There's a growing sentiment around the web that when it comes to Android, stock is best. Many people prefer the clean look of Google's vision for Android, but manufacturers like LG will add features and themes on top of this base to differentiate themselves from the pack. But these OEM skins, as they're called, aren't always as overbearing as you might think.
Apple's notification system for iOS was in desperate need of a revision ever since they removed app grouping for new alerts. In iOS 12, they finally brought that back, new and improved, but Apple has also added more useful notifications features, such as Instant Tuning, which helps you quickly manage how notifications come in for each app — if you even want them to.
The Galaxy S9 is now available worldwide. We ran through several Android P features already on the Galaxy S9 and even took a look at a few hidden things you might not know about. While you're likely loving your new phone, there are a few concerns with any new device. One possible issue is the new persistent Android System notifications on the Galaxy S9.
Whether you've stumbled upon an interesting location you want to bookmark for later, need to remember where you park your bicycle or vehicle, or want to keep track of your favorite food truck locations, Apple Maps makes it easy.
Cyber Week 2017 is still upon us. If you're looking for an iPhone X deal, you might still have time to score one. But maybe you already have — a reported six million people purchased the newest iPhone over the Black Friday weekend. If you're one of those lucky millions, there's a slight learning curve to using the X over other iPhone models.
Here's another workday distraction for all you social media lovers out there: Pasted, launching out of beta today on iOS, is a simple collage and photo editing app mixing iconic '90s imagery with a love of the The Shins.
There are plenty of Android apps for creating reminders, to-do lists, and taking notes—but the vast majority of these are all-in-one apps that may actually have too many features. When a thought randomly crosses your mind and you'd like to remember it for later, the most important thing is to be able to jot it down quick, fast, and in a hurry.
If you've ever noticed that the stock launcher on an Android device seems to just feel faster than any third-party home screen replacement app, this is not a placebo effect. Most manufacturers, Samsung included, force their stock launchers to reside permanently in your phone's memory, thus reducing the risk of redraws.
Despite what some in the tech-world would like you to believe, iOS isn't totally locked down, free from user customization. Take your home screen, for example. Not only can you change your app icons and move them wherever you'd like, you can actually choose to hide them all. If you have a wallpaper that's just begging to be shown off, this trick is for you.
While their merger with Microsoft has lead to a seemingly complete halt of new device development, some Nokia employees are still hard at work to bring new software to the table.
You can do many things on your Nexus 7 to make life easier, like auto-categorize photos and perform on-the-fly calculations, but one thing that you should really have is more swipe gestures. By adding custom swipe gestures, you'll be able to navigate your device better, skip music tracks, and get instant access to designated apps, all with the flick of a few fingers.
The Nexus 7 is a huge jump in screen size when coming from a phone, but obviously this tablet is still smaller than some of the major players such as the Nexus 10, Galaxy Tab, etc. One way to squeeze out a little more space is to eliminate the navigation and status bars.
Now that iOS 7 is out, what can you do that you couldn't do before? In this softModder guide, I'm going to cover all that's new and noteworthy about iOS 7. I've been playing around with it on my iPhone 5 since the first beta came out, so I'm excited to show you some of the secrets that are lurking within Apple's newest mobile operating system.
David Blaine has made millions off his magic tricks and mind-bending illusions, so why shouldn't we get in on the action, too? Well, your Samsung Galaxy S3 can do all kinds of things, but magic isn't one of them...yet.
Live wallpapers are part of what make Android's features so unique and wonderful, making your homescreens come alive and much more interesting. The wallpapers are extremely customizable and interactive, many times sensitive to swipes, finger-tapping, and other multi-touch gestures—Ditalix being one of the frontrunner apps in the field. The only problem with these live wallpapers is the toll it takes on the device's battery. While not all live wallpapers kill the battery, there are many of the...
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:
Night mode on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max is a godsend if you want clearer photographs in dimly lit environments. But if you want to keep the image dark or full of shadows as an effect of sorts, it's not immediately obvious how to disable Night mode, which turns on automatically when the app thinks you need it. But it can be turned off.
Whether you've celebrated multiple cake days or you're just now getting your feet wet with Reddit, it's a rite of passage to choose your preferred smartphone client. Quick spoiler: Your best option most certainly is not the official Reddit app.
With more and more phones using OLED displays, the need for dark mode is at the highest it's ever been. Since dark backgrounds reduce battery consumption on these displays, the Android community has been begging Google to include a system-wide dark mode. Instead, Google gave us dark mode for many of their apps, including the Phone app.
With all Android updates, there's a considerable wait before most phones get the new version, and Android Pie is no different. Until then, most of us are stuck just looking at videos of the newest update. Well thanks to developer Trey Dev, we can enjoy the new notification shade and Quick Settings menu while we wait.
One of Android 8.0's central themes was battery improvements. Google implemented background restrictions and a few other under-the-hood changes, but the biggest battery-saving measure was almost user-hostile: A static notification that tells you when any of your apps are running in the background.
You're working on your iPhone or playing an awesome game when you receive a notification. You take too long to look up from your activity, so before you get a chance to see what's up, the notification is gone. Persistent notifications won't disappear on you like the default disappearing ones in iOS 11 and iOS 12, giving you as long as you need to check them. Here's how to set them up.
Just days after the first Android O preview build was released, the development community had already started bringing some of the exclusive features over to older Android versions. For instance, the Pixel Launcher received an update in Android O, and developer linuxct quickly ported the new version to work on devices running Marshmallow or higher, and even managed to do so without requiring root.
When you swipe from page to page on your home screen, the contents on your screen change, but the wallpaper always remains the same. And while Android does include plenty of ways to customize your device, setting a unique wallpaper for each home screen page isn't one of them.
Resources for finding new music are at our disposal in all corners of the internet; the only problem is deciding which one is the best for you. Spotify, Pandora, and Rdio all have options to discover new music on your smartphone, but they tend to expose mostly established artists, making the process of finding lesser-known but good music a game of trial and error.
You've undoubtedly used your email address to sign up for a chance to win something online or to purchase something on sale. Often, these offers are too enticing to pass up, and you reason that you'll live with the consequences of handing out your information for the chance at making out big.
Google's Chrome Remote Desktop, which allows for remote access to your personal computer from your smartphone, has been out for almost a year now. Sadly, it's only been available for Android devices—until now. So, if you got an iPhone (or other iOS device), you can now access and control your computer directly from your smartphone or tablet just like with Android.
We've already seen the visual changes that Android 5.0 Lollipop has brought to the table, but Google spent just as much time altering things under the hood. Awesome new functionality and hardware capabilities have been added left and right, and with the OS already out now, it's high time we had a look at some of these tweaks.
Apple's iOS 8 brings a few new features to the Mail app, including some speedy swipe gestures to flag, delete, and mark emails as read or unread.
The ability to see the world around you and instantly share that "vision" is something that makes Google Glass great for everyday use. No reason to pull out your phone to show off the amazing sushi plate you were just served—look at it, give a couple of quick taps and voice commands, and boom, your social network is salivating in jealousy.
Like insurance, it's always better to have a computer mouse and not need it than to need it and not have it. Honestly, I don't want to carry around a clunky mouse with my laptop, so I don't. I do something else, something more convenient. I use my Nexus 7. If you want to give it a try, I'll show you how it's done right now. All you need to is a Wi-Fi network and a specific Android app to control your computer with your Android tablet.
I could write about a new launcher everyday, because there are so many options out there for Android users, but one of my favorites it Everything Home. You probably have your own favorite, but what if you could actually use two launchers together, taking advantage of each one's awesome features?
Windows 8 and its new Windows Store have simplified the process for uninstalling and cleanly deleting applications from your computer. Removing applications in older versions of Windows required a few more steps: My Computer -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Find the Program -> Click Uninstall.
When you press the Home button on your iPhone SE, you're not quitting your current app. Instead, it stays open in the background. If an app ever bugs out on you or you don't want it to run in the background, you'll need to force-close to quit it completely. Doing so is also helpful when your app switcher gets too cluttered, and you find it hard to switch between apps because of it.
Every 5G model of the Galaxy S20 comes with 12 GB of memory. This amount of RAM is overkill, but Samsung's been putting similar amounts in its flagships for years. Since you have it, why not put it to use? With One UI 2, you can.
Lover it or hate it, Android 10 is a big improvement over Android 9 Pie. Based on previous versions, most flagships released in the last two years will get Android 10, but the question is when. So while you wait for those cool new gestures, how about I show you an app that gives you a nearly identical experience?
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.
In iOS, the Control Center is an easy way to toggle settings such as Wi-Fi, Do Not Disturb, and Low Power Mode. Its Android counterpart is called "Quick Settings," which provides much of the same functionality with a few bonuses. If you're curious about how this toggle menu works or miss having it before you made the switch from Android, you can test it out on your iPhone right now.
The iPhone vs. Android debate is almost as old as smartphones themselves. While there are a number of reasons to skew towards one operating system or the other, the Samsung Galaxy S9 models have a ton of great features that help set them apart from Apple's iPhones. The coolest feature, in my opinion, is the way notifications are handled.
Samsung's Galaxy S9 is officially on sale, so we ran through its best software features and even took a look at a few hidden things you might not know about. A new phone is always exciting, but there are a few annoying issues with any device. One such issue is the new persistent Android System notifications in Android Oreo on the Galaxy S9.
