When there's a new game you want to play or app you need to use, but a Wi-Fi network isn't available, you can always download it over cellular data. If the size of the app is too large, however, you may not be able to on your iPhone. But that changes in iOS 13, which finally gives control over cellular data downloads in the App Store.
In this era of smartphones, we all know very well how easily we can get addicted to our devices. Spending hours each day doing the endless scroll through Facebook and other social media sites just because we feel like we'll miss something if we don't. Both Google and Apple are aware of this and are trying to help control smartphone addition in their own way for Android and iOS.
For those with small hands, smartphones have gotten out of control as of late. Nearly every flagship phone is over six inches in length, so many are forced to use phones that are too big for them and hope they don't fall. Well, thanks to one developer, using these phones can be a lot easier.
As the premiere app for chatting and video calls, it only makes sense for Skype to provide a dark theme to help prevent eye strain and minimize battery drain. Not only that, it has to also keep pace with popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger that also have the feature built-in.
While you can now apply a dark theme to Samsung Messages thanks to One UI, you may want to further personalize your texting app. A great way to do this is by applying a custom font, which not only enhances the app aesthetically, but can also go a long way towards making your texts more readable and help you process information better.
Some messages take precedence over others, so having the same notification tone for all your threads isn't always the best solution. Fortunately, Samsung Messages has a simple option you can tweak to set custom sounds for specific chats to help you stay on top of priority conversations and reply much faster.
Haptic feedback is one of the iPhone's most underrated features. With Face ID, you'll feel a satisfying tap or two when buying something in the App Store or iTunes, unlocking protected notes, viewing saved passwords in Settings, and the list goes on. For the first time, Apple has added haptic feedback when unlocking your iPhone via Face ID, as well as a way to disable haptic feedback for Face ID entirely.
For the most part, people use real names on Facebook. That's all fine and well for keeping tabs on those you know, but it can make friendly Messenger chats feel oddly formal. Skirt around this stiffness by giving your friends nicknames in Messenger for Android and iOS, so your conversations reflect the way you and your friends communicate in real life.
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.
The iPhone's "Accessibility" menu is one of those options that's very easy to overlook but incredibly handy in certain situations. You can set AssistiveTouch to help navigate your device, use a Bluetooth mouse when your screen is acting up, and enable the red screen filter for nighttime escapades. For as long as the menu has been available, it's been in the "General" settings, but not in iOS 13.
While the Smart Invert feature was an excellent first step toward a dark mode, it's nowhere near what a true dark mode should be for iPhone. After years of rumors and disappointment, Apple finally has the dark mode everyone's been wanting, and it's one of the most significant new features in iOS 13.
If you've been paying attention to the smartphone industry, you've certainly noticed a rise in dark mode lately. With most phones now sporting OLED panels, which use less power to display darker colors, users have been begging developers to include a dark theme in their apps. Lately, Google has been happy to oblige.
Dark mode is one of the most requested features these days, but it's even more important with a navigation app. If you're using Google Maps for directions while driving at night, the default white background will shock your eyes and make it harder to see the road in front of you. Thankfully, you can now enable a dark theme to make this whole process a lot safer.
Filmic Pro has a superb suite of professional settings — bit rate, frame rate, and mic choice, to name a few — which can enable you to capture the best footage possible. But different shots require different setups, and it can be frustrating to change settings on the fly. Filmic Pro lets you skip that whole process by saving your favorite settings as presets for quick and easy access.
Dark themes are all the rage these days, and both Android and iOS have system-wide versions. Many big-name apps and device manufacturers have already jumped on board the night train, and Google Chrome is no different. But the Chrome mobile browser offers various ways to enable its dark theme.
Many of our online accounts now come with an added two-factor authentication (2FA) functionality to help keep our data safe. This essentially means no one would be able to access the account until a specific set of requirements were met. It could be a combination of a password with a security key or even a passcode with some form of biometrics, like a fingerprint or face scan.
Whether we like it or not, our personal information and smartphones are tied together at the hip. The former needs the latter to deliver a personalized experience that matches our individual needs. This personal data, however, makes your phone a prime target for thieves of all sorts to turn your privacy into illicit profit.
In Android 10, Google is letting you adjust the accent colors to give your phone a bit of flair. When combined with the new system-wide dark mode, you are looking at eight different color combinations. That is seven more than we had in the previous version and seven additional ways to help your phone stand out.
While the notch on Apple's newer iPhones started a wave of notches across the smartphone market, there are still plenty of users who don't like screen-obstructing zone up top, and you may be one of them. While it may soon disappear in future iPhone models, or at least get smaller, there are things you can do to hide the big notch you have right now.
Developers options is one of the first things tinkerers unlock on a new phone. However, even the less tech-savvy users will find some benefits to revealing this hidden menu, as it enables features such as GPS spoofing and faster animations.
One of the best things about Android is the ability to customize every aspect of your device to make it your own. However, unless you have prior knowledge or experience with every single setting available to you, you might have missed a few critical features without even knowing it. Some settings are easy to find, while others might be tucked away in another menu of their own.
After years of user complaints, Samsung is finally letting us remap the Bixby button without the need of a third-party app. The new feature requires One UI a simple app update to Bixby, but there's one major downside: Samsung won't let you remap the button to open other digital assistants like Amazon Echo, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant. Luckily, there's an easy workaround.
For lack of a better word, a missing iPhone sucks. Not only do you lose a physical device that cost you a small fortune, but there's also the probability you'll never see your precious data again. Hackers and thieves might, just not you. To keep this from ever happening, there are preventative measures you should take, and the sooner you do them the better.
Among the younger generation, Roblox rivals major titles like Minecraft as one of the most popular online games out there. In fact, it's common to hear children tell new playmates to "friend me in Roblox!" so they can play together online. There's nothing inherently sinister here, but with all the online interaction, kids' safety becomes a factor.
When Apple released its Downtime feature in iOS 12, it gave us an easy way to control how much time we spend on our iPhones — but it wasn't perfect. When setting Downtime, you' were forced to use the same time schedule for every day of the week, so your weekdays and weekends had the same restrictions. Apple fixed that issue in iOS 12.2 and later, so lockout periods can be more customized.
Gboard has come a long way from its roots as the "Google Keyboard" in the earlier days of Android. It's now the most popular, feature-rich, and useful keyboard app on the market. Google even includes quite a few themes right out of the box for Gboard — but what if you could have even 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 again. Even better, you can turn the video in a live wallpaper if you just can't get enough of it.
The Google Phone app is one of the best dialers for Android today, especially with all of the unique and exciting features it brings to the table. Unfortunately, without owning a Pixel phone, you are unable to officially download the app, making a modified version your only option. However, this version of Google Phone is missing a few key features, such as spam protection and business search.
While many of Facebook's tools are well received as they enhance the experience, one which is often complained about is the Marketplace. The Craigslist-like feature which offers a way to facilitate transactions between users can be a little overbearing with its alerts. However, you can change that.
If you ask Siri to check the weather on your iPhone right now, you'll get information from the stock Weather app in iOS — even if you have and prefer other weather apps installed. But that doesn't have to be the case. Thanks to Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12 and later, you can set specific phrases that Siri will respond to for any compatible weather app you want.
Once known as S Health, Samsung Health has become one of the most comprehensive health apps available for Android. In fact, we all can benefit from the features the app brings to the table — whether you're a marathon runner or a couch potato. If you're in the latter category, the app has a simple feature that can nudge you towards becoming more active.
Android 9.0 Pie has finally arrived for Galaxy devices like the Note 9, S9, and S8, in the form of One UI. Of course, we've had a good idea as to what Samsung had up its sleeve for some time, thanks in large part to beta versions of the firmware that leaked out well before its official debut. Nevertheless, it's still exciting to experience the new features the software has to offer — with all its kinks ironed out.
Samsung's Android Pie update — known as One UI — is bringing major changes to the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9. The main interface has received a visual overhaul, and this is no more evident than it is with notifications.
No matter how good a display is, the idea of perfect color calibration is subjective — some prefer warmer more saturated colors, while others prefer the calmer cooler side of the color spectrum. It is almost impossible to create a single color calibration that everyone can agree on out of the box. The display on the Pixel 2 XL was specifically calibrated with a more realistic color profile in mind.
Samsung isn't known for its timely rollout of major Android updates, and Android 9.0 Pie won't be an exception. If we go by their Oreo update timeline, we can expect Android Pie to officially touch down for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ sometime around November, with the final version rolling out the around the first quarter of 2019. But a leaked version of the beta has already hit the internet.
Even though your iPhone's Camera app is fast and easy to use, its default settings prevent you from immediately accessing any other shooting mode aside from "Photo" with "Live Photo" on and no filter applied. But there is a way to make the Camera app remember what you prefer the next time you open it up.
If you use Apple's email services and the "From:" field in your iPhone's Mail app is cluttered with @Mac.com, @Me.com, and @iCloud.com variations of the same address — along with third-party accounts — there's an easy way to declutter things and hide the addresses you don't use anymore.
Continuing our NR30 series this week, we focused on the leaders of the software development industry that make augmented reality experiences possible. In other news, two of the current leaders in making AR headsets, Microsoft and Magic Leap, are pursuing multiple verticals with their products, as both now appear to be interested in making AR headsets for the military.
Performance and stability improvements, as well as new features, are just some reasons to install iOS 12, but new changes mean new battery health challenges. It can be difficult to boost battery life while taking advantage of everything this update has to offer. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to avoid unnecessary battery drain when using iOS 12 on your iPhone.
Incoming phone calls and FaceTimes, whether you want to answer them or not, will take over your entire iPhone's screen — no matter what you're in the middle of doing on the device at the moment. You could be browsing the web, playing a game, or chatting on social media. It doesn't matter, you'll get interrupted. But you don't have to put up with it anymore.
