to tweak videos like a pro before sharing.
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 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.
The camera on models in the iPhone 11 series includes an ultra-wide lens to take wider images, Night mode for taking better-looking photos in low-light environments, and a 16:9 frame for shooting. With these new features comes a slightly redesigned interface in the Camera app, one that even the second-generation iPhone SE received despite only having one of those three features.
Since its introduction on the iPhone 5S, Touch ID has made unlocking Home button iPhones quick and secure. The second-generation iPhone SE brought back the beloved feature in 2020 but didn't take any steps to improve on the technology. So if you're rocking Touch ID and having trouble getting it to read your fingerprints, there are some things you can do to fix it.
AirPods are not only a great way to listen to music on your iPhone, but you can also use them as a headset for phone calls, videoconference, Siri, voice memos, audio messages, and more. While each 'Pod has a built-in microphone, they aren't used simultaneously, and your AirPods will automatically choose which to use. If you want to only use the mic from one 'Pod or the other, there's a way to do that.
Out of all the myths about the iPhone's battery, one that's very true is that charging your phone overnight is bad news. Keeping the charge level at 100% puts the battery under strain, which can permanently damage it. Apple took steps to address the issue in iOS 13, where your battery stops charging when it hits 80% in some scenarios, but that's not always enough.
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.
A group conversation can be a chaotic place. Even with a small number of people, you still may get more messages than you can keep track of on your iPhone. What makes it even worse is trying to sort through all of the conversations within conversations. Apple, however, wants to make things easier on all of us, which is why iOS 14 allows you to respond to specific iMessages using inline replies.
Since their introduction, emoji have become as essential to the iPhone as the touchscreen itself. While the original set of emoji was manageable, finding a particular emoji these days has become a chore. Apple tried to make it easier in past iOS versions, but it has avoided adding the most sensible option — until now.
Whenever something goes wrong with your iPhone, or whenever you want to downgrade from an iOS beta back to the regular iOS release, you can restore your iPhone to your last saved state. Restoring to an iCloud backup is great but won't work in all situations. Plus, if you saved a backup on your computer, that may be the best route to take to get back all of your data.
If you have a lot of apps, you likely have a lot of home screen pages unless you hid them. With many pages, swiping over to a particular one can feel very tedious, especially if you're doing so repetitively, over and over again. If this sounds like your iPhone experience, you should know you're swiping wrong. There's a much faster way to get around your home screen, thanks to iOS 14.
Apple just released the third public beta for iOS 13.6 today, Tuesday, June 30. This update comes three hours after the release of iOS 13.6 dev beta 3, which is the version of the beta made specifically for developers. Both betas come eight days after Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 14.
Apple just released the third developer beta for iOS 13.6 today, Tuesday, June 30. This update comes three weeks after the company released the second 13.6 developer and public betas, which changed the name of the software from 13.5.5. It also comes eight days after Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 14.
Apple's already gone through iOS 13.0, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, and 13.5 betas, and now it's time for iOS 13.6. If you want to try out new features on your iPhone before the masses, install either the developer or public beta.
The average iPhone user has between 60 to 90 applications installed. On one of my devices, I have over 600. With a ton of apps to sort through, it can sometimes be challenging to find the one you're looking for without having to use the Search tool (which is even better in iOS 14). Even then, you may still come up dry.
Previously limited to apps like Facebook and YouTube as an in-app feature only, picture-in-picture mode is now an OS-level feature in iOS 14. That means any app can quickly flip the switch to let you watch videos in an overlay window while you multitask in other apps. However, sometimes you only need to hear the audio and not see the video, and that's totally possible too.
The Wallet app on your iPhone can be used to store and access event tickets, loyalty cards, boarding passes, gym memberships, airline miles, gift cards, coupons, and more — all in one centralized place. Before doing so, though, you must add your passes to Wallet, and there is more than one way to do it. However, not every pass can be added using all of the available methods.
While the United States, in general, doesn't have the worst overall pollution, the air quality can drastically change from one day to the next. If you're particularly sensitive to pollutants in the air, there are apps that show how clean or polluted the air is in your area, as well as in cities you plan on traveling to, but Apple's making those apps less relevant with a new feature in Apple Maps.
The ability to hide entire pages on your iPhone's home screen is an excellent privacy upgrade packed into iOS 14. That said, it can be a bit of a pain to find and open the hidden apps on those pages in a timely fashion. Luckily, iOS 14 has a solution that makes opening those apps, as well as any others, faster and more convenient — and we're not talking about the new App Library.
The default Camera app on your iPhone can take some pretty incredible photos during the day. Newer iPhone models can even make nighttime shots look good. But you can't just point and shoot if you want to capture some pretty spectacular fireworks photos on July 4th, New Year's Eve, or another pyrotechnic celebration.
Siri has slimmed down in iOS 14. The assistant now appears as a compact icon at the bottom of the screen instead of hijacking your entire iPhone. It's a welcome change to a user interface that has always felt a bit clunky, but just because Siri's UI has simplified doesn't mean that its capabilities have too. On top of several new features, Siri now lets you record and send audio messages using only your voice.
No, you didn't miss a beta. Apple just released the second public beta for iOS 13.6 today, Tuesday, June 9, three hours after the release of 13.6 dev beta 2. This update might come as a surprise to you, considering your iPhone might currently be running iOS 13.5.5 public beta 1. Indeed, this update is that version's successor, just with a major name change.