How Tos

Apple's new Genmoji feature lets you create personalized emoji that aim to perfectly match what you want to express, going far beyond the limitations of standard Unicode emoji. Want an emoji of a break-dancing astronaut or a dog playing bagpipes? With Genmoji, you can make it happen. Unlike standard emoji that are fixed Unicode characters, Genmoji are dynamically generated using on-device...

Billions of messages are sent over the WhatsApp chat platform every day. One of the reasons for the service's massive popularity is that it lets users send and receive as many media-rich messages as they want, which – as long as they've limited WhatsApp's use of their cellular data plan – costs them next to nothing. That's great news for senders, but one of the drawbacks of receiving...

In iOS 18, Apple has introduced a clever new way to identify if your iPhone charging setup is running at less than optimal speeds. The new feature appears directly in Settings, making it easy to spot when you're not getting the fastest possible charge. The Battery section displays a Slow Charger message when your iPhone detects a "slow" charger in use. You'll also see charging periods with...

If you're looking for a great way to capture a shot of an action scene or an unexpected event on your iPhone, try Burst mode in Apple's stock Camera app. In Burst mode, the camera on your iPhone captures a series of photos in rapid succession, at a rate of ten frames per second. When photographing anything dynamic like sports events, wildlife, or children at play, burst mode increases the...

Apple has introduced expanded charging limit options for iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models in iOS 18, offering users more control over their device's battery health. This feature, which previously capped charging at 80%, now includes new 85%, 90%, and 95% options. The system Apple has applied aims to improve battery longevity by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged. Apple says...

A key indicator of your MacBook's battery health is its cycle count. Keep reading to learn what it means and how you can check it for yourself. Modern MacBooks can last 18 hours or more on a single battery charge, but like all rechargeable batteries, the one in your Mac has a finite lifespan. Over time, its capacity to hold a charge gradually diminishes, potentially leaving you tethered to a ...

The photos that you keep on your iPhone or iPad naturally take up storage space on your device, which can fill up quickly depending on the available storage capacity and how much content you have. If you see a message that your device's storage is full, it's worth checking out a system option called Optimize Storage, which is designed to work with iCloud Photos. This feature replaces...

If your iPhone or iPad storage space is dwindling at an alarming rate or your device feels like it's getting slower, then you could benefit from clearing the cache that apps use. Cached data includes all the files and images that are kept in your device's memory, which is meant to help apps avoid having to request the same data repeatedly and thereby keep things speedy – in theory. In ...

Animated GIFs have become a staple of the internet. Invented in 1987, the looping, soundless video clips can be found everywhere online, from social media networks to messaging platforms. They're often used to express emotions, communicate ideas, or just make people laugh. Because they are so short, GIF files are quick to load and they play automatically, so they communicate what you want...

With iOS 18, Apple introduced several handy improvements to the Notes app, making it easier to organize information and add visual flair to your notes. Read on to learn how these new features can improve your note-taking experience. The following four new Notes features are worth getting acquainted with in iOS 18. Collapsible sections allow for better organization of lengthy notes...

Ever need a moment of privacy without raising suspicion? If you're secretly shopping for a gift or planning a surprise party, you might want to temporarily obscure your actual location in Apple's Find My app on your iPhone without completely turning off location sharing. Here's a clever trick that lets you keep sharing enabled while displaying a different location – all by using another...

As part of Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.1 includes a new dedicated Reduce Interruptions focus mode that only shows you important notifications that need attention while filtering out everything else. Keep reading to learn how to use it. The Reduce Interruptions focus offers a middle ground between receiving all notifications and using Do Not Disturb. Essentially it acts as a smart filter for...

If you're concerned about hearing loss and own AirPods Pro 2, Apple in iOS 18.1 offers a convenient new clinical-grade hearing test that's easy to use. Here's everything you need to know about checking your hearing health with this new feature. Note that Apple's Hearing Test feature is not available in all regions, likely due to differing regulatory laws. Apple maintains a list on its website...

On iPhone and iPad, Apple provides users with granular control over the downloading and installing of system software updates. This article takes you through the options. In earlier versions of iOS, new software updates were downloaded automatically in the background and then installed through an Automatic Updates feature. But in modern versions of iOS you can customize Automatic Updates...

On iPhone or iPad, apps can be deleted from your device in several ways. This article explains how it's done. Delete Apps From the Home screen There are actually two slightly different ways to delete an app on the Home screen on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌. Press and hold the app for one second, then select the Remove App action from the pop-up menu. This will invoke a prompt giving you two options: De...

There's an app for everything these days, and it's easy to reach a point where you have so many of them on your iPhone that a sizable proportion are simply forgotten about, and soon storage space starts to become an issue. Fortunately, there's an easy way that you can keep tabs on which apps you use the most and which ones have basically become redundant, and are just adding needless clutter ...

WhatsApp has made it easier to organize your conversations with the global rollout of custom chat lists. This new feature expands on the chat filters introduced earlier this year, and offers a more personalized way to manage your messaging. To create a custom list, tap the plus (+) icon in the filter bar at the top of the Chats tab. You can add both individual contacts and group chats to...

If you're curious about how Apple Intelligence is working on your iPhone, iOS 18.1 offers transparency through the new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ Report feature. Here's how to generate your own report. Baked into iOS 18, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ can create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks, all through the use of...

Have you tried making your iPhone's Home Screen app icons dark using the new customization options in iOS 18? If so, you may have run up against the issue that, despite all efforts, some app icons simply refuse to turn dark. Well, we may have a solution for you. It's been over two months since Apple released iOS 18, but not all app developers have updated their apps to include equivalent...

Writing Tools is one of the main Apple Intelligence features that's available in the iOS 18.1 update that Apple released on October 28. As the name suggests, this toolset is meant to help you write, and as part of that, it can also proofread your text in various apps. Apple's Writing Tools feature offers much more than basic spell checking – it provides a sophisticated proofreading...