How Tos

Apple devices support a relatively unknown three-finger gesture that lets you share a photo across your devices in super-quick time. It's a neat trick to fall back on if AirDrop is playing up or your iCloud Photos are taking ages to sync. Universal Clipboard is usually associated with copying and pasting text, but by using this gesture, you can make it work really well for sharing images...

Fed up of seeing "Sent from my iPhone" at the end of your emails? Customizing your email signature can add a personal touch to your messages and project a professional image. Here's how to change it on iPhone and iPad. If you're an iPhone user, you've probably noticed the default "Sent from my iPhone" signature that accompanies emails sent in the Mail app. While this signature serves as a...

In iOS 17, Apple doesn't offer a system-level method for individually locking sensitive apps like Photos behind Face ID. There is a Shortcut action that provides rudimentary protection, but it's not infallible. Thankfully, iOS 18 includes a dedicated option to lock and even hide individual apps even when the iPhone itself is already unlocked. This is useful because it means you can unlock...

Your iPhone has multiple touch and gesture capabilities that can enhance how you interact with apps. Some, like pinch and zoom, are well known enough to be considered second nature, but others are less obvious, like the one we're about to explain. Two-Finger Drag to Select Items If have apps where you habitually tap on each individual item in a list to select them – emails in your Mail...

Gemini is Google's state-of-the-art AI model, designed to compete with other large language models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT-4. On iPhones, you can chat with Gemini right within the Google app. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Apple recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to iOS 18 later this year, and Apple has suggested that it is looking into partnerships with...

If you installed iOS 18 Beta or iPadOS 18 Beta through Apple's Developer Program or Software Beta Program, you may decide you want to downgrade because of usability or stability issues. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Apple's beta versions of its major software updates can be notoriously buggy, especially the early releases. You may find apps not working properly, poor battery life,...

Apple has released the first iOS 18 beta to developers, but even non-developers have the opportunity to download beta software updates on their iPhones for free. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Traditionally, when Apple announced a major new operating system update, the first wave of betas would only be available to download by paying subscribers to Apple's Developer Program, which...

OpenAI in May 2024 announced a desktop ChatGPT app for the Mac. The generative AI company has since been rolling out the app to some ChatGPT subscribers, with a wider launch expected soon. The app can be downloaded from OpenAI's servers, and if you are a ChatGPT Plus subscriber but still waiting for an invite, there is a very simple trick that will grant you early access. Here some of the...

The 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference will take place the week of June 10 to June 14, and like the last four years, it will be an online event, although select developers and students will be invited to Apple Park. To kick things off, Apple holds a keynote event on the Monday to announce new software, which is what makes it of interest to the general public. During the keynote event on...

Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT technology into iOS 18, which will go on general release in the fall. Until then, here's a way to interact with ChatGPT on your iPhone – whatever you're doing on it. Last year, OpenAI launched its free-to-use ChatGPT app for iPhone and iPad. Using the app, you can interact with the AI chatbot via text input and voice, allowing you to...

In iOS 17.5, Apple added a "Repair State" feature that's designed to allow an iPhone to be sent in for service without having to deactivate Find My and Activation Lock. Keep reading to learn how it works and why it's worth using the next time you send an ‌iPhone‌ in for repair. Before iOS 17.5 was released, sending an ‌iPhone‌ to Apple for repair required disabling ‌Find My‌, since Apple states...

Apple iPads released in 2024 include new battery health features, including the ability to check the month that your device was manufactured and when it was first used. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Knowing the manufacture date of your iPad can be useful for several reasons. For one, it helps you determine the age of your device, which is essential for assessing its value, especially...

Navigating and editing text on your iPhone can sometimes feel cumbersome, especially when trying to precisely place the cursor. Fortunately, Apple has integrated a hidden feature in the virtual keyboard that can make this task much easier. Here's how to unlock and utilize this powerful tool to streamline your text editing. The next time you are writing something a little more lengthy and...

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...

Most iPhone users are familiar with Apple's Live Photos, which capture 1.5 seconds of video before and after you take a picture, with the aim of adding a little bit of life and movement to still images. What some users might not know is that you can also make a Live Photo bounce back and forth like a boomerang. If you're familiar with Instagram, you probably know what a boomerang is. Since...

iPhone users often find themselves toggling between different keyboard layouts to type messages, emails, or fill out forms. This can slow down communication and disrupt your flow. But there are ways to streamline the process. If this quick tip is new to you, it could revolutionize the way you type on your iPhone and save you precious time. Switching away from the alphabetic keyboard layout...

Apple's new M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air models feature a battery health setting that is new to iPads and when enabled prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times, which can extend battery lifespan. When the 80% hard limit is enabled, the iPad will never charge beyond that percentage, except on rare occasions to "maintain accurate battery state-of-charge estimates," according...

On Apple's 2024 M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air models, Apple has made it possible to check the number of completed battery cycles, which is a valuable metric to determine your device's battery condition. On the new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, Apple includes a new Battery Health menu (Settings ➝ Battery ➝ Battery Health) where you can check the "Maximum Capacity" percentage of the battery. ...

If you want to end a call on your iPhone without seeming rude, this handy little trick is for you. Keep reading to learn how to fake a dropped call. Whenever you hang up a call on ‌iPhone‌, the person on the other end sees a message on their phone saying "Call Ended." This indicates that you ended the call on purpose, because if the call had dropped due to poor cellular coverage, the message...

If your iPhone regularly runs out of battery later in the day, Low Power Mode is one way to make it last longer. You can also make Low Power Mode automatically turn on when your battery reaches a certain custom level. Keep reading to learn how. Most ‌iPhone‌ users are familiar with the way iOS throws up a prompt to turn on Low Power Mode when the battery reaches 20%. Low Power Mode can also be ...