As technology continues to advance, we as consumers are privileged enough to be able to take higher quality photos and videos and listen to clearer and better-sounding music on our mobile devices. But sometimes we forget that there's a price to pay for that awesome content—enormous file sizes.
When Apple released their plus-sized iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, it only made sense that they would include a one-handed feature to accommodate the larger displays. That particular feature is called Reachability, and with just a quick double-tap of the Home button, the screen shifts to the bottom half of the device for easier use with one hand.
AllCast, from renowned developer Koushik Dutta (better known as Koush), allows users to stream personal media, such as movies, photos, and music from mobile devices to Chromecast and other streaming devices.
In the weeks before Apple officially released iOS 8, consumers were abuzz over rumors that a new feature would password-protect your photos and text messages from prying eyes. Unfortunately, this ended up being untrue, though we did cover some alternatives to protecting your important information using some built-in features and a third-party app. Now, there's a new iOS app that can do it all.
While Android devices made by HTC, Samsung, and others have long utilized IR (infrared) blasters to offer remote control functionality, Apple has still yet to embrace it on iPhones.
JibJab may not ring the bell, but you've probably seen one of their personalized videos. Using your own images, JibJab will place you first-hand into silly and usually musically-inspired videos that you can view online. Currently in beta, JibJib has made it's way to iOS in the form of personalized GIF creation. And if you're wondering, "why the hell would I want this", trust me, you'll love creating GIFs starring your and your friend's faces. Check out the guide below to get the app installed...
When it comes to give away or sell your iPhone, you can't just power it down, take out the SIM card, and hope everything will be okay. There's valuable data on your iPhone, and you need to get rid of it. Plus, if you don't perform all the necessary steps, chances are whoever ends up with the device won't even be able to use it. If you're selling it, that could ding your seller reputation.
Third-party keyboards have been available for iPhone ever since iOS 8, but which ones are worth checking out? There have been many options over the years, and if you want keyboard features like swipe-typing and themes, you're going to have to put Apple's stock QuickType keyboard on the backburner and try out these top hits.
It's been a long-rumored feature, but today, VoIP calling has finally started rolling out to users of Google's Hangouts service. Essentially integrating Google Voice into the popular messaging platform, Google has given Android (as well as iOS) users an easy way to make calls without eating up their plan's minutes.
If you've ever had issues charging your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, like most other Apple products, the culprit to blame is usually a frayed or damaged cable. It's a common design flaw due to the thinness of the cords and the weak sheath surrounding them — but that's not always the problem.
Yes, I know. Nexus owners aren't exactly the biggest Apple fans out there. That "Pure Android" experience was one of the main reasons we bought our Nexus devices. But give the other side some credit—the iPhone's operating system has come along way, and is still the champ when it comes to aesthetic design (at least until Material Design dethrones it this fall).
While some mobile sites have built-in text-resizing tools, many do not. A lot of those that don't won't even let you pinch-to-zoom. That makes it difficult for people with low vision to read small fonts on their iPhones. In some cases, like with photo captions, even those with perfect eyesight suffer.
Have you ever looked down to your phone and said "This GPS app works well, but why isn't it cuter?" Well, you're in luck! Tokyo's Sunrise Aquarium has what might be the cutest way to navigate to their facility—just follow the penguins!
Finally! A media box that gives you everything you want, in one tiny package. The EzeeCube will allow you to view your pictures and videos while staying organized at the same time.
The Razer Nabu is a smartband that alerts you when you've received a notification on your Android or iOS device. This fitness smartband not only notifies you, but keeps track of your steps, sleep time, messages, calories lost, and of course, the time. The screen is very simplified and resembles that of a pager.
It's increasingly difficult to keep any secrets at bay, and that has become especially true for Apple's upcoming iPhone 6.
Jailbreaking gives you root access to the iOS file system, allowing you to install third-party apps and tweaks on your iPhone that aren't available in the App Store. It opens up a whole new realm for what your device can do, but it can also cause instability across the system and can dissuade you from getting future updates from Apple that have important features, bug fixes, and security enhancements.
Admit it, you wish Siri was on your Mac, and so do I. She stole my heart on iOS, and now every time I open up my MacBook, I feel something missing. Wouldn't it be great if we could, I dunno, hack Siri onto our Macs? Yeah, it would!
This week, Google sidestepped their usual "Update Wednesday" strategy by dropping a huge update to their Maps app for both Android and iOS. We're accustomed to seeing new features and bug fixes to their stable of apps on Wednesdays, but today's Maps update was presumably big enough to get its own release day (it's Tuesday, folks).
There is no shortage of games for your iPhone, and I'm sure you and your friends are probably sick to death of playing Candy Crush Saga by now. To spice things up, instead of waiting for cool new addicting games to come out, take control and make your own, then share them with your friends.
It can be a pretty exasperating ordeal to hunt for one image on your tablet when you have hundreds and hundreds of photos in your gallery. Luckily, there are ways to make this a pain-free process on your Nexus 7, as well as make sure it's never a problem in the future.
While rooting your Galaxy Note 2 certainly has its advantages—everything from increasing security to relieving the Power button of its duties—it's definitely not for everyone.
If you've got a MacBook, I'm sure you've spent some time messing around with the Photo Booth app. Who would have thought that adding simple effects like Comic Book or Stretch could make a selfie look so hilarious. Photo Booth is available for all Mac OS X computers running 10.4 or higher with an iSight camera, and it's also available on a few of Apple's iOS devices. Actually, it's only for the iPad 2 and all newer iPads since. It is NOT available on the iPhone, don't ask me why.
Flappy Bird is immensely popular, we already know that, but it's even more so now that the developer removed it from Google Play and the iOS App Store. Android users can still get the game fairly easy, but it's nearly impossible to install a safe version on the iPhone now, so you'll have to resort to one of the many Flappy Bird clones out there.
This year in Android has seen a myriad of visual improvements among various apps' user interfaces. From the card swipes of Google Now to the article fade-ins of Circa News, developers have shown that they can strike a beautiful balance between form and function. Check out the following video, complied by redditor hinesh, for some examples.
Smartphones are great. They help you keep in touch with your loved ones and stay up to date on what's going on in the world. The problem is that like everything else that's useful, they cost money to use, and between calling, texting, and data plans, it can get really expensive.
I recently ran into a problem connecting my Instagram app on my iPhone 5 to Facebook, and neither Instagram's or Facebook's help pages were as helpful as they claim to be.
With portable devices being a necessity in modern everyday life, they may be subject to overuse, improper charging, or normal wear and tear. For those people who carry around their smartphone or iPod with them all of the time, how many times have you been out and about just to have your portable device die on you?
As the iOS 18 beta continues, Apple's still investing time into fixing up iOS 17. Compared to iOS 17.4 and iOS 17.5, which both had over 30 new features and changes, iOS 17.6 is a relatively small software update for iPhone. But there are still some important things to know about.
Apple's Live Voicemail lets you preview what an incoming caller is speaking to your voicemail system in real time. It's a revolutionary feature like Visual Voicemail on the original iPhone, only better since it helps you screen calls to quickly decide whether to answer or ignore callers. It's similar to answering machines, whose popularity peaked in the mid-90s, but you quietly read transcribed messages instead.
Not everyone stickers, but that's going to change with Apple's new sticker options on iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and even macOS Sonoma. Before you know it, people everywhere will be adding stickers to messages and emails — including you.
Apple's upcoming iOS 17 is expected to include many new features first seen on Android, but there are also some exciting, unique features that Android needs to steal pronto.
In the past, Apple never really put much work into its Contacts app for iPhone, making the tool much less useful than its Mac and iCloud counterparts. But now the Contacts app for iOS is a force to be reckoned with. Packed with new features (some hidden), it's finally good enough to beat all of the third-party contacts apps that previously reigned supreme.
If you haven't been using Spotlight Search on your iPhone, we've got ten reasons for you to start. Apple's made some significant improvements to the search interface available on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and it's more useful than ever.
Without realizing it, you may be giving away the GPS coordinates of your home, workplace, school, and other important or secret locations. Unless you've blocked the feature on your iPhone, location data is stored in almost every photo and video you take, and anyone you share the content with can find out where you are or were. But there are a few things you can do to safeguard the information.
A simple trick in the Messages app for iOS and iPadOS can make your iMessage conversations more fun for you and your recipients by sending a full-screen blast of any Memoji sticker you choose.
With its latest version of Apple Maps, Apple has made perhaps its strongest push since the launch of the app to dethrone Google Maps from its perch atop the App Store rankings.
Driving is anything but problem-free. Speed traps, accidents, and other hazards can appear at any time, requiring motorists to be attentive, quick, and prepared for anything. If you see something dangerous on your route that you want to warn others about, there's an easy way to do so in Apple Maps.
If you consider yourself an emoji master, you'll have to retrain yourself once you install iOS 14.5 on your iPhone. Why? Because there are 217 new ones available to incorporate into your sometimes cryptic emoji messages.
If you rely on Apple Maps to get around over other navigation apps, there's a lot you can do. Look Around lets you tour cities up close, restaurant reservations make dining less frustrating, and 3D view gives a new perspective of a neighborhood. While there are many more where that came from, iOS 14.5 just added six new features and changes you need to know about.
