At first glance, Apple's Messages app has always seemed pretty basic when it comes to text formatting options. However, there were and still are hidden ways to format text in your messages. But Apple's latest software updates give us even more ways to dress up text in messages, including more text effects.
Apple announced support for mobile driver's licenses and state identification cards in Apple Wallet back in 2021, and Arizona was the first state to jump on board in 2022. Fast forward to now, and only eight states let you add a driver's license or state ID to Apple Wallet on your iPhone and Apple Watch. It has been a slow rollout, but more states are coming or are at least showing interest.
Your iPhone goes with you everywhere, and its touchscreen interface is all you need to navigate and use all your installed iOS apps. But an external keyboard can make your iPhone an even more efficient tool for productivity tasks such as drafting long emails, composing detailed notes, and writing reports in your favorite text editor.
Your iPhone is fairly secure by default, but Apple's Lockdown Mode takes it to Fort Knox levels of protection. If you're a high-value target for spyware, phishing attempts, and other sophisticated cyberattacks, it's an essential feature. But for almost everyone else, it's an extreme move. If you simply want to verify someone's identity when chatting, Contact Key Verification is a more practical option.
Lidar, a technology first used by meteorologists and aerospace engineers and then adopted in self-driving vehicles, has slowly crept into consumer electronics over the last five years. If you have a Pro model iPhone or iPad, there's a good chance it has a lidar sensor, and you're likely using it whether you know it or not.
In less than a month, WWDC, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, will reveal the company's plans for the upcoming iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 software updates. But we already know what accessibility features will be hitting iPhones and iPads later this year, and many of them will be helpful to everyone, not just users with accessibility issues.
When they first appeared, smartphones came with a promise to make our lives easier and make us more productive so we could have more free time and energy. But now, the average user spends almost 5 ½ hours daily on their smartphone. If that sounds like you, there are ways to use your iPhone more efficiently — without getting sucked into distractions.
Whether you're wielding an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android phone or tablet, or even a Windows PC, this little-known secret holds the key to effortless assistance and unwavering obedience. Intrigued? I thought so.
If you're not using Control Center on your iPhone, you're missing out on a powerful tool that can streamline how you interact with your device, make certain tasks more efficient, and give you quick access to system tools, switches, and sliders for quick changes no matter where you are or what app you're in.
When you encounter a mysterious laundry care symbol or alarming vehicle indicator light, you might just ignore it rather than ask somebody, search online, or open a user manual for the answer. If you have an iPhone, there's an easier way to decipher the meanings behind perplexing symbols and signs—and it only takes a few seconds.
What started as an accessibility setting for hearing aids turned out to be a super helpful tool for anyone with a good set of Bluetooth headphones. The problem is that most iPhone and iPad users still don't know about it. If you're one of them, you need to see what this underrated gem in iOS and iPadOS can offer you.
Apple has a new way to tidy up your favorite bookmarks in Safari, making them easier to access than ever before. This new feature saves space, allowing you to quickly see more of your favorites at the same time.
Your iPhone has plenty of already-created Apple wallpapers just waiting for you to set as your Lock Screen and Home Screen backgrounds. But using a photo from your own library can provide a more emotional connection, help you express yourself better, and give your phone a more unique look. To maximize these effects, auto-rotate your personal images daily, hourly, when locked, or when tapped.
If you're in the market for a new smartphone and want nothing but the best of the best, now's the time to act. Some of the greatest phones money can buy are being released as we speak, while others are still in their prime and will continue to be for most of 2024. Whether you want an iPhone or Android, we've rounded up the best picks you have to choose from for top-of-the-line specs and advanced features.
Apple last month released iOS 17.2, its biggest iPhone software update since iOS 17.0, with 60 new features. Now, as of Jan. 22, we have iOS 17.3. Overall, it's not the behemoth software update that iOS 17.2 was, but it has a few exciting new things you'll definitely want to know about.
Perhaps the biggest new feature within Apple's iOS 17.2 update for iPhone is Journal, a new journaling app designed to help you take a moment to reflect each day using reflection prompts, recommendations via on-device intelligence, and suggestions for recent activities and events.
Check In is a new safety feature built into the Messages app that can automatically notify a family member, friend, another contact, or a group the moment you arrive safely at a destination, giving them peace of mind in knowing you're all right. If you never reach your stopping place, it will also send them clues to help them figure out what went wrong.
Apple's first big iOS 17 point update for iPhone just came out, and it includes some of the features initially planned for the iOS 17.0 release last September. But there's much more to iOS 17.1 than that — exciting new features and changes are hiding within Books, Music, StandBy, App Store, Lock Screen wallpapers, Apple Wallet, and more.
While new features in Safari, Camera, Photos, Notes, Weather, Messages, and other Apple apps may steal the show on iOS 17, there are some impressive new features you need to know about when it comes to FaceTime audio and video calls.
Last year, your iPhone's Weather app received some great features, but things are even better now with the latest iOS 17 version.
When you want a helpful task manager on your iPhone or iPad, any of the nine apps in this guide should be at the top of your list. But we'll review each app's features to help you determine which one might be best for your workflow.
The Camera app on your iPhone includes new features with the iOS 17 update that will help you take better photos and more impressive videos, but there are a lot of cool new things available that you might not see right away.
Visual Voicemail revolutionized phone calls and the voicemail system when Apple introduced it with the original iPhone. Now, thanks to iOS 17, Apple has done it again with its newest calling feature, Live Voicemail. This feature uses speech-to-text technology to show you voicemail transcriptions on the incoming call screen in real time, helping you decide if it's important enough to answer the call.
The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are essentially the same phone in most regards, but there are a few features exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max that may help you decide whether the bigger screen size is worth it.
Many of the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max features were carried over from last year's models. Still, quite a few capabilities are exclusive to the 2023 lineup, and some may be worth the upgrade.
Apple just announced its new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max models. This year, the 15 and 15 Plus models have a lot in common with the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, but there are still some pretty incredible features that the Pro lineup sports that the regular lineup doesn't.
Whether you subscribe to Apple TV+ or not, the TV app on your iPhone is a great place to watch movies and TV shows. On the surface, it looks like a pretty straightforward app, but hidden features are lurking in the shadows that can enhance how you use it.
Apple just released its iOS 16.6 update for iPhone on July 24. When you install the new software, it may look like there's not much to it since Apple doesn't include any features in the release notes beyond "important bug fixes and security updates," but a few new features are hiding within.
While the iPhone came before the first Android smartphone, every new iOS version seems to include a wealth of features already existing on Android, and iOS 17 is no exception.
Apple's latest multitasking feature for iPad lets you go beyond Split View's two-app restriction to use up to four apps at once. Here's how it works.
An invaluable button on your iPhone can do hundreds, even thousands, of amazing things, but most iPhone users don't even know it exists. You can't push it. You can't click it. You can't press it. But it's the largest button on your iPhone, more powerful than the versatile Side button, and it's hiding in plain sight.
Apple's iOS 16.3 update for iPhone had impressive new features, but iOS 16.4 might impress you even more.
There's an iOS feature that benefits many users, but it's absolutely vital if you wear AirPods or other headphones models connected to your iPhone. A large number of iPhone users don't even know about it, especially since it's disabled by default and hidden deep in the system settings.
If you think you know everything there is to know about using emoji on your iPhone, think again. You may be aware of a few of these tricks, but I'm confident there's at least one or two here that you overlooked or never thought possible. Feel free to prove me wrong.
Your iPad has a superpower that iPhone models don't and probably never will have (even though they could) — one that will make you want to take your iPad with you everywhere you go from now on.
One advantage to using Apple's ecosystem is Continuity, which allows you to move files, media, and tasks seamlessly between all your Apple devices. It even lets you use one device to help with actions on another, like unlocking your Mac with your Apple Watch or using your iPad as a second display. Now, things are even better with Continuity with Handoff's new FaceTime functionality.
Your iPhone's Health app has a new medications hub that can be a one-stop destination for all the medicine, vitamins, and supplements you're taking. Adding new entries is easy and well worth the effort to get reminders to take your meds, learn about drug interactions, easily share your routine, and track your history to see what is and isn't working for you.
Customization has always been the main draw of Android for me, but Apple has an impressive feature on iOS 16 that lets iPhone users create customized emoji wallpapers for their home and lock screens. While Android doesn't have something like that built-in by default, it's easy enough to make emoji wallpapers for your Android phone.
The latest iPhone update introduces big features like Live Activities and Clean Energy Charging, but those aren't the only things you'll notice different on iOS 16.1. If you build your own shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, there are a few things you'll definitely want to know about the new software. It's not a massive feature drop as with iOS 16.0, but they are important changes.
Apple's Siri is well-versed in the spells of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but it's not like Android users are Muggles. Google Assistant, Android's virtual concierge, can cast a few spells out of the box, and it can learn the spells it doesn't know quicker than a year of studying at Hogwarts.
